Turf Scrubbers

I think they make a lot of sense, high light, high O2, high productivity. I just read a scientific article explaining how chaeto goes from being a producer of O2 to being a consumer of O2 as depth increases. How many people are growing chaeto and think they are producing tons of O2 for their aquarium. If their chaeto bunch is really thick they might not be producing much O2 at all, definitely less than an ATS.

anyway I think SantaMonica has been talking about it alot lately on all the forums. heres a link with 26 pages of reading, read til your eyes bleed

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1424843
 
I think they make a lot of sense, high light, high O2, high productivity. I just read a scientific article explaining how chaeto goes from being a producer of O2 to being a consumer of O2 as depth increases. How many people are growing chaeto and think they are producing tons of O2 for their aquarium. If their chaeto bunch is really thick they might not be producing much O2 at all, definitely less than an ATS.


Do you recall where you saw that? I don't see how a growing autotrophic photosynthetic organism can not be a net producer of O2. :)
 
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I was wondering that as well. The biology that I can remember from high school and college does not support this. That is unless chaeto has other methods to supplement photosynthesis
 
i forget where i read it the other day but i just found it again...
google search = chaetomorpha oxygen gradient

The o2 balance of the algal mats was markedly affected by light availability. In low light, oxygen consumption exceeded production of the mats giving a negative diurnal o2 budget whereas in high light the mat was net o2 productive over the diurnal cycle. A shift from net production to net consuption may similarly occur when algae density increases and the proportion of shaded biomass increases relative to the production portion of the mat.

http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/134/m134p207.pdf
 
i started a new thread to discuss this article and chaeto so this thread doesn't get sidetracked
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1561546

as far as ATS's... how about an ATS with Chaeto

to me it seems like a good idea but then again chaeto is used because it doesn't go sexual, one of the biggest benefits of ATS in my opinion is the phytoplanton it produces, but it would be efficient at cleaning the water, maybe even more so than an ATS because that phyto eventually will add nutrients to the tank.
 
OK, I'll post there too, but I disagree with your assessment from the article that there is a concern that growing chaeto is not producing O2.
 
I dont run a proper ATS right now, but my new tank will incorporate one. I am not a purist in any way, so i will still use a skimmer, carbon, etc.

Right now I have a screen in my sump that gets lots of flow and light. I have found that my screen continues to grow algae for harvesting while my cheato growth slows or stops. I previously used caulerpa, which worked better than cheato but periodically died off or
"went sexual".

I think the main problem with ATS is that the proponents over promise results, leading may people to believe that no other filtration is needed. While some set-ups will work well with only an ATS, I prefer to also use a great skimmer and frequently changed carbon so my system is a little more idiot proof.

ATS have their place. I suggest skepticism of any claims that make them seem too good to be true.
 
Re: Turf Scrubbers

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14223405#post14223405 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reef-man_d-man
I havent really heard anything lately on them, is anyone still using a turf scrubber or are they worthless?

There are still many people using them. I think they really have some advantages for a high nutrient lagoonal biotope or possibly a non photoynthetic tank but for your average stony or mixed tank I think there are easier ways to go about it.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14291550#post14291550 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DangerDave
I'm running one as we speak.

I just did a cleaning yesterday.

I will get some pictures up later today.
welcome! and we are waiting for pics
 

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