Feedback about this critical post of scrubbers???

Used it. Loved it. Doing it again.

Using a scrubber was what got me more interested into the water change-less methods to reef keeping. My scrubber was DIY and only ran for a few months before a kalk overdose wiped the screen clean. Unfortunately, the hair algae which grows on a scrubber trapped the kalk paste in its fibers and the localized PH increase killed it all off. I was forced to go to chaeto until I had the time to get one running again. My scrubber was poorly designed but did its job well. My next one is going to be LED and will be built into an acrylic box like most of the ones that you can order online.

Pros
When set up properly, it will pull nitrate and phosphate to levels undetectable with hobbyist test kits.

Keep in mind basic good husbandry does the same, getting below the test range of our kits is actually not hard to achieve, with or without algae. Also keep in mind the test kits only test inorganic phopshates, Algae releases Organic phosphates (ones we can't test for at home) Those are then converted by bacteria back into inorganic.
You get a clean slate every single week and all of the inorganic nutrients pulled from the tank get thrown in the trashcan.

Again, while you feel your "ALL" your not, this is a half truth. You are still increasing the overall load of Organic and inorganic in a system. Algae is not a sponge it gives and takes.

Detritus cannot accumulate inside of a scrubber like it can in a refugium.
Helps minimize nightly PH swings.

PH swings can be helped, but unless your have a accurate PH probe that can track PH all the time (like a controller) Its highly likely you can create a more sudden drop off in PH. Algae does not create "o2" when ever the lights are on, it will stop production even when light is present based on other factors. So you can go from making O2 to consuming O2 in the middle of the night and result in a sharper drop off of PH, if it is not setup and tracked right. Actually it can and does trap detritus much like your kalk paste became trapped in your scrubber detritus is doing the same thing. The scrubber mat will trap some particulate matter whether it be Kalk Paste of detritus

Introduces pods into the tank like you would not believe. (scrubber = happy mandarins)

I agree its can increase some pod populations, but also that is a sign of bioload/nutrient increase so keep that in mind

Removes heavy metals like iron and copper from the water.

This is very very minimal to the point its almost a non attribute to the addition of a scrubber

Can tip you off to something else being wrong in the tank by its growth rate.

Very true much like the health of corals, or the accumulation of more waste then normal its something that can warn you of an issue. It also can help mask a issue as well though. If your running a good routine and get ahead of the detritus in a system it can start to decay, which would be a false positive.

Cons
The algae stinks.
Requires basic knowledge of scrubbers to "read" your algae every week and make adjustments.
The screen has to mature before it works the way it is supposed to.
You will be less popular.

The less popular side of things, comes in from scrubbers are often labeled as miracles, when in reality there is much more going on then its often claimed. The biggest troubles come from in all be all claims like "Its gets all the nutrients for you!" and such like "You PH will be great all night" These are half truths, when you look into how algae works and remember its a living thing not a sponge you start to see the weaknesses and areas to avoid.

Now there is some room and uses for them, but you really need to look into how and what you are looking to achieve with them. If your going for nutrient export, they don't really remove a large amount, and due to their nature they promote more bacteria, and organics in a system. Which means you can end up with more suspended nutrients waiting to be released.

Now if your looking to buffer a heavy nutrient load, it can be setup to help, but its not the final solution. Also there is a perfect storm situation that ends up loading your rock with phosphates and in essence your tank goes algae invasion nuclear or crashes. While this not highly likely the threat is there, so knowing what to watch for and understanding algae is key.

I'm not a fan of a turf scrubber, simply as I have yet to see a system without a bunch of extra equipment really do well for a long time. The idea of harvesting to export is kind of the sales pitch but has its issues. Also I don't like the chem warfare aspect of algae in SPS systems, it weakens SPS coral health to varying degrees. This can mean little or it could open the door for STN RTN events or just general loss.

Their not the miracle they are often labelled as, which is the problem. They are not the sum of all evil though. The less popular is from it being disputed on its "advertisement claims"

 

Copied and pasted it, the red text is the poster's reply to someone else, the black text is the quoted post the guy in red was replying to

I don't have time to reply but I've seen this post before...lots of users on TRT are anti-scrubber, some vehemently, this guy brings up some good points too and I think mainly what he tends to get at is the "scrubber only" crowd is not taking all things into consideration, and IMO he's kind of right, that's why it is better to look at the scrubber as a tool in the toolbox (and a good one) but not the magical solution to all of your tank's problems.

Although there are some out there that will tell you that for them, it was exactly that.