algae scrubbers

The other day I was reading an artical on algae scrubbers. No dought they are mostly used in fresh water ponds, but I was wondering if it would not be beneffical to my 180, since I do not have a refugium. I could build a screen and angle it in my over flow. my overflow already builds algae (wich I scrape constantly) due to the lighting. My lfs says algae scrubbers are "old school", but does know if my tank would benifit or not. Just wondering if any one could give me their thought on this. thanks

 

I did a lot of reading on scrubbers but haven't ever tried one. My conclusion was that it is all about nutrient export. Refugiums and scrubbers handle export by growing algae which has to be periodically removed. Refugiums add tank water column volume and provide for DSB's and increase surface area for gas exchange and heat rejection. Scrubbers increase surface area for gas exchange and heat rejection. Thus, I personally concluded that while they served the same purpose that refugiums provided more functionality.

I also found in my reading that there are very zealous supporters of various methodologies. You'll find strong opinions either way.

In short, if you don't have a refugium, yes, a scrubber would help. I'd advise looking into a refugium first thought.

Just my opinion.

Mark

 

A refugium also gets you a supply of copepods and amphipods, which can be very good depending on what fish you keep. An algae scrubber doesn't allow for that.