Introducing the new Turbo Algae Scrubber! (Rev 4)

This does answer my question, thank you!

 

So this happened today! 1000lb of aluminum heat sinks!

First time that I've ever had something delivered by semi. Probably not the last either!

This will be taking up some space in my garage for a while.

 

You could make a few school buses with that.

 

You could make a few school buses with that.

 

Got a few updates

Schedule:
Things are on track for L2 production, the only thing I am waiting on to officially pull the trigger are the first-run samples. These are supposed to be in my hands a few days either side of Christmas. So, with that timing, I'm expecting them after Christmas. As long as there are not issues that require correction, I will have the first run of 50 units in my hands around January 20th. I have already adjusted the 1st post of this thread to reflect the Wait List date of January 1st 2016 for locking into the Introductory Pricing.

L4 and L8:
I've been getting a little more interest than I expected for the L4 and quite a few inquiries for the L8 (and larger). I'm pushing hard to get the L4 models finished up. I've also come up with a way to make the L8 work without the need for a huge and super-expensive mold. If it works out as I forsee, the L8 should be available at the same time as the L4. I'm still hoping for mid-Spring on both, so stay tuned.

Mortar Screen:
This is something that @Paul B posted up online a little while back, and I posted on the Algae Scrubber Basics thread. I posted my version of this method in the same thread earlier today. After seeing how these turned out, I have a lot of confidence that this is the new screen type that I have been searching for.

Gooey blobs of algae:
One thing this thread has been lacking is pictures. Pictures of slap-yo-mama growth. Well here's your fix for that type of stuff, 500 pictures to make your kids go EEEWWWWWWWW like mine do. Weaklings. They've never been fortunate enough to get a huge whiff of skimmate or they wouldn't be complaining!

http://s611.photobucket.com/user/FloydRTurbo/library/00 Algae Scrubbers/2015 Cleanings?sort=9&page=1

Here's a few for those who don't want to scroll through Photobucket.

These pics are a mixture of 3 scrubbers I maintain:

A Rev 1 L2 on my personal 120g (top of tank, sole filtration)
A Rev 1 L2 on a 144g tank at an office in town (over sump, sole filtration)
A Rev 3 L4 on a 200g tank at a Japanese Steakhouse in town (alongside skimmer, filter sock, and carbon)





At some point in time, I started weighing harvests. These are always shown as a series of about 6 pictures: Wet (first in Ounces, then Grams), then after a good squeeze of the whole ball of algae (Oz & g), and then after a really strong squeeze of the algae, one chunk at a time to really get the majority of the water out (Oz & g). To me, this is the only reliable method of comparing harvests, as it shows the differential between wet, somewhat wet, and relatively dry harvests. Do that consistently for a series of months and you will see a pattern that shows it wasn't just a one-off measurement, or just the pick-of-the-litter harvest.

Something like this


Wet (14.8 oz)






Squeezed (9 oz)






Squeezed a lot (4.9 oz)






More nasty pics on next post

 

Not every scrubber grows awesome. The L4 mentioned above doesn't really ever grow massive, but the tank is lightly fed (even though it has a 9" Vlamingi Tang) and he runs a skimmer and filter sock. The scrubber seems to grow a lot of slime that fills up the growth chamber, but doesn't take up much volume once the water is off. But, the N & P are spot on, and no tank algae, 2 years running and no issues. that's what is really important.





Then, there's the L2s. Both grow gangbusters. Both tanks are fed decent chunks of DIY food and LRS Reef Frenzy and the algae growth is consistent

 

Left the timer in the "on" position instead of 12 ON / 12 OFF for 2 weeks recently this is what happened







New mortar screen going in this one soon as well


1lb 7.1 oz wet


13.8 oz squeezed


8 oz really squeezed (this took a while)

 

Was that 7 day cleanings as you used to suggest? Seems a bit longer

My DIY ATS fashioned from your previous threads seems to be working well.
all my MASSIVE Chaeto Mass is gone now (given or traded away)
My skimmer pump even went out 6 days ago- no problems so far- I"m going to get it back online though-
I think

Looking into this 'mortar screen'

 

I would have to look it up, but more like 10 days growth.

 

Turns out that was 14 days growth (11/24 to 12/8). Usually I clean at 10 but I was not feeling well, so I just turned the flow down a bit so that it wouldn't overflow the box.

Actually the previous growth period on this unit was also 14 days (11/10-11/24) I guess it's been a busy month! that one was only a bit less growth for the same period: 1 lb 1.5oz / 10.9 oz / 6 oz