reef central WTF?

[geosquid]

I just have to vent......
I've been a frequenter of this forum and I started on Marine Depot forum. I've been keeping saltwater tanks since 1991 and fresh water since since 1978. Anyway, I have been going to reef central forum just because there is so much traffic. I decided to post on a thread of a guy who wanted to start a natural system. In that post I put down a link to this forum and it automatically changed it to reefcentral.com..........weird right? then, I just mentioned using algae as a filter and OMG...did I open a can of worms. I I made the mistake of saying micro algae is a better filter than the macro. I got skewered so I thought I would find some research on the subject. I found some totally unrelated to this site and well...I'm scratching my head. Also...please don't say anything derogatory about skimmers on that site if you want to enjoy your experience. I found a study that posted what a skimmer removes and, mostly, its micro organism from what I could gather.

Thanks for listening.

[Floyd R Turbo]

Yeah WTF is right. They are so anti-scrubber it's not even funny. We started a thread under the DIY forum called "Algae Scrubber Basics" that got stickied and Thread of the Month (by a long shot) and we purposely stick to only how to BUILD one properly, and steer completely away from just about anything regarding how it actually works. Someone started another thread recently titled "Algae Scrubber Advanced" and I expect a full-on attempt to skewer coming. But we'll see. There is definitely a skimmer bias. It doesn't matter that there have been definitive studies that show that they only do 30% of what they claim.

[SantaMonica]

Micro algae (planktonic) are good filtering organisms too, but are too costly to harvest.

Someone should ask the rc folks if they would accept an ad for scrubbers.

[iggy]

There are some more advanced forums available if you want more traffic.

Chemistry section is well run. Rest can be a reality TV.

I realized I progressed on when evidence gets called mumbo jumbo.

[SantaMonica]

As for the folks who demand proof (like Barfly), the first thing you should always do is demand that they provide proof first. After they do, then provide your proof. But since they won't be able to provide anti-scrubber proof (because algae IS how the oceans and lakes are filtered), you won't have to show your proof.

But if you ever do need proof, I know where most of if can be found, based on what they are asking. It's all in the very common biologist studies... thousands and thousands of them. I try to read a few each day, from just a select few that would seem to explain exactly how srubbers work to the average reefer, but I have hundreds of just these in a queue that I just can't get to yet. It's this dang patent stuff... taking hundreds of hours of my time that I could be doing fun things with. This is the reason for the delay in getting the 25 going.

[SantaMonica]

Oh and yes I know about the different rc forums... I read them everyday. What I meant was I wonder if they would accept an ad. I'm sure they wouldn't from me, but maybe from someone else.

[redneckgearhead]

Yea, Im still at a loss as to why some people get very upset over the scrubber issue.

[iggy]

I should have written more advanced boards, not forums. I could name ones I like but you can find them too. What brought me here was a thread from Eric Borneman from Marine Depot that may pay him something to participate when he can. He wrote about hos experimental ATS and how stony corals flourished. They are certainly following trends in skimmer designs and not necessarily looking for improvements in overall tank husbandry.

There is a preoccupation with skimming 20-30% of DOC in the tank as fast as possible. Here is one that is somewhat hilarious to me.

[srusso]

Micro algae (planktonic) are good filtering organisms too, but are too costly to harvest.

Someone should ask the rc folks if they would accept an ad for scrubbers.

you should contact them as a normal vendor. I think having someone "ask" them would give the impression that they still some reason to question your application.

[SantaMonica]

When I get some money I will.