Various upflow growth pictures

[SantaMonica]

Here we will post pictures of growth that other people have had with their upflow scrubbers. Don't forget to go to the last page of this thread, to see the new photos. To be notified when a new growth photo is posted, subscribe HERE (http://algaescrubber.net/forums/subscription.php?do=addsubscription&t=3640) (must be logged in), and select "Notification Type" to be "Instant Notification By Email".

This first photo is of a customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx with really high nutrients in saltwater, which causes the dark growth. And the top part was out of the water, which acts as a bubble and salt-spray remover.

HOG scrubbers, because of the large vertical wall of Green Grabber rock surface, holds onto slime better than waterfall screens, and so can pull out nutrients in very high nutrient water when waterfalls would only grow slime that falls off.

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[SantaMonica]

Customer's SURF2 or 2x. Mixed dark and slime growth. That dark slime absorbs a LOT of nutrients from the water.

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[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx that is still new and has not filled in the middle yet.

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[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG1 or 1x that could use less light, or some iron added to the water.

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[SantaMonica]

Customer's two DROP1.2x units in freshwater. Really dark slime needs brushing off in the kitchen sink, preferably one at a time, so the other one still is growing and filtering. Note how the strong LEDs penetrate though the growth in the box.

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[SantaMonica]

Believe it or not there is a HOG scrubber here; probably a HOG3 or 3x or 3xx because you can see a string or two.

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[SantaMonica]

This customer's HOG is about as packed as you can get; it's extremely rare for the growth to grow over the air bubble tubing:

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[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG1 or 1x below the waterline. This placement is good if salt spray is not an issue.

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[SantaMonica]

This customer's scrubber looks like one of our HOG1. Lots of Cladophora growth.

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[SantaMonica]

This looks like Ulva Fasciata species, growing in a customer's HOG1 or 1x. It is upside down in the photo.

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[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG scrubbers fit into some tight spaces:

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[SantaMonica]

An example of how strong illumination can "penetrate" through algal growth in this customer's scrubber, which looks like a DROP1.2 or 1.2x. This penetration keeps the LED lights from getting covered, and allows the light to penetrate deeper into the growth.

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[SantaMonica]

A rare all-bright-green filled SURF4 or 4X from a customer. Usually there is a mix of colors of growth.

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[SantaMonica]

This is a little more common; a mix of light and dark on a customer's SURF4 or 4x. Note the dark growth is around the edges where there is less light. If the walls were not bright-white rocks like they are, there would be much more dark growth around the edges and the growth would let go quicker. Dark slime growth does not hold on well, even though it contains lots of nutrients from the water:

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[SantaMonica]

If growth gets up to the light, as on this customer's SURF4x, the growth might starting growing on the light itself which reduces illumination. So more frequent cleaning of the light would be needed (with a piece of plastic, etc)

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[SantaMonica]

Dark thick growth like this customer's SURF2 or 2x is loaded with removed nutrients from the water, but must be harvested more often because it detaches easily. Stronger lights would have grown a lighter color:

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[SantaMonica]

Growth in a customer's tiny DROP.2 which is the smallest scrubber in the world:

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[SantaMonica]

Dark slime growth like this customer's HOG2 scrubber is loaded with nutrients absorbed from the water. Just be sure to brush it clean more often, in your sink with running water, because it blocks light from reaching the "roots" and thus will let go and wash away more easily.

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[SantaMonica]

This is more common: a mix of different types and colors and growth, as in this customer's SURF2 or 2x

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[SantaMonica]

This is another rare all-green customer's SURF4 or 4x

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[SantaMonica]

Here is a HOG1.3 or HOG2 in freshwater; these are better for FW because they don't have strings (strings are better for salt). Looks like it was just brushed clean in a sink, which is what you do with freshwater growth because it's so thin and slimy. Note the brave fish tail in the very upper left of the customer's scrubber picture.

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[SantaMonica]

Freshwater growth, in a customer's newer HOG2 scrubbers. This person has four of them. Scrubbers like the HOG2 and others without strings are best for freshwater:

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[SantaMonica]

Here is a customer's really new growth on a HOG1 or 1x. Growth has just started in the middle and has not spread to the edges yet.

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[SantaMonica]

This customer's HOG1.3 is a typical growth amount for newer tanks and less feeding. When feeding increases, the scrubber growth will get thick quick. This looks like saltwater because of the thicker Ulva Fasciata growth, but the HOG1.3 is also great for freshwater because there are no strings to brush clean (strings are best for saltwater).

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[SantaMonica]

This person's SURF2 or 2x shows a type of saltwater growth that occurs sometimes. It's a bright green, thin, jell-like growth that looks like a combination of slime and green hair. But it probably has some bacterial film growth too. It requires taking it to your sink and brushing under flowing water.

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[SantaMonica]

Here is a customer's HOG3 in high-nutrient saltwater, and positioned slightly above the waterline. The high nutrients cause the very dark green slime growth, which is loaded with nutrients from the water (darker = more nutrients), and the air bubbles and salt spray are kept inside the case so that only air goes out the top hole. This dark growth will need brushing out with a toothbrush in a sink; once enough nutrients are removed from the water (which takes a few weeks), lighter colored hair algae usually grows, which can be pulled out by hand.

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[SantaMonica]

This customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx in saltwater, on the display glass, shows it's growth above and below the waterline. Nutrients are lower in the water here, allowing for lighter colored growth to occur:

Before harvest:
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After harvest:
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Location on display:
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[SantaMonica]

Customer's high-nutrient saltwater causing thick dark slime on this HOG3 or 3x or 3xx scrubber®. Will need cleaning with a toothbrush in a sink, often, until nutrients in the water come down enough for green hair algae to grow. Or add another scrubber to bring down nutrients faster.

Remember though, that dark slime algae has the most nutrients in it from the water (the high concentration of nutrients in the algae makes it dark or black). So as long as you harvest/clean it OFTEN, it pulls out a LOT of nutrients from the water. But it must be often, like every 3 or 4 days, because slime does not hold on well and will let go and float away. And you can't pull it out with your hands, so you must take the scrubber to the sink and toothbrush it until you see the white Green Grabber® rocks again.

Note the left side is bare; it was above the waterline, acting as a bubble and salt spray remover.

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[SantaMonica]

Customer's sump shows a typical placement of one of our HOG scrubbers® slightly above the waterline. In this position, bubbles (and saltspray if saltwater) are removed, and only air comes out of the top.

This position also helps in higher nutrient water if the scrubber has been growing dark or black, because the water circulates around inside more, thus removing more nutrients from the water before the water exits; this less-nutrient water inside the scrubber allows for a light-colored growth to occur.

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[SantaMonica]

This customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx in saltwater shows a growth progression after a cleaning, with the growth starting on the strings first and then filling in the Green Grabber® rocky textures. Sometimes the rock textures fill in before the strings, but here it's strings first. Also, a side benefit of the upflowing bubbles rubbing the Green Grabber strings, is that the strings move around and "brush" the glass, keeping the glass more free of growth. Growth on the glass is still filtering, and you still harvest it by scraping the HOG tray up the glass as you pull it up. Here is more info on HOG tricks: http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?3216

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[SantaMonica]

Customer's DROP1.4 scrubber in saltwater. Note the LEDs are strong enough to penetrate through the growth, so they never get grown over. Also note the strings help fill in the middle section with growth. And lastly note that there is more than enough water circulation inside; the small holes on the bottom of the scrubber is all that is needed or wanted (any bigger, and snails would get inside).

When this fills in more, you would harvest (clean) by reaching in and pulling out the growth. For freshwater cleaning on DROP's without strings (like the 1.2 or 1.2x) the growth is too slimy to grab so you take to your sink for a brushing (or open it and let the fish and snails eat!)...

[SantaMonica]

This customer's SURF2 or 2x or 2xx shows a mix of cyano, white slime, and some green slime. Might be some green hair in there also. All of this absorbs nutrients out of the water. Especially the slime, which absorbs the most but it must be cleaned/harvested before it lets go and flows out of the drain holes

This should be brushed out in a sink, with running water, so that the white Green Grabber textures and strings are visible again. About every 7 days is good in this person's case. Black slime would be more often; green hair could be less. But the idea is to time it so you harvest the most.

