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View Full Version : Phos-Reactor and Cheato - Overkill?


stevereef
06/07/2011, 04:50 PM
I'm in the process of rebuilding/ re-aquascaping my 120g reef tank. While in this mindset, I wanted to see what people's thoughts on growing Cheato and running a phosphate reactor.

Initially, I had section of my sump to grow cheato. I used the reverse lighting hours and I was pruning my Cheato every month. Then I added the phosphate reactor to fight hair algae in my tank.

Because I had too much rock work and not enough flow, I had lots of dead spots and trapped detritus... Yeilding to high phosphates. Now I've purchase an MP40, will purchase a second one soon, and I plan to add very little rock.

Do I need both Cheato and reactor? Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

briankmarsh1980
06/07/2011, 04:58 PM
I run both.... But no you don't need to, I like knowing I have that added filtration for phosphates :)

Chromey316
06/07/2011, 05:12 PM
I have a Both, BRS filled with GFO and Carbon, And a 40G breeder growing Cheato.

I need to trim ever 2 weeks.

I do not have 1 stich of algae.

This is for my 135G DT With 4 Tangs :)

dzhuo
06/07/2011, 05:40 PM
I would recommend that you run both (at least initially). If you have a nutrient issue, you are likely to have both nitrate and phosphate issue. GFO would be your ideal solution to phosphate. Algae would help but they are nowhere near as efficient as far as removing phosphate compare to GFO. Algae, however, would help to fight the nitrate issue well. Eventually when you fix your flow and both nitrate and phosphate start to go down, the GFO and algae would be N & P limited as they fight for the same nutrient. By then, you can probably remove the GFO and let the algae keep the nutrient down.

stevereef
06/08/2011, 09:44 AM
How SPS keepers are just running a skimmer and GFO? It really bother's me that the refuge light bounces off everything creating coralline algae every where.

Michael
06/08/2011, 09:51 AM
How SPS keepers are just running a skimmer and GFO? It really bother's me that the refuge light bounces off everything creating coralline algae every where.

A lot of reefers would give their right arm for too much corraline, it sounds like your water quality and light levels are pretty good as well as calcium and alk levels, congrats.

gweston
06/08/2011, 09:55 AM
I run both. If I am a bit lax on changing the GFO, the chaeto is there to help.

SoFloReefer
06/08/2011, 10:20 AM
When I ran both I noticed my Chaeto growth slowed drastically. I prefer to use Chaeto over GFO. If your algae growth is out of control then you can use the reactor for a month or so then remove it. I'm sure many people will disagree with this since a lot of people run a reactor all the time. My problem with them is that I think they can be too effective and remove almost all phosphates. Testing very low levels of phosphates is also difficult to impossible, so it's hard to know when the GFO is exhausted.

dzhuo
06/08/2011, 10:30 AM
How SPS keepers are just running a skimmer and
GFO?


My tanks is predominantly SPS. I used to run GFO (and ROX .8) initially when the tank is set up. I have since took GFO offline and rely on skimmer and macro alone. Running GFO long term (~2 years) isn't really an option due to cost and the constant rinse and wash.


It really bother's me that the refuge light bounces off everything creating coralline algae every where.

Why would that be a problem? :) You just don't like coralline?

dzhuo
06/08/2011, 10:34 AM
Testing very low levels of phosphates is also difficult to impossible, so it's hard to know when the GFO is exhausted.

If you want GFO to be effective, you would have to replace it every ~4 weeks. Regardless whether the GFO is exhausted or not, the bacteria will coat the media and affect its ability to absorb phosphate. To me, the biggest pain of running GFO is the constant rinse and washing the media. It's not fun and I don't foresee myself doing that for the next 2 or 3 years (which is how long I expect to run my tank at the minimum).

stevereef
06/08/2011, 12:25 PM
My beef is that the reactor is simple, easy to service, like clockwork - just change out the media every 4-weeks. The chaeto, traps detritus, when you prune it little strands float around in your display tank, the lighting for the refuge is growing coralline algae inside my skimmer - so I'm having to pull out the skimmer frequently to service...

The bottom line which one is more effective at removing phosphates?

dzhuo
06/08/2011, 12:33 PM
The GFO will be more effective and efficient at removing phosphate. You are the first one to tell me serving a GFO reactor is easier than pruning marco algae; not to mention the cost. If you are concern about chaeto, it's not the only macro algae. There are alternatives that do not have the same problems you described.

If macro is good enough to control your N & P, there is no question in my mind that culturing macro is a lot easier than maintaining a GFO reactor. The constant rinsing and leaching of iron is not something I want to deal with long term.