Various upflow growth pictures

[SantaMonica]

This DROP.6 needs to be brushed out much sooner, to get the slime out which contains lots of nutrients. Could also run the light 24 hours.

8572

[SantaMonica]

Here is a hand-grab of growth out of a SURF2 or 2x scrubber® floating in a sump. When growth is green hair algae, this is the easiest way.

8574

[SantaMonica]

This looks to be a SURF2 or 2x with some Green Grabber® screen cut up to fit in with the strings. Some have said this helped, and others said the strings were enough by themselves.

8576

[SantaMonica]

This SURF8 or 8x has the water drained out and shows lots of growth attached to the Green Grabber® strings. If the strings were not there, the growth would not have any place to attach to in the middle of the compartments, and this space would be wasted. And of course if harvesting, you would clean/harvest only one side, leaving the other side to continue filtering.

8586

[SantaMonica]

Can you spot the algae-eating (filter-eating) culprits in this DROP1.2x scrubber? To prevent these, just pour some fresh water in during each cleaning/harvesting.

8588

[SantaMonica]

A super packed HOG scrubber. Can't tell which one though. This growth looks mostly like Cladophora sp.

8598

[SantaMonica]

On the left is a fairly new DROP.6x scrubber® which has two lights, and you can see the growth filling in under them. On the right the growth (in this case, in saltwater) has reached up and attached to the lights. It's time for a cleaning/harvesting.

8606

[SantaMonica]

This SURF2(tm) or 2x show an earlier stage of growth on top, and a more filled in stage on bottom. RAINs are for saltwater only. Reach in and grab some :)

8614

[SantaMonica]

This HOG3 or 3x or 3xx shows the Green Grabber® strings doing their best to hold on to this thick growth in saltwater. Without the strings, the growth would probably let go sooner. And, cleaning/harvesting this a day or two sooner would help. Note the top 1 inch has no growth; this part was above the waterline, which keeps the salt spray and bubbling inside the case, and keeps the top air hole vent clear.

8616

[SantaMonica]

Green Grabber® strings holding onto growth at the bottom of a SURF4 or 4x scrubber® with the water drained out.

8620

[SantaMonica]

Looks like the heads of two fish, close together and frozen in time, with so much fresh living algae to eat that they got stuck.

8622

[SantaMonica]

Surf, Surf, Surf!

8626

[SantaMonica]

More SURF, this time the SURF8 which is the only 2-compartment scrubber of any kind, allowing one to be harvested while the other keeps filtering.

8629

[SantaMonica]

This SURF2 or 2x shows one of the upflowing bubble holes in the middle of the algae; these holes allow light to go deeper down into the growth.

8634

[SantaMonica]

No this is not green foam in a bathtub. It's a filled up SURF4 or 4x scrubber® in saltwater, and you can sort of see the four growth areas above the four bubble outlets.

8641

[SantaMonica]

This year's holiday growth colors come from a HOG3 or 3x or 3xx that needed cleaning/harvesting many days ago. Looks like it still was using the black shade cloth on the bottom, because the top is getting too much light.

8646

[SantaMonica]

This DROP1.2x is cooking pumpkin pie. Actually, it's a new installation with very low nutrients in the water, which needs the black shade screen to reduce the red light.

8647

[SantaMonica]

This particular type of slime growth in this SURF4 or 4x scrubber® does not get any thicker. So, you wash it out with fast water in your sink or with a hose. In a waterfall scrubber this growth falls right off, but in an upflow it is mostly contained.

8651

[SantaMonica]

This is a HOG1.3, which is a larger case but with less Green Grabber surfaces, and with 2 red LEDs. This one needs brushing every 2 or 3 days, and the light on 24 hours. It should never get this overgrown.

8653

[SantaMonica]

This DROP1.2x has bright green slime and needs brushing every few days. This growth gets thicker on Green Grabber rocks under water, but not on strings, and not on waterfalls.

8655

[SantaMonica]

Not spaghetti and meat sauce. Looks like a modified HOG3 or 3x or 3xx scrubber that needed brushing out (in a sink) a week ago. Slime it still good though...
http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?3740-Slime-is-the-best-filter

8668

[SantaMonica]

This SURF4 or 4x (or half SURF8 or 8x) shows the strings circled around 3 of the 4 holes where the upflowing air bubbles come up (red arrows). This demonstrates how the air bubbles create vertical pathways for light to shine down deeper into thick growth, which cannot happen with waterfalls.

8672

[SantaMonica]

This DROP1.2 (an older one with clear tubing) looks like some growth has been pulled out by hand. For more filtering, you could brush the surfaces off in the sink under freshwater.

8674

[SantaMonica]

This DROP1.4x (older model with clear tubing) shows how the 6 high power LEDs burn through the growth.

8676

[SantaMonica]

This type of slime growth on this RAIN4 waterfall scrubber in saltwater really needs the screen, tray, and pipe slot to be brushed clean every 3 or 4 days, and would do best with an optional Slime Screen so the slime can reallly hang on. More light is not the answer, as you can see, because the light is strong enough to make a growth ring, which is about as strong a light as you can get. More info:

http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?3713-Growth-Rings
http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?3740-Slime-is-the-best-filter
https://www.santa-monica.cc/cdn-cgi/image/quality%3D85/assets/images/r4%20slime%202sides%20front.jpg

8680

[SantaMonica]

This SURF2 or 2x or 2xx scrubber® shows some of the bare Green Grabber® strings at the top, but if you look close you can see green growth following some of the other strings.

8705

[SantaMonica]

This DROP.6 has met it's match, and the single LED light is covered in growth down to the air tubing at the bottom.

8710

[SantaMonica]

A nice little HOG1 which looks to be on the side of a sump, probably to grow some live food for the saltwater tank above it.