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[SantaMonica]

This customer's SURF8 is growing nice, and sits in a large sump outside his house. The picture of the red light is one of the two lights on the SURF8. Note the salt on top of the lights; the lights are completely hermetically sealed and can be pushed under water to wash the salt off; don't try that with unsafe metal-frame lights... see LEDsafety.org

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[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx in a back compartment, at night. Gives a pleasant red glow.

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[SantaMonica]

Customer's SURF2 or 2x or 2xx in saltwater. This is a mix of some green hair, and some slime. It's not the most growth you can get, and it's not filling up too much here, but it's still filtering a medium amount. Cleaning of the white Green Grabber rock textures probably needs to be by a toothbrush, in a sink, because it's not quite thick enough to grab and pull out. And when in the sink, cleaning of the white Green Grabber strings should be by your fingers, because you don't want the brush to get stuck in them.

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Actually, it looks like he was indeed able to just pull it out:

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You can tell it's the same scrubber because of the white corner in bottom-right of the first photo, which is the same white corner in the top-left of the second photo. So, if you can reach in an pull it out, do so, but a good cleaning in your sink once every two months is still good to show the white surfaces again (reflects more light) and to kill pods too.

[SantaMonica]

This is a nice Holiday-colored growth; this customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx in saltwater has green slime on the outer portion, and red slime in the middle portion. This is very rare, because green usually results from more light, not less, and the outer portion on these Green Grabber® textures would have less light (because the LED lights are in the middle).

Now, what might have happened is that the customer was indeed getting green thick growth in the middle but did not clean/harvest it for some reason. This could have shaded some of the deeper growth layers there in the middle, causing some die-off which caused higher nutrients in the shallow layers, and this may have caused the darker/red growth. Just a guess, since no more information is available.

Regardless, all this growth of any color still pulls nutrients out of the water, and stays attached to the Green Grabber textures because the rocky texture are very rough like rocks on a beach, which is where natural algae/seaweed has learned to attach...

[SantaMonica]

For freshwater folks, this customer has 2 of our HOG2 scrubber® units; one for each FW tank. This one had very thick dark growth, even with 24 hours of light, pulling out lots of nitrate and phosphate from the water. Since the nutrients were still coming out quickly from the water and into the growth, the growth stayed dark:

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Here is a closeup; this is not mud! This is algal growth, and growth this thick in freshwater is rare because FW is usually very easy to grow, and is usually bright green Cladophora or Spirogyra species:

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Like most all FW scrubbers, you'll need to scrape this in your sink, then brush it out under running water, so that you see the white Green Grabber® surfaces again. This will allow the most light possible to reflect off of the white, which will grow lighter colored growth even in high nitrate and high phosphate water.

[SantaMonica]

A lot more people are starting to use algae scrubbers for freshwater. But back to saltwater. This is a customer's HOG1 or 1x in saltwater... you can't tell which one because the Green Grabber rocks are the same on both; only the lights are different (X mean Xtra led's) and you can't see how many led's there are. Also, this is not packed green hair algae, and it is not black slime; it is somewhere in the middle... sort of a light green slime which still absorbs nutrients out of the water as long as you harvest it by brushing it out in your sink. Overall it's a compact little area to keep algae in, so less algae grows in your tank.

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[SantaMonica]

Another one for freshwater: This HOG.5 in a guppy tank makes food that is fed back to the guppies. Filtering and feeding all in one...

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Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STzPzSJL454

[SantaMonica]

This saltwater customer's SURF2 or 2x is growing and filtering well, but notice the yellow in the middle. This is where there are fewer air bubbles because this SURF model has two bubble entrances; more on the sides, but not in the middle. The air bubbles bring water in, and with the water comes nutrients, especially iron. Iron helps the growth stay dark green.

The growth here is thick enough to keep the bubbles from flowing to the middle, and so the middle does not get enough iron this week in this scrubber. A good cleaning/harvesting will do wonders (will open up the bubble pathway), as will feeding anything with iron such as nori or veggie pellets.

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[SantaMonica]

This SURF4 was floated in the display of a reef (so no sump was needed). Most people do put SURF models in the sump, but the display is still an option, which it is not with a waterfall.

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The install video is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE4fdZcjssE

[SantaMonica]

Here is a bunch of Cladophora algae (it grows in both fresh and saltwater) in a customer's HOG2 or 3 or 3x or 3xx. Since you can't see if strings are under the growth, you can't tell what model scrubber it is.

Cladophora growth can get long, and unlike a waterfall style of scrubber, our upflow styles keep the long growth suspended in the water and inside the case. Waterfall style scrubbers by contrast will let the long growth flow straight down where it gets caught in your other filters and pumps. This is why waterfalls are not recommended for freshwater growth, which tends to grow even longer Spirogyra growth that gets a meter long.

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[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx in saltwater, with very light colored growth. Just like vegetables, darker growth means more iron is in the growth, and other nutrients too; so you can add iron to the water (with supplement drops) or feed more seaweed like nori or algae pellets to the fish, which will also eventually get more iron into the water, and make darker growth.

Also note that the filter does not have to be completely underwater; the top part can be above the waterline. This is also the way to block salt spray.

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[SantaMonica]

Slime!!

Well, this is good. Dark slime has the most nutrients concentrated in it, taken out of the water. Just clean it often (with a brush, in your sink) before it lets go.

Screens, like on waterfalls, have a very hard time holding on to slime (especially black slime) so you rarely see any. They just have no growth. But rocky textures, like our Green Grabber® growth surface, holds on to slime very well, so you see it a lot.


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[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx in a well-seasoned saltwater tank. Growth like this is not common on new tanks with new rocks, which normally get more of a light brown slime to do the filtering.

Air tubing at the bottom should be kept brushed clean.

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[SantaMonica]

Here's a customer's HOG1 or 1x in saltwater, although it's also fine with freshwater because is does not have strings. The growth should eventually spread to the sides after a few more cleanings.

This amount growth is about average for saltwater. New tanks will usually be much less, and more of a brownish slime; older tanks can get thick sometimes, and fill up the compartment (but not always).

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[SantaMonica]

The smallest upflow algae scrubber® in the world: Here is a customer's DROP.2 in saltwater, which can also be used in tiny freshwater tanks. Note how the strong LED light makes a growth ring in the middle.

Customer also added screen to the door (on the right).

Battery is not used, and is just to see how small the scrubber is.

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[SantaMonica]

Here is what most people want: Packed, fluffy green growth not only on the Green Grabber® strings but also on the Green Grabber® rocks, as shown here on this customers SURF4 or 4x.

However, this green growth is not always needed. Dark/black slime is great at absorbing nutrients out of the water when the nutrients are very high. And, light brown growth is good when nutrients are not too high.

But it's ok to have your salad and eat it too :)

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[SantaMonica]

This customer's SURF2 or 2x is in saltwater, and is one of those rare times when pure Cladophora ("angel hair") growth occurs. Even this one example, however, will probably have different growth in a month or two, especially if feeding increases (more nutrients) or if rocks are moved around (kills periphyton on rocks, which makes more nutrients).

Cladophora is great for fish-feed, and salads.

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[SantaMonica]

Here is a common growth pattern, shown in a customer's SURF2 or 2x in saltwater. Some green hair is on the Green Grabber® strings, and some dark/black slime is on the Green Grabber rocks. Although there are some differences between the materials of the rocks and the strings, the main reason for the difference in growth is probably the proximity to the lights: More light is in the middle, and more light usually grows lighter/green color growth unless the nutrients in the water are too low:

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[SantaMonica]

Here's a customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx in saltwater. The Green Grabber® strings are shown touching (and rubbing) the glass, and when bubbles are rapid this has the effect of cleaning growth off of the glass so that more light gets through.

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[SantaMonica]

This is a HOG1x (you can tell by the black LED heat sink at the bottom of the left side) in saltwater. It shows a few interesting things:

1. The growth is hand-harvestable (in saltwater) once you pull the inside part out of the water. For freshwater, you always need to brush it out with a toothbrush because freshwater growth is much thinner and more slimy.

