Use of Algone in reef aquariums?

[JoeESSA]

Any experience, viewpoints on using Algone for nitrate reduction in a reef aquarium? Effectiveness, toxicity, side effects, etc.

 

[FelipeBastos]

I have never used it, but as a general rule, I am always skeptical of using chemicals I am not sure about in my reef system.

Aside from aditives, the only chemical ever to have gotten in the tank is Chemi-Clean to fight cyano once. It worked well ( zero deaths), but that's it. No more.

I'd recommend getting a small ball of chaeto and using that as a nitrate reducer. it's easy enough to do, and if you don't have a fuge or a sump, you can always place in the back of the tank hidden from sight.

Ciao,

Felipe

 

[JoeESSA]

Been through it all with various natural nitrate reduction methods believe me. Refugium, Chaeto, cleaning rock, removing detritus, removing any biomedia, being careful with feeding, etc., etc., etc. Fact is, given my bioload, the residual nitrate wants to stabilise at about 15 to 20ppm even with 20g water change per week. I can pull it down to <10ppm with repeated 15g water changes per day, but as soon as I drop to 10 to 20g per week it climbs back up to 20ppm within a couple of weeks. I believe that many people with the best aquarium management will still find that they have residual nitrate in the 10 to 20ppm range if they have fairly high bioload. I am also considering the Koralline nitrate reactor, but at $350 I would like to review other, cheaper options first. I am reluctant to experiment with sugar dosing, sounds too risky.

 

[JoeESSA]

Just to add that 2 independent LFS's have praised Algone for its effectiveness. The 2nd person being a more trusted/knowledgeable source in my opinion. That made me go ahead and buy it. It's apparently a natural plant fiber. Made my skimmer go wild - had a flood on the floor, had to back the skimmer down.

I'm still interested on hearing other people's experiences. I will report my own findings. Starting point for Nitrate is 15 to 20ppm.

 

[Krustylove]

I have used Algone successfully in my 30 gallon seahorse tank -it has stopped algae blooms dead in their tracks but I don't know how cost effective it would be to use on a reef tank? It didn't harm the soft corals I had in there either-but I am still cleaning up mold from the skimmer leak that went undetected for too long :0 A newer gadget that I have put into my reef tank is a phosphate reactor, it needs to be taken apart and cleaned bi-monthly but works well with the ROWAphose (takes out PO & silicates) in my tank that is prone to hair algae blooms.

 

[JoeESSA]

I was also thinking about the Kent phosphate reactor, but using it with the "nitrate sponge" material. I.e. the porous ceramic material that adsorbs nitrate. Kent and Seachem both market nitrate sponge material. Speaking to one person,, they have had good experience with this solution even on a very large, apprx. 600g, system. Takes about a month for the denitrafication to properly kick in. This may be fairly cost effective. The reactor can be purchased on line for $35 and the sponge material costs about $15 a pop and probably only needs to be changed every 6 months or so? Some may argue that such an approach is a bandaid, but the more people I speak to the more it seems that a residual nitrate of 10 to 20ppm is common even for well managed reefs.

 

[plandy]

I use Algone though much more sparingly because it is so efffective that it stops chaeto from growing in my refugium. Best was I can describe algone that it works almost like a protein skimmer. After a few days if you take out the packet for a sniff test it smells much like foul skimmate. This thing absorbs a lot of nasty stuff so you must change it out by 5 to 6 days max or it will leach back.