What truly is an algae reactor and is it worth the money????

[Preston's_Waters]

As the title explains I am wondering what an algae reactor is really good for.

I have a 13.5 evo and it has been up and running for 1 1/2 months now, it has 11 corals of mixed species and some clowns, a goby and a pistol shrimp. I have looked online and I can't trust google to give me a straight forward and to the point answer. Sooooo, as any good reefer would do I turned to who I trust most, the reef2reef community. My questions are: Should I buy an algae reactor, will it help my tank substantially, and is there an obvious model/brand I should choose?

Some things to note are that this would theoretically be going in my first chamber in the 13.5 evo so it would have to fit, I have the stock sponge with carbon and biomax bags in the second chamber, and my levels (to my knowledge) are not all out of whack.

Any extra tank info will be provided upon request and I will reply to all answers within 1 day.

And as always,
Thanks for any helpful info

 

[Dan_P]

Should I buy an algae reactor,

That’s your decision. An algae reactor is primarily used to reduce nitrate in the water. It will also consume a little bit of phosphate and could substantially deplete some trace elements.

will it help my tank substantially,

What issues is your aquarium experiencing?

 

[VintageReefer]

Do they make algae reactors that will fit in your 13.5g aio chamber?

I can think of some scrubbers that might fit.

But all the algae reactors that I’m aware of (and I could be wrong) are external plumbed units

 

[GlassMunky]

No you don’t need one for a little 13gallon tank.
Just water changes and you’ll be fine

 

[Doctorgori]

I have a Tunze macro reactor and my nitrate reading is 53…
FWIW

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Personally for a 1.5 month old tank I would not make the investment at this point.

I would also not make the investment in such a small tank either, better to spend the money on a tank upgrade.

I also don't know your experience level, I would not suggest this expense to a new person just starting out.

You have a large bioload and I don't know how you feed or what your filtration is like or what your husbandry habits are.

 

[Preston's_Waters]

That’s your decision. An algae reactor is primarily used to reduce nitrate in the water. It will also consume a little bit of phosphate and could substantially deplete some trace elements.



What issues is your aquarium experiencing?

thank you, and I am not experiencing that many problems, but I feel like my tank could be doing better/happier

 

[Preston's_Waters]

Do they make algae reactors that will fit in your 13.5g aio chamber?

I can think of some scrubbers that might fit.

But all the algae reactors that I’m aware of (and I could be wrong) are external plumbed units

ok, good to know before I go and buy one

 

[Preston's_Waters]

No you don’t need one for a little 13gallon tank.
Just water changes and you’ll be fine

thanks, Glad that I don't have to spend all of my money on this hobby

 

[Preston's_Waters]

I have a Tunze macro reactor and my nitrate reading is 53…
FWIW

Dang good to know

 

[Preston's_Waters]

Personally for a 1.5 month old tank I would not make the investment at this point.

I would also not make the investment in such a small tank either, better to spend the money on a tank upgrade.

I also don't know your experience level, I would not suggest this expense to a new person just starting out.

You have a large bioload and I don't know how you feed or what your filtration is like or what your husbandry habits are.

I feed my tank twice a day with just around a teaspoon of Mysis shrimp in the morning and night, and I dump a capful of phytoplankton in for my corals twice a day.

For filtration I have the stock sponge with carbon and biomax bags in the second chamber,

And I do weekly water changes of about 3/4 of a gallon and I test the water every week