2. The growth is concentrated in the middle, where the red light is strongest.

3. The growth is pushed up against the glass, preventing growth on the glass itself.

4. The top 2 cm of the inside (wet) part is above the waterline; this recirculates water inside the unit which makes nutrients lower inside the unit than outside, and is great for high nutrient water. Also it runs more quiet because no air bubbles are rising up, and it keeps almost all salt spray inside.


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[SantaMonica]

This customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx in saltwater shows a combination of slime and green hair. The Green Grabber® strings have most of growth, and should be cleaned by scraping the strings with your fingers. The Green Grabber rock textures can be brushed in a sink, but don't brush the strings because your brush will get stuck in them.

For freshwater, the HOG models without strings are best because freshwater only grows super slimey Spirogyro species, and must always be brushed in your sink because it's not thick enough to pull out by hand. So by not having strings, you don't have worry about your brush getting stuck in strings...

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[SantaMonica]

Here is a customer's old SURF2x in saltwater. This old model has the old light-frame which did not block the red light from getting out like the current models do. Light is the same though, pure red 660nm deep red, just like natural seaweed uses at the beach and reefs.

Some people ask why the inside of the SURF is white, which you can see with the algae pulled out in the second photo. The reason is because white reflects the red light back to the algae at the farthest point away from the light, which is where the light would be weakest. As opposed to a waterfall, where light travels mostly through air, the growth in a bubble upflow scrubber has to go through algae most of the way. So reflecting it back to the algae keeps it brighter, using the same wattage light.

The growth in this photo is almost all Cladphora. Add some vinegar and olive oil, and it's a great salad.

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[SantaMonica]

OK, this is more thick green growth then most people will get, but this customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx in saltwater is still fun to look at. This is mostly Ulva Fasciata, which looks like Easter basket filler; you can tell it's not Ulva Lactuca because there are no big "leaves", just thin strands...

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[SantaMonica]

This is a customer's SURF4 or 4x (or possibly half of a SURF8 or 8x) in saltwater. SURF models are best used only for saltwater, because of the strings which fill in the middle section for growth. Some SURF models never grows this green, or this thick, and sometimes grow black slime, but that's what the chemistry causes in those tanks (and, black slime does the best filtering of all algae types!).

For freshwater, it is better to not have strings; strings grow great in freshwater but are harder to brush the growth off of with a brush. So, our no-strings models like the smaller HOG and DROP models are great for that.

Nevertheless, here is a packed SURF model waiting for you to reach in a grab...

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[SantaMonica]

This customer's HOG.5 show a rare pattern of growth only in the middle. The growth is Ulva Fasciata and is common in saltwater; it looks just like Easter basket grass and is probably the favorite food of tangs.

This scrubber would be too small to do enough filtering for a typical tank with tangs, but if the only purpose is to feed the tangs, then it would supply a good bit of food a few times a week, by opening the case and letting the tangs pull the growth off.

This customer also made larger holes in the case, but this is not required unless you want the growth to flow out and feed the fish automatically. Matter of fact, the fish will learn to pull the growth out of the holes themselves, and will thus auto-trim the growth, so that no cleaning or harvesting is ever needed by you.

This same auto-feeding process happens in freshwater, although the growth is the thinner Cladophora (angel hair) or Spirogyra growth which goldfish, guppies, and of course herbivores love.

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[SantaMonica]

This is a customer's SURF2 or 2x or 2xx that has been running for quite a while in saltwater. In this photo, the water has been drained out (unlike most floating scrubber photos) so the growth has settled on the bottom, and has mixed with some darker slime where the light is very low (lower light, with higher nutrients, makes dark slime). Also some brown slime is around the edge of the lid light, which is also a low-light area. The Green Grabber rocky surfaces hold on to the slime well.

The strings can barely be seen, but are on the right side:

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[SantaMonica]

This customer in the UK has growth that almost looks like green candy in this SURF2 or 2x or 2xx. This scrubber is probably only a few weeks old, because the white Green Grabber rock walls have no growth on them yet. But they will.

This type of Surf growth is very rare, but the beauty of scrubbers is that they grow what they need to grow based on conditions. This one will probably start getting some brown slime on the Green Grabber rock walls, and then on the bottom underneath the green. If more food is given to the tank, the bright green will darken up to consume more of the nutrients (darker growth has more nutrients).

Also very neat with Surf models with this growth, is that you can just reach in and get a handful. Then just set the light back on it, and you are done. Of course if you are getting dark slime because of very high nutrients in the water, you'll still need to take it to your sink for a brushing.

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[SantaMonica]

Another photo of two SURF2 or 2x or 2xx scrubbers from the UK customer above. Here you can see the white edges of the Green Grabber rock surfaces are much more covered in growth, which is the normal process because algae eventually covers all rough surfaces that have the proper light and air/water interface turbulence.

Of more importance here, is the fact that there are two scrubbers instead of one. Two smaller scrubbers is always preferred over one larger one, because scrubbers actually remove nutrients from the water, but do so mostly when they are growing thick hair or thick slime algae. When you clean a scrubber all the way down to the white reflective surfaces, you don't have any more thick growth for a few days, and you will see the difference in how long your display glass stays clean and other ways. So by having a second scrubber that you clean on alternating schedules (one every 5 days, for example), you always have the other one growing thick and filtering.

Other aquarium filters, however, such as protein skimmers, filter socks, etc, don't remove any nutrients at all, and thus it doesn't matter if you only have one of them because cleaning it won't change anything.

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[SantaMonica]

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Here is a customer's DROP.6 on an early installation, probably just a few days. Can't tell if it's fresh or saltwater though, because the growth is very black slime which grows this way in very high nutrients anywhere.

More important is to see how the growth follows the LED red light pattern, from the LED on the right, towards the left, as it widens.

This 1-LED small scrubber may not be enough for the very high nutrients in this tank, but if the black slime is toothbrushed off in a sink often (like every 3 days), then nutrients may eventually come down in the water enough so that the the growth may turn into green hair.

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[SantaMonica]

This customer's HOG1 or 1x in saltwater has a very thick clump of Ulva Fasciata, which can probably just be pulled out by hand instead of taking it to a sink. Or of course, just give it to the tangs and snails. If the main purpose is for feeding instead of filtering, then this growth will just flow out of the holes in the case, and the tangs will help by pulling it out. You could make the holes larger for this, just don't make them big enough for any animals to get inside:

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[SantaMonica]

This HOG1 or 1x on a customer's saltwater tank show a typical growth pattern after it runs for 6 months or a year. Every single grain of white Green Grabber® surface has growth attached, and you would not be able to brush the surfaces totally clean, because the growth would stay so attached that lots of growth would remain. If a scrubber reaches this stage, then it will survive almost anything except completely drying out. And, our UAS® upflow scrubbers (unlike waterfalls) can never dry out, because they are always underwater:

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[SantaMonica]

This HOG1 or 1x in saltwater shows a thick, dark slime. Slime pulls a lot of nutrients out of the water, but needs to be brushed out often so that the white Green Grabber rocks show again.

It's thick growth like this which pulls nutrients away from chaeto, and can kill chaeto five times as big. This is also the growth which can grow right on the chaeto itself, out-competing it and keeping light from reaching the chaeto. Dark slime wins!

Note that the top part is still white where it was above the waterline. This recirculates water and nutrients inside the case, which helps it to grow in very high nutrient water because the water rubs the algae repeatedly before exiting. This particular customer also inserted tubing into the top so the unit can be submerged without making bubbles in the rest of the aquarium, but this is not needed.

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[SantaMonica]

This photo is of a UK customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx with really high nutrients in saltwater, which causes the dark growth. And the top part was out of the water, which acts as a bubble and salt-spray remover.

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1

[SantaMonica]

Customer's SURF2 or 2x. Mixed dark and slime growth. That dark slime absorbs a LOT of nutrients from the water.

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2

[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx that is still new and has not filled in the middle yet.

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[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG1 or 1x that could use less light, or some iron added to the water.


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[SantaMonica]

Customer's two DROP1.2x units in freshwater. Really dark slime needs brushing off in the kitchen sink, preferably one at a time, so the other one still is growing and filtering.


