slovak

Admittedly, the issue of running a marine tank without a skimmer filtration system is a controversial topic amongst hobbyists. Getting rid of nuisance algae is also a frequent topic of discussion. Here is my story of the algae battle and the ultimate victory years in the making.

Setup:
My tank is a 72-gallon Oceanic bowfront. Inside the stand is a 29-gallon glass tank with a skimmer section (ASM G3 with recirc mod) and a return-pump section. Lighting is provided by a 4x54W T5 retrofit kit from Reefgeek on a home-made aluminum frame. Return pump is a Quiet One 4000, with 2 VorTech MP40W propeller pumps (one on each end) for additional circulation.


Initial tank setup

History:
I have fought varying levels of algae outbreaks for over 3 years. As you can see from the picture below, it was a type of hair algae that is dense and slimy.


The suffocating algae

This type of algae thrives in strong water currents and has the ability to suffocate corals by growing over them. I tried just about every natural solution: regular snails, turbos, crabs, sea hare, urchin, tang, foxface rabbitfish, lights out for 3-5 days, minimal feeding schedule, wet skimming, twice-a-week 20% water changes, filter socks, heavy carbon filtration, PhosBan, etc. The only possible solution I stayed away from was using strong chemical dosing, but I did come close to trying it a few times. My nitrates were always near zero, though that’s most likely due to the algae feeding on it! Frustration was at an all-time high.


Small brother, big brother

Refugium
At the 2-year mark I thought that a refugium was the redemption. I set up a 26-gallon bowfront show refugium with a 6-inch deep sand bed that was plumbed into the main system and stocked with a variety of macroalgae.

Weeks turned into months and I was still fighting the nuisance algae. It grew on the propeller guards of my VorTechs, durso stand-pipe returns, and all over the rockwork. The only way to keep it at bay was to scrub the rocks with a toothbrush every 10-14 days. Hours of cleaning and still no progress.


More algae than corals

Theory
I really considered giving up and starting all over again. As I continued my search for a solution, I came across the Algae Turf Scrubber. There are as many opinions as there are forums, threads, and posts on this subject. The one most influential in my implementation was the one at Marine Depot (warning - 700+ posts as of this writing).

The premise for an algae scrubber is simple. Skimmers and filter socks are physical filters that remove larger organic particles, food and waste, before they are broken down into nitrates and phosphates, which in turn accelerates algae growth. Abandoning physical filtration for the natural method allows for organic matter of the smallest degree to be absorbed by corals and other tank inhabitants. Effectively, the nitrates and phosphates are removed before they can accumulate by growing algae in a predetermined area.

Solution
In theory, all sounded reasonably good. How would this hold up in a real world application? The early adopters reported nearly too-good-to-be-true results. Just like everyone swore that all the approaches I already tried would work miracles. Besides, you can’t believe everything you read on the internet! Then again, what did I have to lose?



I built my algae scrubber from 1/2-inch plastic tubing and a 8 1/2 x 11’’ plastic mesh screen found at Michael’s craft store. Two light fixtures with energy-saving bulbs and a timer for a total expense of less than $40.

Results
The results didn’t come overnight. I ran my skimmer in parallel for a couple of weeks simply because I feared a tank crash. The water flow and the lighting periods needed tweaking. For an impatient person it’s difficult to watch algae grow. Besides, there is nothing to clean as with a skimmer.



After 4 weeks of this experiment I started to notice less algae in my overflows and on my pumps. 8-10 weeks and I could see the rocks again. My corals looked healthier, polyps were opening larger every week. I will let the video below speak for itself - make sure you watch it in full screen (it's HD quality).



There are many additional benefits from this approach.

• Less maintenance, as the algae screen is only cleaned every 7-10 days. I have even taken a 3-week vacation with only feeding and glass cleaning performed, and the tank was as beautiful as ever.
• There is also a significant cooling effect in the summer as the water runs over the screen.
• More energy efficient, as I traded a 50+W skimmer pump running 24 hours per day for 2 13W energy-efficient bulbs running 18 hours per day.
• The system is silent! One less pump injecting air into the water - nearly every visitor has commented on the quiet system - my office desk is 5 feet away from the glass.
• The algae growth is directly proportional to the load of the system and the amount of feeding. Once set up, there is nothing to adjust!

My tank has been algae free for nearly 9 months. I perform weekly filter cleaning about every 10 days, with general tank cleaning / coraline scraping once a month. Water changes are back to 15% every month. All corals and inhabitants are very healthy. The anemone has split multiple times and the largest one is now over a foot wide. The hammer coral that started from a handful of heads is now over 10 inches in diameter and boasts over 100 heads.

Hammer - first day in the tank


Hammer - 18 months later

I now supply many local reefers with ample frags and my enjoyment of the hobby has finally returned!