8718

[SantaMonica]

This black plastic shade screen from a DROP (tm) scrubber even has growth on it. Once removed, all the growth will be on the white Green Grabber® rocky surfaces.

8721

[SantaMonica]

This HOG2 or 2x in freshwater is at the back of the tank, and can be laid back on the gravel so the fish can eat.

8728

[SantaMonica]

This is another HOG1 or HOG1x in a large sump and is filling in with growth to hopefully be fed to the fish: http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?3807-Feeding-scrubber-growth-to-your-fish

8732

[SantaMonica]

This HOG3 or 3x or 3xx needs a good brushing in a sink with running tap water. It looks like the bubble tubing might need adjusting, because bubbles are only coming out of the middle slit (this model has 3 air bubble slits in the black tubing), which is why the dark slime is only in the middle.

8734

[SantaMonica]

This HOG1 or 1x shows an interesting brown spot in the middle. It looks like the top of the spot is where the water line was, either because it was installed where the water was low, or because the top air hole was clogged with growth (although it looks open now).

Not really sure what made the middle brown, but it might be over-illumination from not cleaning, since it's a pattern that looks like two LEDs in the center of a HOG1.

Certainly it needed a good brushing in a sink a while ago, because you can see the slime letting go in spots like the red arrow. The Green Grabber growth surfaces can hold on to slime longer than a waterfall screen, but it can't hold on forever.

This makes a good point: One reason you don't see waterfall screens with thick layers of slime like this is because waterfall screens can't hold onto slime very well; it just all falls off because it's not underwater.

8736

[SantaMonica]

This HOG3 or 3x or 3xx (tm) scrubber from saltwater shows a type of growth that is not really hair algae, but not really slime either. Like slime, it will need brushing in your sink. Note in the second photo that the air tubing at the bottom is covered over.

8741

[SantaMonica]

This DROP1.4 or 1.4x shows how the strong PAR of the GEM5® lights on the side walls burn through the dark thick slime. This slime should have been brushed out sooner, but since it's here, the red 660nm light continues to shine through and thus filtering continues. Note that this slime would have already fallen off the screen of a waterfall scrubber (because it's above the water) but bubble upflows like this DROP are under water and thus the water supports the slime and keeps it from escaping. This is one reason why you don't see slime as often on waterfalls... because the slime has already fallen off and gone down the drain.

8744

[SantaMonica]

Growth box of a SURF4 or 4x with the saltwater drained out. This growth can be pulled out and fed to fish.

8749

[SantaMonica]

This DROP1.2x (tm) scrubber could be from fresh or saltwater. The nutrients in the water are very high, causing a dark/black slime growth that is holding on to the white Green Grabber® rocky textures. Most of this slime would have already fallen off of a waterfall scrubber screen because it is above the water.

8751

[SantaMonica]

A SURF4x scrubber® after a cleaning and maybe a spraying out too. Probably taken out of the sump to spray out slime from the Green Grabber® rocks and strings.

8755

[SantaMonica]

This new SURF4x scrubber (tm) is half shaded with the included black shade cloth, which dims the light that otherwise would be too bright reflecting from the white Green Grabber textures and strings. After more growth fills in, the cloth is not used anymore.

8758

[SantaMonica]

This HOG scrubber could be in fresh or saltwater, with the light removed. On the left is some growth swirling around, and on the right is later, with more growth, and the red line is the waterline of the display.

Keeping a HOG slightly above the waterline of a display or sump makes it more quiet, and keeps most of the salt/lime spray inside.

And this Cladophora type of growth, if you get it, is great to feed all types of fish...

http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?3807-Feeding-scrubber-growth-to-your-fish

8760

[SantaMonica]

This HOG1x in saltwater has grown some nice tang food.

8764

[SantaMonica]

This small HOG.5 is covered in black slime. This slime would have fallen off of a waterfall screen long ago, but the Green Grabber rocks hold on longer. It should have been brush out in the sink with running water several days ago. Amazing what a single red LED light can grow.

8768

[SantaMonica]

This DROP1.4x shows the bright LEDs shining through this overgrown dark slime. This should have been brushed out in tap water a week ago, but the lights shine through anyway. The water that this came from is very high in nutrients.

http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?3740-Slime-is-the-best-filter

8770

[SantaMonica]

This SURF2xx from a saltwater sump show fairly full growth, with and without water, and then it was cleaned (harvested). Not all tanks will grow this type of growth, and certainly not quickly. But it's nice to see. Feed it to the fish.

8777

[SantaMonica]

This SURF4 or 4x is fuffy and full of growth. The red arrow is the light, removed and set down in the water.

8788

[SantaMonica]

This HOG2 or 2x in freshwater has been set down in the display to feed the fish overnight. More feeding info here..
http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?3807-Feeding-scrubber-growth-to-your-fish

8792

[SantaMonica]

If you have high nutrients and are going to grow dark slime, nothing will hold it better than the Green Grabber® rocky textures such as on this HOG3 or 3x or 3xx. This growth will fall right off of a waterfall screen, with the possible exception of our optional slime screens for the RAIN waterfall.

http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?3740-Slime-is-the-best-filter

8800

[SantaMonica]

This HOG3 or 3x or 3xx is showing perfect Ulva Fasciata growth... the favorite food of tangs. It looks like it's in a display (see the corals at the top right and left) and the light was removed and the growth tray is tilted backwards in the display, ready to feed the fish. This growth is not the most common but is really neat when it happens in saltwater (and it filters a lot too).

http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?3807-Feeding-scrubber-growth-to-your-fish

8801

[SantaMonica]

This HOG1® or 1x looks fairly new and is getting an early growth of brown slime. After a brushing in tap water, it will probably start growing some green hair algae next.

8892