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5

[SantaMonica]

Believe it or not there is a HOG scrubber here:

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[SantaMonica]

This customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx is about as packed as you can get:

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[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG1 or 1x below the waterline.

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[SantaMonica]

This customer's scrubber looks like one of our HOG1. Lots of Cladophora growth.

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[SantaMonica]

This person's video shows our smallest Hang-On-Glass® scrubber HOG.5 in freshwater, and it's filtering the water and feeding the fish at the same time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STzPzSJL454


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STzPzSJL454

[SantaMonica]

This looks like Ulva Fasciata species, growing in a customer's HOG1 or 1x. It is upside down in the photo.

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[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG scrubbers fit into some tight spaces:

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[SantaMonica]

An example of how strong illumination can "penetrate" through algal growth in this customer's scrubber, which looks like a DROP1.2 or 1.2x. This penetration keeps the LED lights from getting covered, and allows the light to penetrate deeper into the growth.

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[SantaMonica]

A rare all-bright-green filled SURF4 or 4X from a customer. Usually there is a mix of colors of growth.

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13

[SantaMonica]

This is a little more common; a mix of light and dark on a customer's SURF4 or 4x. Note the dark growth is around the edges where there is less light. If the walls were not bright-white rocks like they are, there would be much more dark growth around the edges and the growth would let go quicker. Dark slime growth does not hold on well, even though it contains lots of nutrients from the water:

7478





14

[SantaMonica]

If growth gets up to the light, as on this customer's SURF4x, the growth might starting growing on the light itself which reduces illumination. So more frequent cleaning of the light would be needed (with a piece of plastic, etc)

7479 7480




15

[SantaMonica]

Dark thick growth like this customer's SURF2 or 2x is loaded with removed nutrients from the water, but must be harvested more often because it detaches easily. Stronger lights would have grown a lighter color:

7481 7482





16

[SantaMonica]

Growth in a customer's tiny DROP.2 which is the smallest scrubber in the world:

7483





17

[SantaMonica]

Dark slime growth like this customer's HOG2 scrubber is loaded with nutrients absorbed from the water. Just be sure to brush it clean more often, in your sink with running water, because it blocks light from reaching the "roots" and thus will let go and wash away more easily.

7484




18

[SantaMonica]

This is more common: a mix of different types and colors and growth, as in this customer's SURF2 or 2x

7485





19

[SantaMonica]

This is another rare all-green customer's SURF4 or 4x

7486





20

[SantaMonica]

Here is a HOG1.3 or HOG2 in freshwater; these are better for FW because they don't have strings (strings are better for salt). Looks like it was just brushed clean in a sink, which is what you do with freshwater growth because it's so thin and slimy. Note the brave fish tail in the very upper left of the customer's scrubber picture.

7487 7488





21

[SantaMonica]

Freshwater growth, in a customer's newer HOG2 scrubbers. This person has four of them. Scrubbers like the HOG2 and others without strings are best for freshwater:

7493 7494 7495





22

[SantaMonica]

Here is a customer's really new growth on a HOG1 or 1x. Growth has just started in the middle and has not spread to the edges yet.

7497





23

[SantaMonica]

This customer's HOG1.3 is a typical growth amount for newer tanks and less feeding. When feeding increases, the scrubber growth will get thick quick. This looks like saltwater because of the thicker Ulva Fasciata growth, but the HOG1.3 is also great for freshwater because there are no strings to brush clean (strings are best for saltwater).

7499





24

[SantaMonica]

This person's SURF2 or 2x shows a type of saltwater growth that occurs sometimes. It's a bright green, thin, jell-like growth that looks like a combination of slime and green hair. But it probably has some bacterial film growth too. It requires taking it to your sink and brushing under flowing water.

7501




25

[SantaMonica]

Here is a customer's HOG3 in high-nutrient saltwater, and positioned slightly above the waterline. The high nutrients cause the very dark green slime growth, which is loaded with nutrients from the water (darker = more nutrients), and the air bubbles and salt spray are kept inside the case so that only air goes out the top hole. This dark growth will need brushing out with a toothbrush in a sink; once enough nutrients are removed from the water (which takes a few weeks), lighter colored hair algae usually grows, which can be pulled out by hand.

7506




26

[SantaMonica]

This customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx in saltwater, on the display glass, shows it's growth above and below the waterline. Nutrients are lower in the water here, allowing for lighter colored growth to occur:

Before harvest:
7525

After harvest:
7526

Location on display:
7527





27

[SantaMonica]

Customer's high-nutrient saltwater causing thick dark slime on this HOG3 or 3x or 3xx scrubber®. Will need cleaning with a toothbrush in a sink, often, until nutrients in the water come down enough for green hair algae to grow. Or add another scrubber to bring down nutrients faster.

Remember though, that dark slime algae has the most nutrients in it from the water (the high concentration of nutrients in the algae makes it dark or black). So as long as you harvest/clean it OFTEN, it pulls out a LOT of nutrients from the water. But it must be often, like every 3 or 4 days, because slime does not hold on well and will let go and float away. And you can't pull it out with your hands, so you must take the scrubber to the sink and toothbrush it until you see the white Green Grabber® rocks again.

Note the left side is bare; it was above the waterline, acting as a bubble and salt spray remover.

7537





28

[SantaMonica]

Customer's sump shows a typical placement of one of our HOG scrubbers® slightly above the waterline. In this position, bubbles (and saltspray if saltwater) are removed, and only air comes out of the top.

This position also helps in higher nutrient water if the scrubber has been growing dark or black, because the water circulates around inside more, thus removing more nutrients from the water before the water exits; this less-nutrient water inside the scrubber allows for a light-colored growth to occur.

7556





29

[SantaMonica]

This customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx in saltwater shows a growth progression after a cleaning, with the growth starting on the strings first and then filling in the Green Grabber® rocky textures. Sometimes the rock textures fill in before the strings, but here it's strings first. Also, a side benefit of the upflowing bubbles rubbing the Green Grabber strings, is that the strings move around and "brush" the glass, keeping the glass more free of growth. Growth on the glass is still filtering, and you still harvest it by scraping the HOG tray up the glass as you pull it up. Here is more info on HOG tricks: http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?3216

7562 7563 7564 7565




30

[SantaMonica]

Customer's DROP1.4 scrubber in saltwater. Note the LEDs are strong enough to penetrate through the growth, so they never get grown over. Also note the strings help fill in the middle section with growth. And lastly note that there is more than enough water circulation inside; the small holes on the bottom of the scrubber is all that is needed or wanted (any bigger, and snails would get inside).

When this fills in more, you would harvest (clean) by reaching in and pulling out the growth. For freshwater cleaning on DROP's without strings (like the 1.2 or 1.2x) the growth is too slimy to grab so you take to your sink for a brushing (or open it and let the fish and snails eat!)...

7593





31

[SantaMonica]

This customer's SURF2 or 2x or 2xx shows a mix of cyano, white slime, and some green slime. Might be some green hair in there also. All of this absorbs nutrients out of the water. Especially the slime, which absorbs the most but it must be cleaned/harvested before it lets go and flows out of the drain holes

This should be brushed out in a sink, with running water, so that the white Green Grabber textures and strings are visible again. About every 7 days is good in this person's case. Black slime would be more often; green hair could be less. But the idea is to time it so you harvest the most.

7595





32

[SantaMonica]

This customer's SURF8 is growing nice, and sits in a large sump outside his house. The picture of the red light is one of the two lights on the SURF8. Note the salt on top of the lights; the lights are completely hermetically sealed and can be pushed under water to wash the salt off; don't try that with unsafe metal-frame lights... see LEDsafety.org

7610 7611 7612 7613





33

[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx in a back compartment, at night. Gives a pleasant red glow.

7628




34

[SantaMonica]

Customer's SURF2 or 2x or 2xx in saltwater. This is a mix of some green hair, and some slime. It's not the most growth you can get, and it's not filling up too much here, but it's still filtering a medium amount. Cleaning of the white Green Grabber rock textures probably needs to be by a toothbrush, in a sink, because it's not quite thick enough to grab and pull out. And when in the sink, cleaning of the white Green Grabber strings should be by your fingers, because you don't want the brush to get stuck in them.

