Methods for nitrate/phosphate removal... which one?

[glarior]

Setup: 240g reef and 300g shark/eel tank. Both connected to a custom sump with fluidized K1 media.

Designed an algae scrubber for 240sq" and expandable to 480sq". Sized per amount fed guidelines.

However, it was recommended to use dr tim's pearls or a sulpher/crushed coral setup.

Has anyone used the pearls or sulpher/crushed coral setup and still stuck with a scrubber?

My understanding is the pearls turn nitrates/phosphates into bacteria that is removed by the skimmer.

I don't know enough about the sulpher / crushed coral setups except sulpher... The one's I found were on huge pond style setups.

The scrubber uses light to grow algae, algae consumes nitrates/phosphates and is removed. Does not eliminate skimmer.

Which way should I lean to for my setup? All of them are around the same price for me to build/buy. Experience anyone?

[rrasco]

Is this in the planning stages, or are you actually combating N/P already?

I can't say 100% yet, because I just installed it less than 2 weeks ago, but I would say an ATS. They are cheap, easily customizable and scalable to any system, and have more benefits than just removing N/P. I did not replace my skimmer with an ATS, just using them both. I know some people run one or the other, but meh, why limit yourself? Best of both worlds.

Any type of media you run will cost to get into and maintain, ATS only needs bulbs changed, and if you use LEDs, not even that. The pearls thing sounds awfully similar to carbon dosing. You can do that with vodka or vinegar.

Right now I'm using skimmer, ATS, and GAC. I believe I am getting great results with this and as soon as the ATS matures, they should be even better. *knock on wood*

[Big_Pun]

pearls are just a better form of bio pellets better polymer, ive been using pellets for over a year now and love them will always use them. now my phosphates are not controlled completly by bio pellets i still have to run GFO to keep them down.
my latest tank, i went a different route and i run a bare bottom fuge with grape culerpa on a reverse cycle and half to three quarter dose of pellets and this has worked great. my issues with full dosage or over dosage of recomended amount of pellets is it takes out too much and left my sps pale and i had to feed and dose many things to get colors back.

[glarior]

Is this in the planning stages, or are you actually combating N/P already?

but meh, why limit yourself? Best of both worlds.

Any type of media you run will cost to get into and maintain, ATS only needs bulbs changed, and if you use LEDs, not even that. The pearls thing sounds awfully similar to carbon dosing. You can do that with vodka or vinegar.



Doing a in wall installation with an aquarium room to support both tanks. The sump should be built this week and I hope to have the tanks in the wall before thanksgiving. So, fast planning stages :-)

I agree, why limit. I am just trying to figure out how not to spend another 2k for a skimmer...


pearls are just a better form of bio pellets better polymer

ive my issues with full dosage or over dosage of recomended amount of pellets is it takes out too much and left my sps pale and i had to feed and dose many things to get colors back.

Interesting. What elements were they removing? I plan to have your typical soft corals on one side of the tank (corals from my 120g) and the other side I want to try LPS/SPS corals since I have to buy new lights. Your the second post I have seen saying the sps did not like pellets/pearls.

[rrasco]

That's supposed to be one of the benefits to an ATS, many people claim their corals have more color. Especially SPS. Something about the by-product of an ATS providing food for the corals, but I don't remember the details.

[glarior]

That's supposed to be one of the benefits to an ATS, many people claim their corals have more color. Especially SPS. Something about the by-product of an ATS providing food for the corals, but I don't remember the details.

Yes, similar to having a fuge. Which I will have one as well. Allows "something" to grow which corals consume. What is the word for "something" ? I keep forgetting.

[Reefnub]

1737417375 I have been using bio pellets for almost a year now and have had no problems with color or sucking too much out of my tank. everything is happy and growing very well,

[Big_Pun]

its not pellets they dont like its the ultra clean water, some nitrates and phosphates are needed to hold color. look at zeovit tanks and how pastel they look, and all the zeo products to hold color and feed coral. sps like low levels and a stable enviroment just not everything at zero. i still run pellets now and my sps are doing the best ive ever seen them compared to previous tanks, im also useing as kalk reactor to keep levels stable, i also cut out using carbon, people think they also remove other elements from the water.

on my previous tank i ran more pellets than instructions said and running gfo thats where i went wrong.

[rrasco]

Yes, similar to having a fuge. Which I will have one as well. Allows "something" to grow which corals consume. What is the word for "something" ? I keep forgetting.

Me too. In a nutshell, a fuge and an ATS serve the exact same purpose. An ATS just seems to have more guidelines to create ideal conditions which make it that much more effective. It's also a heck of a lot easier to clean than a fuge. My fuge used to be disgusting, since installing the ATS (a mere 10 days ago), the fuge is looking cleaner by the day.

I already stopped running GFO. I am about to stop GAC too. Ever since I started running those my acans got ticked off. Took GFO off and they are still ticked....but the water looks so clean with GAC. Of course, I'm throwing up a frag tank to see if I can get my acans to bounce back on their own. I only started GFO to minimize P and GAC I started just because, I had no real reason to, nothing was wrong. Just wanted the 'extra' filtration, plus allelopathy kind of scares me.

[Reefnub]

Bigpun, I too use h/c gfo and the recommended amount of pellets and also carbon and my tests come back at 0 (not saying that my tests are perfect) its finding the correct balance in your tank which every tank will be different. Trial and error, not everything that other people use work for you.

[BBQHILLBILLY]

a dirty tank is a good tank:bigsmile:one day I may get a carbon reactor to polish a bit
I guess a refugium works for me. Seems to keep my tank clear.

[Big_Pun]

a dirty tank is a good tank:bigsmile:one day I may get a carbon reactor to polish a bit
I guess a refugium works for me. Seems to keep my tank clear.

it's is for certain systems but not if you want brown sps. you gotta toe the line

[BBQHILLBILLY]

I need something to help sps thrive

[glarior]

Great information! I think I am still leaning towards my original scrubber design. Plus, I have had a scrubber on the 300g eel tank for a while and its done great! No water changes and values stable. Once the scrubber really started to grow I noticed a major difference in the eel's behavior.... eats like crazy now!