Dr. Adey's work is admirable, and I watched his setup at Smithsonian's Natural History closely as long as it was there. But experimenal results under optimum conditions with maximum light and what can be easily and practically obtained at home are two entirely different things. Plus there are many practical drawbacks to pure algae bed filtration - water coloration being a biggie in my book. The feedback of algae to the display is another issue if there is any significant level of lighting as well. The DC setup was impressive, but I would not have put up with that water for a single day. It kept a lot of grad students employed, was interesting, likely informative to the general public as there was a lot of good material with it, but as a practical application it was pathetic. I do not at all deny that his work is good, but it is not an easy or IMHO practical application. For SW I'll take a 24/7 macroalgae refugium any day, and for FW I'll take emerse vascular plants. If you want more refs, check Tom Barr's site, they are bound to be there, but I have not searched. I do know that he agrees with me strongly on FW veggie filters. Algae beds are IMHO & IME a technique still looking for an application.
BTW, my first SW invert tank, way back in my bachelor days, was filtered by an algae bed the same size and better lighted than the display. Algae beds are not new.
BTW, my first SW invert tank, way back in my bachelor days, was filtered by an algae bed the same size and better lighted than the display. Algae beds are not new.