7633

Actually, it looks like he was indeed able to just pull it out:

7634

You can tell it's the same scrubber because of the white corner in bottom-right of the first photo, which is the same white corner in the top-left of the second photo. So, if you can reach in an pull it out, do so, but a good cleaning in your sink once every two months is still good to show the white surfaces again (reflects more light) and to kill pods too.

Also of course there are no unsafe metal lights, which you can read about at LEDsafety.org




35

[SantaMonica]

Customer's SURF2 which can be seen in the third photo in the round circle in the sump area...

"Here is pictures of my Only SPS system in KUWAIT, My system is running without any refugiums, chaeto reactors, Biopellets or any NO3 reduction dosing.. but running only with Surf2 algae scrubber, and reactor for GFO (Rowa) and another for Carbon. Usually I leave Surf until it is full and starts to die and become yellow, then I take it out to the garden and wash it with fresh water with slightly high pressure so all dead algae falls out easily and the green one stays inside then I return it to the sump with 10% water change ... usually this happens every 2 to 3 weeks cuz my system is ULNS" -- Mohammad Abdullah in Kuwait...

7644 7645 7646 7647

[SantaMonica]

Fresh new year gets a post of a winter indoor freshwater koi pond:

Customer's SURF8 that he converted to freshwater by adding roughed screens inside the compartments; the strings that SURF's come with are best for thick growth you get with saltwater, so by adding screens you give a large flat surface for freshwater slime growth to attach to without having to get the Green Grabber surfaces of our HOG2 which are great for freshwater. Besides, indoor ponds like this have no glass for HOG's to attach to.

"Just removed 12 ounces of growth from my three scrubber units [one is a freshwater converted SURF8]. I do it lightly, but more often, so a decent bunch is still in the surf units thus assuring me a constant ongoing process. It’s the stringy [freshwater] stuff and comes out easily with a toothbrush. Btw... the basement pond units are getting the highest amount after the slow start... sure is growing plenty of slime these days. -- William Garthe, Illinois, USA


7670 7671 7672 7673 7674 7675 7676

[SantaMonica]

This is a nice Holiday-colored growth; this customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx in saltwater has green slime on the outer portion, and red slime in the middle portion. This is very rare, because green usually results from more light, not less, and the outer portion on these Green Grabber® textures would have less light (because the LED lights are in the middle).

Now, what might have happened is that the customer was indeed getting green thick growth in the middle but did not clean/harvest it for some reason. This could have shaded some of the deeper growth layers there in the middle, causing some die-off which caused higher nutrients in the shallow layers, and this may have caused the darker/red growth. Just a guess, since no more information is available.

Regardless, all this growth of any color still pulls nutrients out of the water, and stays attached to the Green Grabber textures because the rocky texture are very rough like rocks on a beach, which is where natural algae/seaweed has learned to attach...

7698

And of course there there are no unsafe metal-case lights
(see LEDsafety.org )

7699





36

[SantaMonica]

For freshwater folks, this customer has 2 of our HOG2 scrubber® units; one for each FW tank. This one had very thick dark growth, even with 24 hours of light, pulling out lots of nitrate and phosphate from the water. Since the nutrients were still coming out quickly from the water and into the growth, the growth stayed dark:

7720


Here is a closeup; this is not mud! This is algal growth, and growth this thick in freshwater is rare because FW is usually very easy to grow, and is usually bright green Cladophora or Spirogyra species:

7721


Like most all FW scrubbers, you'll need to scrape this in your sink, then brush it out under running water, so that you see the white Green Grabber® surfaces again. This will allow the most light possible to reflect off of the white, which will grow lighter colored growth even in high nitrate and high phosphate water.




37

[SantaMonica]

A lot more people are starting to use algae scrubbers for freshwater. But back to saltwater. This is a customer's HOG1 or 1x in saltwater... you can't tell which one because the Green Grabber rocks are the same on both; only the lights are different (X mean Xtra led's) and you can't see how many led's there are. Also, this is not packed green hair algae, and it is not black slime; it is somewhere in the middle... sort of a light green slime which still absorbs nutrients out of the water as long as you harvest it by brushing it out in your sink. Overall it's a compact little area to keep algae in, so less algae grows in your tank.

7744





38

[SantaMonica]

Another one for freshwater: This HOG.5 in a guppy tank makes food that is fed back to the guppies. Filtering and feeding all in one...

7751 7752 7753 7754 7755

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STzPzSJL454





39

[SantaMonica]

SURF8 quick harvest on saltwater reef pond:

https://youtu.be/L8zwmLwtKew

7777

[SantaMonica]

This saltwater customer's SURF2 or 2x is growing and filtering well, but notice the yellow in the middle. This is where there are fewer air bubbles because this SURF model has two bubble entrances; more on the sides, but not in the middle. The air bubbles bring water in, and with the water comes nutrients, especially iron. Iron helps the growth stay dark green.

The growth here is thick enough to keep the bubbles from flowing to the middle, and so the middle does not get enough iron this week in this scrubber. A good cleaning/harvesting will do wonders (will open up the bubble pathway), as will feeding anything with iron such as nori or veggie pellets.

7790




40

[SantaMonica]

This SURF4 was floated in the display of a reef (so no sump was needed). Most people do put SURF models in the sump, but the display is still an option, which it is not with a waterfall.

7792

The install video is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE4fdZcjssE





41

[SantaMonica]

Here is a bunch of Cladophora algae (it grows in both fresh and saltwater) in a customer's HOG2 or 3 or 3x or 3xx. Since you can't see if strings are under the growth, you can't tell what model scrubber it is.

Cladophora growth can get long, and unlike a waterfall style of scrubber, our upflow styles keep the long growth suspended in the water and inside the case. Waterfall style scrubbers by contrast will let the long growth flow straight down where it gets caught in your other filters and pumps. This is why waterfalls are not recommended for freshwater growth, which tends to grow even longer Spirogyra growth that gets a meter long.

7802





42

[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx in saltwater, with very light colored growth. Just like vegetables, darker growth means more iron is in the growth, and other nutrients too; so you can add iron to the water (with supplement drops) or feed more seaweed like nori or algae pellets to the fish, which will also eventually get more iron into the water, and make darker growth.

Also note that the filter does not have to be completely underwater; the top part can be above the waterline. This is also the way to block salt spray.

7820





43

[SantaMonica]

Slime!!

Well, this is good. Dark slime has the most nutrients concentrated in it, taken out of the water. Just clean it often (with a brush, in your sink) before it lets go.

Screens, like on waterfalls, have a very hard time holding on to slime (especially black slime) so you rarely see any. They just have no growth. But rocky textures, like our Green Grabber® growth surface, holds on to slime very well, so you see it a lot.


7836





44

[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx in a well-seasoned saltwater tank. Growth like this is not common on new tanks with new rocks, which normally get more of a light brown slime to do the filtering.

Air tubing at the bottom should be kept brushed clean.

7848





45

[SantaMonica]

Here's a customer's HOG1 or 1x in saltwater, although it's also fine with freshwater because is does not have strings. The growth should eventually spread to the sides after a few more cleanings.

This amount growth is about average for saltwater. New tanks will usually be much less, and more of a brownish slime; older tanks can get thick sometimes, and fill up the compartment (but not always).

7852





46

[SantaMonica]

The smallest upflow algae scrubber® in the world: Here is a customer's DROP.2 in saltwater, which can also be used in tiny freshwater tanks. Note how the strong LED light makes a growth ring in the middle.

Customer also added screen to the door (on the right).

Battery is not used, and is just to see how small the scrubber is.

7863






47

[SantaMonica]

A big benefit of natural algal filtration is that it grow pods, naturally. So not only does the algae absorb ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, CO2 and metals, but copepods and amphipods get lots of natural food (that's what they eat - algae) so they multiply a lot. And they are protected inside the scrubber, until they fall out of the holes. And, the amphipods get to eat the copepods too. Bristleworms and fireworms get to eat everything. Then the tube worms and forams (foraminifera) stretch out into the turbulent flow to catch food particles. Natural reef rock is covered with all this stuff in the periphyton which grows on the rocks (at least until it's lifted out into the air, which kills a lot of it.)

