Mega Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover - DIY!

awsumfish said:
Been there and done that...

A Nice Functional REFUGIUM works better and is less work....IMO Especially for larger tanks.
Click to expand...

They serve 2 separate purposes. An Algae scrubber can be used in a refugium, but a refugium can't do the work of an algae scrubber. Less Work? How is 5 minutes 1 day per week more work than cleaning a skimmer? I've got a 180g tank (same as you) all I use is a scrubber.
 
I'm not going to get into a BALL contest over what works best. Do what you want but In MY Opinion a REFUGIUM that I do ZERO maintanance on works as good as any Scrubber. Plus I like the name REFUGIUM better than Algae Turf Scrubber. LOL Something doesn't sound right with the name. LMAO.

Do what works for you and don't let anyone pursuade you into doing it any other way at all cost...unquote - Surferdude :nanananan
 
PRC said:
They serve 2 separate purposes. An Algae scrubber can be used in a refugium, but a refugium can't do the work of an algae scrubber. Less Work? How is 5 minutes 1 day per week more work than cleaning a skimmer? I've got a 180g tank (same as you) all I use is a scrubber.
Click to expand...


Let me explain this to you as it was explained to me by my Teacher back 5 years ago when I was also a believer that the Algae Turf Scrubber was the Ultimate remover of all evils.....

"You can Steal more Hub Caps from a car that is in a gas station on an exit OFF OF THE INTERSTATE than you can on the interstate.

Your algae scrubber is an Interstate that water runs across at 10 Times the speed of my Refugium where the water sits in and flows through at a Very Very Slow rate removing More of the BAD Bacteria, Phosphates, Nitrates, etc.....

Take this advise or use your SCRUBBER the choice is yours....

"that's all I got to say about that" Quote - Forrest Gump.
 
awsumfish said:
PRC....
Excuse me but you just said that a Refugium can't do the work of an algae scrubber.......

Are you backing out of that statement now????
Click to expand...

They serve separate purposes and do different things. Their purposes overlap somewhat, but they are not interchangeable. The common line of thinking is that if you have a scrubber, you don't need to have a skimmer. Most people that have a scrubber still have refugiums. From the designs I've seen, the scrubbers are usually built in as part of the refugium.

awsumfish said:
A Nice Functional REFUGIUM works better and is less work....IMO Especially for larger tanks.
Click to expand...

PRC said:
They serve 2 separate purposes. An Algae scrubber can be used in a refugium, but a refugium can't do the work of an algae scrubber. Less Work? How is 5 minutes 1 day per week more work than cleaning a skimmer? I've got a 180g tank (same as you) all I use is a scrubber.
Click to expand...

See, I don't think you even read what PRC said. He is saying the same thing I am. It's not EITHER/OR for a scrubber or refugium, as you put it. You are thinking about it wrong. As PRC and I both said, most people use both a scrubber and a refugium. It is either/or for a scrubber or a skimmer.

Please don't be so antagonistic about everything. You sure have a habit of wording things in a way that riles people up, so watch the way you say things. You come off in a highly aggressive, forceful, negative way.
 
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Because he is NOT comparing a refugium to a scrubber. He said right there that most people use both. He is comparing a scrubber to a skimmer.

Don't even try to tell me that the flow through a skimmer is slow like your being stopped at the ramp of an interstate example. The flow through a skimmer is very fast.

How can you debate ANYTHING if you refuse to even read what the other person is saying?
 
Sorry so late to the party. I had an appointment.

Anyway, Biff is 100% correct.

The only thing I have to say is that this is a valuable thread to this forum. I don't want to get it closed so this will be my last post on this subject.
 
Here is the longest I've let it grow... two weeks. The screen was full and touching the acrylic walls at 7 days, so it had another 7 days to fill upwards:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8xlRCxc1k4]YouTube - Santa Monica 100, Two weeks of growth, maximum filtering[/ame]
 
Hey santa monica. im starting up a 29g fish tank and im wandering how much flow you would suggest me use? like is there any rule for how many gallons my tank is to how many gph my pump should be??? thanks!
 
QUESTION FOR SANTAMONICA!!! Re: Mega Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover - DIY!

santamonica

water levels question for you

tank is doing GREAT except for the Cal its LOW and falling should I start doing water changes again or stick with dosing the tank with purple up and or liquid cal I have not done a water chance sense we set the tank up on June 3rd ..




PH 8.5
nitrates-0ppm
nitrites-0ppm
KH 107.4
cal- 340 LOW!! need to get it up I have been adding purple up off and on like maybe once a week last time I checked it it was 380 one week ago should I use liquid calcium or stay witht he purple up?? and how often, Im going out of town Thur and wont be back till Sunday and I have 2 of my sister inlaws coming over to check on the tank
 
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