Algae scrubber for Ray Tank...?

[Chris40]

Hello all,
I am just wondering who has used an algae scrubber on their Freshwater ray tanks... I currently have two separate systems, each about 460-470 gallons. Both have a large planted tank in the circuit (both sytems) to help with nitrates. While fairly effective, it also eats a lot of valuable space. My primary setup is a 360g display with two female motoros and a male pearl. The sump is 125g, with approximately 75 gallons of that being heavily planted. If I switch to an algae scrubber - waterfall or upflow, I would be able to ditch the plants and have more room for pups, which is starting to become an issue.

I built a DIY waterfall scrubber several years ago for my reef tank, and it worked VERY well. My nitrates and phosphates were almost always undetectable. So much so that some corals that tend to like "dirtier" water slowed in growth, while other sps corals did well. Obviously I don't need to get to "undetectable" levels for the rays, but I do make it a point to keep nitrates under 20ppm, under 10ppm if possible/practical.

Anyway, I am just looking for input from others who have tried it and what your experience was.

Also, just to be clear, I am not looking to stop water changes or anything. I have my tanks hard plumbed with supply and drain lines, on solenoids and timers that I control from my phone. My water changes are easy and automatic. A few less water changes would be nice on the power bill, but that isn't really the goal here.
Thanks for reading!

 

[Chris40]

Anyone?

 

[esoxlucius]

There are a few threads on here regarding algae scrubbers if you search.

You say you've had good success in the past with your own DIY algae scrubber. You must already be pretty clued up on what you need to do. Can you not just incorporate what you did before into your ray set up?

What problems do you envisage between your old set up and your current freshwater one?

 

[Chris40]

Thanks,
Yeah I've already read most of what I have found here, and on various other forums. I have been reading about algae scrubbers(and all the arguments about effectiveness) from before Santa Monica started selling his, and all the other prebuilt ones available now. Nearly everything out there(not all, but most) about algae scrubbers refers to saltwater. Which again, did work very well for me. Of course the same basics will apply to freshwater, it is just a different species of algae doing the job. Due to the amount of ammonia produced by rays, I was hoping to find some actual results before I went and made any significant changes to my system that is already working. I haven't found a single thread where someone has already tried it on a ray tank though.
I don't really mind being the "guinea pig" here, and would be happy to share results if there is interest. I was just hoping that someone has beat me to it, and would have some info.
As of right now, I did build a DIY upflow scrubber for the primary system, but it has only been going for three days, so it'll be a bit before I see anything meaningful. If I see promising results as I expect to, I will spend more money on better lights for it, and a more permanent setup. Doing this would free up the equivalent of a 75g tank worth of space in my sump, on each system. That would free up a lot of space for pups until they are ready to go to their new homes. Chris

 

[Dead-pool]

I did a 300” freshwater algae scrubber. In freshwater you get hair algae which is very different from turf algae. Hair algae sheds and makes a complete mess from my experience.

 

[Chris40]

I did a 300” freshwater algae scrubber. In freshwater you get hair algae which is very different from turf algae. Hair algae sheds and makes a complete mess from my experience.

Thanks. Just curious - did was yours an upflow or waterfall?

In saltwater many never see true turf algae either. I had mostly hair algae on mine. It wasn't much problem as long as the screen was roughed up good and cleaned often enough. I have read that the hair algae on freshwater scrubbers is a bit different though. Some say more slimy, and just a different texture. Was that your experience? If I see the results that I am hoping for, I could always put the scrubber in a position so that any shedding would be eaten up by a few herbivores. That only works if they remember they are herbivores though, lol. I have a group of silver dollars(red hook, spotted, and striped) that seem to have forgotten that they are supposed to eat plants. They wiped out most of my plants in one tank, which was expected. Since I put them in with my rays, they haven't been interested in anything plant related since!

 

[Dead-pool]

I had a waterfall and no matter how much i cleaned it and how often it just shed hair algae constantly. Well if you can get them to eat it and put it over the tank it might work. It’s a complete mess from my experience and wasn’t worth the results. Only Slightly better water conditions not worth all the hassle

 

[Vinylmation]

Hello all,
I am just wondering who has used an algae scrubber on their Freshwater ray tanks... I currently have two separate systems, each about 460-470 gallons. Both have a large planted tank in the circuit (both sytems) to help with nitrates. While fairly effective, it also eats a lot of valuable space. My primary setup is a 360g display with two female motoros and a male pearl. The sump is 125g, with approximately 75 gallons of that being heavily planted. If I switch to an algae scrubber - waterfall or upflow, I would be able to ditch the plants and have more room for pups, which is starting to become an issue.

I built a DIY waterfall scrubber several years ago for my reef tank, and it worked VERY well. My nitrates and phosphates were almost always undetectable. So much so that some corals that tend to like "dirtier" water slowed in growth, while other sps corals did well. Obviously I don't need to get to "undetectable" levels for the rays, but I do make it a point to keep nitrates under 20ppm, under 10ppm if possible/practical.

Anyway, I am just looking for input from others who have tried it and what your experience was.

Also, just to be clear, I am not looking to stop water changes or anything. I have my tanks hard plumbed with supply and drain lines, on solenoids and timers that I control from my phone. My water changes are easy and automatic. A few less water changes would be nice on the power bill, but that isn't really the goal here.
Thanks for reading!

Hi Chris

Did you end up using algae scrubbers on your Ray tanks? I myself was looking at the Santa Monica HOG2 scrubber. If you proceeded, please share your experience and do you feel it's worth it.