Here, our DROP1.4 scrubber® has been running for months in a saltwater reef pond, and was never cleaned. So the life developed naturally in it, and consumed the algae as fast as it grew which is why there is not much growth visible. If you want natural food production, this is how to do it. But only do it with an upflow scrubber, because a waterfall will let go of the growth down the drain.

For filtering, you would want to clean/harvest periodically and not let it continue to grow. Cleaning, especially in freshwater, removes most of the pods so there is less consumers of the growth, and thus more growth to absorb nutrients.


7878

[SantaMonica]

Here is what most people want: Packed, fluffy green growth not only on the Green Grabber® strings but also on the Green Grabber® rocks, as shown here on this customers SURF4 or 4x.

However, this green growth is not always needed. Dark/black slime is great at absorbing nutrients out of the water when the nutrients are very high. And, light brown growth is good when nutrients are not too high.

But it's ok to have your salad and eat it too :)

7892




48

[SantaMonica]

This customer's SURF2 or 2x is in saltwater, and is one of those rare times when pure Cladophora ("angel hair") growth occurs. Even this one example, however, will probably have different growth in a month or two, especially if feeding increases (more nutrients) or if rocks are moved around (kills periphyton on rocks, which makes more nutrients).

Cladophora is great for fish-feed, and salads.

7903





49

[SantaMonica]

Here is a common growth pattern, shown in a customer's SURF2 or 2x in saltwater. Some green hair is on the Green Grabber® strings, and some dark/black slime is on the Green Grabber rocks. Although there are some differences between the materials of the rocks and the strings, the main reason for the difference in growth is probably the proximity to the lights: More light is in the middle, and more light usually grows lighter/green color growth unless the nutrients in the water are too low:

7904




50

[SantaMonica]

Here's a customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx in saltwater, looking through the sump glass, with the growth light removed. The Green Grabber® strings are shown touching (and rubbing) the glass, and when bubbles are rapid this has the effect of cleaning growth off of the glass so that more light gets through.

7921





51

[SantaMonica]

Customer's SURF2 or SURF2x floating on a saltwater display. Can't tell which model without looking at how many red lights there are in the lid though.

It's a large surface area display, so the Surf does not block the display lighting. Of course you could also float it in a sump.

Surf models, like our Hog and Drop models, can't overflow like box-style waterfall scrubbers, which often overflow even with an emergency drain (we invented the box-style in 2008).

And like all of our blacked-out designs, all light is kept inside. you can even sleep next to it. Try that with a box-style waterfall.

And of course, no 240/120 volts or metal ever goes near the water. Just low voltage, high PAR LEDs. Highest PAR of any scrubber light per square inch of growth surface.



7926

[SantaMonica]

This is a HOG1x (you can tell by the black LED heat sink at the bottom of the left side) in saltwater. It shows a few interesting things:

1. The growth is hand-harvestable (in saltwater) once you pull the inside part out of the water. For freshwater, you always need to brush it out with a toothbrush because freshwater growth is much thinner and more slimy.

2. The growth is concentrated in the middle, where the red light is strongest.

3. The growth is pushed up against the glass, preventing growth on the glass itself.

4. The top 2 cm of the inside (wet) part is above the waterline; this recirculates water inside the unit which makes nutrients lower inside the unit than outside, and is great for high nutrient water. Also it runs more quiet because no air bubbles are rising up, and it keeps almost all salt spray inside.

7930 7931




52

[SantaMonica]

This customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx in saltwater shows a combination of slime and green hair. The Green Grabber® strings have most of growth, and should be cleaned by scraping the strings with your fingers. The Green Grabber rock textures can be brushed in a sink, but don't brush the strings because your brush will get stuck in them.

For freshwater, the HOG models without strings are best because freshwater only grows super slimey Spirogyro species, and must always be brushed in your sink because it's not thick enough to pull out by hand. So by not having strings, you don't have worry about your brush getting stuck in strings...


7935





53

[SantaMonica]

Here is a super packed SURF4 or 4x scrubber® floating in a saltwater sump, and the growth is so thick that you cannot see the Green Grabber® strings or white rocks; you can however see the 4 bubbling outlets, and the red lights of the LED lid that are on the right. Most of the growth is Cladophora species, usually with some Ulva Fasciata mixed in. All edible, and great fish food and fertilizer too.

When UAS® bubble upflow scrubbers grow like this you can reach in and grab the growth without having to turn anything off or take anything apart; however if it's still new, or the growth is not thick, you will need to take it to your sink for cleaning.

As usual, don't expect or try to get the same growth with yours... the goal is not growth, it's filtering. Other types of growth don't look as fun, but still filter just as well (especially black slime, if you brush it out soon enough).

If you have freshwater, even with a sump, you are better off with a model without strings (because strings get stuck in your freshwater cleaning brush) such as the HOG1 or 2 or 2x scrubber® to hang on to the glass, or a DROP.6 or .6x or 1.2 or 1.2x scrubber® to drop to the bottom. Waterfalls are not good at all for freshwater because the long growth flows out the bottom and gets stuck in pumps.

7939

[SantaMonica]

Here is a customer's old SURF2x in saltwater. This old model has the old light-frame which did not block the red light from getting out like the current models do. Light is the same though, pure red 660nm deep red, just like natural seaweed uses at the beach and reefs.

Some people ask why the inside of the SURF is white, which you can see with the algae pulled out in the second photo. The reason is because white reflects the red light back to the algae at the farthest point away from the light, which is where the light would be weakest. As opposed to a waterfall, where light travels mostly through air, the growth in a bubble upflow scrubber has to go through algae most of the way. So reflecting it back to the algae keeps it brighter, using the same wattage light.

The growth in this photo is almost all Cladophora. Add some vinegar and olive oil, and it's a great salad.


7947 7948 7949





54

[SantaMonica]

OK, this is more thick green growth then most people will get, but this customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx in saltwater is still fun to look at. This is mostly Ulva Fasciata, which looks like Easter basket filler; you can tell it's not Ulva Lactuca because there are no big "leaves", just thin strands...

7956





55

[SantaMonica]

This is a customer's SURF4 or 4x (or possibly half of a SURF8 or 8x) in saltwater. SURF models are best used only for saltwater, because of the strings which fill in the middle section for growth. Some SURF models never grows this green, or this thick, and sometimes grow black slime, but that's what the chemistry causes in those tanks (and, black slime does the best filtering of all algae types!).

For freshwater, it is better to not have strings; strings grow great in freshwater but are harder to brush the growth off of with a brush. So, our no-strings models like the smaller HOG and DROP models are great for that.

Nevertheless, here is a packed SURF model waiting for you to reach in a grab...

7961




56

[SantaMonica]

This customer's HOG1.3 scrubber® in freshwater shows how the Green Grabber® rocky surfaces on the back panel hold on to loose slimey growth. This is a good example of how freshwater growth is different, and needs different attachment surfaces. Although this type of thin non-hair growth can occur in saltwater, it's much more common in freshwater and does not hold on well to screens, or strings, and this is why the HOG1.3 (and HOG.5 and 1 and 1x and 2 and 2x) do not have screens or strings.

7963

[SantaMonica]

This customer's HOG.5 show a rare pattern of growth only in the middle. The growth is Ulva Fasciata and is common in saltwater; it looks just like Easter basket grass and is probably the favorite food of tangs.

This scrubber would be too small to do enough filtering for a typical tank with tangs, but if the only purpose is to feed the tangs, then it would supply a good bit of food a few times a week, by opening the case and letting the tangs pull the growth off.

This customer also made larger holes in the case, but this is not required unless you want the growth to flow out and feed the fish automatically. Matter of fact, the fish will learn to pull the growth out of the holes themselves, and will thus auto-trim the growth, so that no cleaning or harvesting is ever needed by you.

This same auto-feeding process happens in freshwater, although the growth is the thinner Cladophora (angel hair) or Spirogyra growth which goldfish, guppies, and of course herbivores love.

