Why use GFO instead of ATS?

[Reefkeeper82]

Greeding Scrubbers,

I have been lurking around on RC and other forums while at work, which I shouldn't but that's another story for another day... LOL

Question: why would you want to use GFO, zeovits, and etc over an ATS? I know that ATS is relatively new for SPS keepers, but it doesn't take long for me or others to see that it works....! Not to mention it's not nearly as complicated to use or setup.

If you just surf the SPS forum on RC, you will run into "fading SPS using GFO" type threads daily... Bacteria driven systems like zeovits are complicated comparing to using an scrubber. Plus, having to dose daily is a pain.

It seemed like we are the outcasts of the SPS/reef communities.

So why aren't people seeing what we see here? Maybe the guys who are using scrubbers don't run into any issues and we tend to be less vocal?

[SantaMonica]

Advertising.

Algae has no advertising budget.

[iggy]

Best coral colors and best growth I have seen are on systems that either pour in home made phytoplankton or feed daily regardless of filtration used. Also best tanks I have seen are some of the less crowded.

I have also gotten excellent results with GFO and deep refugiums with halides. The amount of life I had in them was amazing source of coral food. Some people experience bleaching with GFO. I never had an issue but discontinued it.

I finally got my california tort back. It's from my area. This one grows like a weed.

[SantaMonica]

Best coral colors and best growth I have seen are on systems that either pour in home made phytoplankton or feed daily regardless of filtration used. Also best tanks I have seen are some of the less crowded.

Both of these point to more food for the corals.

[Reefkeeper82]

Are you running a protein skimmer at all?

In term of successful systems, I have seen several very successful reefs in my area without any feeding at all. They feed the fish of course but not the corals.

These systems are the ones I frag from. They growing out of the control. Color, growth, health, etc are great in these systems.

I'm not against or for feeding. There are certainly true value in feeding or keeping a natural source of food in the system.

There are many ways to skin a cat for sure. I know using algae scrubber is best way for me. It makes sense and it works just like nature intended.

I can't wait until I can start my build thread on my new setup.

[SantaMonica]

Feeding the fish is the same (almost) as feeding the corals; 90 percent of the food's biomass goes right through the fish. As long as the waste gets broken into small pieces that can circulate around, it will feed the corals.