7965





57

[SantaMonica]

This is a customer's SURF2 or 2x or 2xx that has been running for quite a while in saltwater. In this photo, the water has been drained out (unlike most floating scrubber photos) so the growth has settled on the bottom, and has mixed with some darker slime where the light is very low (lower light, with higher nutrients, makes dark slime). Also some brown slime is around the edge of the lid light, which is also a low-light area. The Green Grabber rocky surfaces hold on to the slime well.

The strings can barely be seen, but are on the right side:

7968





58

[SantaMonica]

This customer in the UK has growth that almost looks like green candy in this SURF2 or 2x or 2xx. This scrubber is probably only a few weeks old, because the white Green Grabber rock walls have no growth on them yet. But they will.

This type of Surf growth is very rare, but the beauty of scrubbers is that they grow what they need to grow based on conditions. This one will probably start getting some brown slime on the Green Grabber rock walls, and then on the bottom underneath the green. If more food is given to the tank, the bright green will darken up to consume more of the nutrients (darker growth has more nutrients).

Also very neat with Surf models with this growth, is that you can just reach in and get a handful. Then just set the light back on it, and you are done. Of course if you are getting dark slime because of very high nutrients in the water, you'll still need to take it to your sink for a brushing.

7979




59

[SantaMonica]

Another photo of two SURF2 or 2x or 2xx scrubbers from the UK customer above. Here you can see the white edges of the Green Grabber rock surfaces are much more covered in growth, which is the normal process because algae eventually covers all rough surfaces that have the proper light and air/water interface turbulence.

Of more importance here, is the fact that there are two scrubbers instead of one. Two smaller scrubbers is always preferred over one larger one, because scrubbers actually remove nutrients from the water, but do so mostly when they are growing thick hair or thick slime algae. When you clean a scrubber all the way down to the white reflective surfaces, you don't have any more thick growth for a few days, and you will see the difference in how long your display glass stays clean and other ways. So by having a second scrubber that you clean on alternating schedules (one every 5 days, for example), you always have the other one growing thick and filtering.

Other aquarium filters, however, such as protein skimmers, filter socks, etc, don't remove any nutrients at all, and thus it doesn't matter if you only have one of them because cleaning it won't change anything.

7991





60

[SantaMonica]

Slime! Only the Green Grabber® white rock surfaces can hold onto slime really well, like this customer's HOG1 scrubber®...

7993

Sometimes people see lots of pictures of green-hair-algae packed scrubbers, and then worry when their own scrubber is only growing slime. Well, here is some good news: slime pulls out more nutrients from the water than GHA does! And this goes for dark, and especially black, colors of slime.

Now this may sound the opposite of what you thought. But think about it: Scrubbers usually start off growing slime first. Why? Because nutrients in the water are usually higher when a scrubber is first installed on a "problem" tank. So, slime can handle larger amounts of nutrients at one time. This slime starts off first, coating the surfaces, and quickly pulling nutrients out of the water. If nutrients in the water are higher, the slime is darker, which is even more dense with nutrients. As nutrients in the water come down, the slime then grows less dark. Interestingly, the slime coating also prevents GHA from attaching. Slime is king! So why then does everyone get lots of GHA, if slime works so well?

Because slime can't hold on. Slime is all about holding nutrients; not holding onto surfaces. Holding onto surfaces requires growing cellulose root structures that can hold on better. Cellulose structures like the roots and branches of trees don't do any filtering of air, but hold on great! The leaves of course do all the filtering of the air. But leaves can't hold on to the ground, so the roots do that instead.

In algae, the softer structures like slime do the filtering, but can't hold on. So GHA evolved a more solid structure to be able to hang on. Bryopsis takes this even further with "roots" that dig into rocks to get nutrients from inside them. Even GHA has the ability to use enzymes to dissolve into silica rock as a way to anchor itself. But slime just has trouble holding on, because again, all it's structure is for absorbing nutrients, not for mechanical attachment.

Slime holds on best to rocky flat surfaces, like our Green Grabber rocky textures. Slime does not hold on that well to plastic screens like those used in waterfalls. So rocky texture scrubbers will pull nutrients out faster, and stay covered in slime longer, thus providing better filtering in high nutrient water.

But all slime washes away if not harvested soon enough, such as every 3 to 5 days. So to get the benefits of slime, especially black slime, harvest as soon as the surfaces are covered. This usually involves brushing under running tap water. This will pull nutrients out of the water so that GHA may subsequently attach and grow.

Slime is good.

[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx scrubber® in saltwater showing green hair algae attachment to the Green Grabber® strings. Sometimes growth attaches more to the Green Grabber® rocks (slime does this) and sometimes attaches more to the strings, like this one. One note about this particular growth, is that it is very light green color, meaning it needs more iron (just like spinach). So you could feed more nori seaweed, or dose some iron, or just double your feeding.

7999

[SantaMonica]

Here is a customer's DROP.6 on an early installation, probably just a few days. Can't tell if it's fresh or saltwater though, because the growth is very black slime which grows this way in very high nutrients anywhere.

More important is to see how the growth follows the LED red light pattern, from the LED on the right, towards the left, as it widens.

This 1-LED small scrubber may not be enough for the very high nutrients in this tank, but if the black slime is toothbrushed off in a sink often (like every 3 days), then nutrients may eventually come down in the water enough so that the the growth may turn into green hair.

8007

[SantaMonica]

Our super rough Green Grabber® white rocky surface holds on to slime better than anything else, include screens. When nutrients are very high, you will always get dark or black slime growth because dark slime absorbs the most nutrients, the fastest. But dark slime is slippery, so you won't see much dark slime on waterfall screens (not even our RAIN screen) because the slime lets go. But as shown here on this customers HOG1.3 the slime holds on well, waiting for you to take it to the sink for brushing clean. Or, just let the fish and snails in for a free live feeding:

8008

[SantaMonica]

Time to harvest! This customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx (all of these have the strings shown) in saltwater is full of dark green hair algae and slime. Cleaning this requires taking it to your sink and running tap water over it while you brush out all the Green Grabber® strings and white rocky surfaces.

8009

[SantaMonica]

This customer's HOG1 or 1x in saltwater has a very thick clump of Ulva Fasciata, which can probably just be pulled out by hand instead of taking it to a sink. Or of course, just give it to the tangs and snails. If the main purpose is for feeding instead of filtering, then this growth will just flow out of the holes in the case, and the tangs will help by pulling it out. You could make the holes larger for this, just don't make them big enough for any animals to get inside:

8010





62

[SantaMonica]

Here is a good example of dark growth that has pulled out a lot of nutrients out of the water. It needs to be brushed out in a sink with running water, because it's too slimey to grab with your fingers. Not sure if this is fresh or saltwater, because this dark growth is similar in both, but since this model is a DROP1.4 it is probably saltwater.


8013

[SantaMonica]

Our DROP.2 scrubber® is the smallest in the world, about the size of a flip phone. It fits into the back of any and every nano compartment there it. Also of course it could just drop into the display, or even a fish bowl, if the fish are not small enough to get into the circulation holes.

8016

[SantaMonica]

This HOG1 or 1x on a customer's saltwater tank show a typical growth pattern after it runs for 6 months or a year. Every single grain of white Green Grabber® surface has growth attached, and you would not be able to brush the surfaces totally clean, because the growth would stay so attached that lots of growth would remain. If a scrubber reaches this stage, then it will survive almost anything except completely drying out. And, our UAS® upflow scrubbers (unlike waterfalls) can never dry out, because they are always underwater:

8017





63

[SantaMonica]

This SURF2 or 2x looks like it is just starting out in saltwater. You can see some green growth in the corners, but the middle is still a light tan slime color.

In another week or so the compartment should be mostly green, and ready for a first hand-cleaning.

8023

[SantaMonica]

Here's a great example of the power of bubbles. When the bubbles rub a rough surface, like the Green Grabber® white rocky textures on this DROP scrubber®, they create a turbulent air/water interface like waves hitting rocks at the beach, which causes the insulative boundary layer of water around the algal cells to be removed, thus allowing more nutrients to travel from the water to the algal cells. This allows the algae to absorb nutrients and grow (filter) faster. It's kind of like when a turbulent winter wind blows your jacket off, and more of the cold enters your body.

The turbulent air/water interface is described in Walter Adey's "Dynamic Aquaria" book; he invented the algae scrubber concept in the late 1970's.

8024

[SantaMonica]

This HOG1 or 1x in saltwater shows a thick, dark slime. Slime pulls a lot of nutrients out of the water, but needs to be brushed out often so that the white Green Grabber rocks show again.

It's thick growth like this which pulls nutrients away from chaeto, and can kill chaeto five times as big. This is also the growth which can grow right on the chaeto itself, out-competing it and keeping light from reaching the chaeto. Dark slime wins!

Note that the top part is still white where it was above the waterline. This recirculates water and nutrients inside the case, which helps it to grow in very high nutrient water because the water rubs the algae repeatedly before exiting. This particular customer also inserted tubing into the top so the unit can be submerged without making bubbles in the rest of the aquarium, but this is not needed.

8025





64

[SantaMonica]

To be notified when a new growth photo is posted, subscribe HERE (http://algaescrubber.net/forums/subscription.php?do=addsubscription&t=3640)

This customer's DROP1.2 scrubber looks to be brand new, and has the black plastic shade screen in place. This screen is included, to reduce the very strong red light (660 nanometer red) which reflects off of the bright white (and rough) Green Grabber algal attachment material when new. After the white surfaces get covered by some color of growth, reflection is less, and you can remove the black screen:

8030

[SantaMonica]

Customer's DROP1.2 scrubber® showing how the super rough Green Grabber® rocky hard surfaces hold on to slime much better than plastic screens can. This is why you don't see thick slime on waterfall plastic screens very often... because it detaches and falls off, getting stuck in your other filters or floating around in your display. And fish don't really like to eat slime, so once it lets go you have lost your filter, made a mess, and not fed anybody.

The Green Grabber® super rough rocky surfaces hold on to that slime though, like rocks at the beach, so you can take the filter to your sink and brush the slime down the drain. Or better, brush it into your garden as a super fertilzer. More info:

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


8034

[SantaMonica]

This customer's DROP1.4x is a good example of the strength of the power-LEDs that are built into the Green Grabber® white rocky surfaces. When a light has enough illumination wattage, algae will be prevented ("photo-inhibited") from growing on the light itself, and you can see this on the 2 lights on the back, and the 2 lights on the left, that are still white with no growth on them (there are also 2 on the right that are not visible.)

8035

Compare this to the weak lights that come with chaeto reactors; they cover themselves with growth and thus block light from reaching the chaeto. And if you don't wipe those lights clean, the filtering stops. The only way to avoid this problem with chaeto reactors is to use our GEM5® lights inside them; the light illumination wattages of GEM5 lights are the same as shown with this DROP1.4x, and this is why a GEM5 light will be used in our new SLIP.7 chaeto/waterfall/upflow combo reactor scrubber.

Don't be confused with lights that say they are high wattage lights; this is just the wattage at the plug or the power supply box which makes heat. This is not the wattage of light that is made into illumination. If it were, you would not get growth on the lights.

This particular DROP scrubber® has medium growth, mostly on the strings, and not yet on the door.

[SantaMonica]

Since algae is so good at pulling out nutrients, when you clean (harvest) it, it temporarily slows its filtering until it grows back. One trick is to harvest less, so that there is always a good amount of algae remaining, but that requires more often cleaning. Another other trick is to have 2 separate scrubbers, where you clean each one alternatly so that each one grows for 5 to 10 days. This is done in this video.

8038



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYGa1gr29zc

[SantaMonica]

This customer's HOG3 or 3x or 3xx is overly packed with a very light color of green hair algae. The middle (at the bottom) is more green, because it is getting more nurients (iron in this case) delivered to it by the upflowing bubbles. But the sides are getting less bubbles, and thus less iron, and stay yellow just like a plant that needs fertilizer. Thick growth like this makes it harder for bubbles to reach all areas of the growth.

So this could be done:

Harvest more often so it does not get as thick, which blocks nutrient flow.

Increase bubbles to deliver more nutrients.

Reduce hours of light.

Feed more, especially more iron in nori, etc.

Add a second scrubber, so each one takes longer to get thick, and clean them alternately.



8040

[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG1 or HOG1x inside wet part, lifted out of saltwater. This amount of growth is an average amount, after operating for a few months, for a small 10 to 20 gallon tank with a few small fish. If used on a larger tank, this amount would be useful mostly to feed back to the fish, since it is not enough for all the filtering.


8041

[SantaMonica]

This overly-stuffed DROP1.2 or 1.2x needed a good cleaning/brushing a while ago. Not only does the growth block water and bubble flow (which is why the growth is bright yellow, because it can't get iron and nutrients), but it can block the circulation holes in the case so outside water can't get in. So a good brushing (including the door, on the left) in a kitchen sink will fix it. Take that growth, and fertilize your garden with it.

Note also, the top of the yellow which makes a line across the top of the case. This is the waterline on the inside; if the top air hole gets blocked by growth, this waterline will drop lower and lower as the inside fills with air (because the air can't get out).

8042

[SantaMonica]

This is the top side of a customer's HOG1.3 scrubber (the inside wet part) in saltwater. You can tell it's a HOG1.3 because the Green Grabber® white rocky surfaces don't go up the sides; they are on the back wall only.

The reason some of the Green Grabber white rocky surface are still white is because the top was kept partially out of the water about 1 inch, which keeps the bubbles and salt spray inside the case; you can see the air hole at the top. If used for freshwater, the salt spray is not a concern but the bubbles still are, and they are kept inside as well.

The growth itself looks like dark slime, but it's actually just very thick green hair mixed with chaeto that is matted down because it's taken out of the water for a photo. It's ready for a brushing in the kitchen sink!

8047

[SantaMonica]

This photo of a customer's SURF8 or 8x shows one side of it (it has two comparments). It is floating in a saltwater sump (Surf models are best for saltwater), and the air bubbles can be seen in four places, where they come up through the growth.

A neat thing about bubbles coming up through the growth is that the bubbles create a vertical column, or tunnel or pathway, through the growth. This allows the red light above the growth (which is turned off here) to travel further down into the growth, and this helps the growth gets thicker without blocking too much light deeper down. The growth in this photo is about 2 inches (5 cm) thick, and will require two handfuls to take out.

At this stage of growth, you can reach in and grab the growth and pull it out. When new, however, or when dealing with very high nutrients in the water, the growth will be slime and you will need to take the whole thing to your sink for a brushing out.

8048

[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG2 scrubber® with the red light removed from the glass. This unit should have been cleaned much sooner, because after the white rocky Green Grabber® surfaces are full of growth, the glass then gets covered with growth. And since glass is smooth and cannot hold on to growth, the upflowing air bubbles will eventually peel the growth off the glass, as it has started to do in this photo.

Interestingly, growth on the glass increases the total amount of growth, and thus increases filtering, up until it blocks enough light reaching the scrubber surfaces, or until the growth peels off the glass.

Solution: Clean the glass and the scrubber sooner.


8049

[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG2 or HOG3 before harvest. Can't tell which one, because a HOG2 does not have strings, but a HOG3 does, and strings might be in there somewhere:

8050

[SantaMonica]

Customer's DROP.6 single-LED upflow in saltwater, with big dark growth ring. The open space in the ring allows water to get to it, to prevent die-off of the thick dark growth. This allows growth to go a few days longer before harvesting. However, it is already time to harvest this one.


8061

[SantaMonica]

Customer's small size HOG.5 scrubber® in saltwater. Most of the growth appears to be Cladophora, with some Ulva Fasciata. Since the HOG.5 only has one LED in the middle, you can see this is where the growth is concentrated. Also it looks like there is some coralline spots on the upper left section.

This customer's scrubber could now be set in the display to feed the fish, or the growth could be pulled off by hand and fed to the fish. Or of course it could be brushed off in a bucket or sink and then put in a garden as fertilizer. Feeling brave?... put the greenest growth in your warm bath to have your very own seaweed bath like they offer in some skin spas.

8062

[SantaMonica]

Many people with larger tanks want a single, larger size algae scrubber. Probably because it seems simpler. And it certainly is cheaper. But when the focus is more filtering (not more pods), it's better to have two or more smaller scrubbers instead of one larger one. This is because scrubbers only filter when they have algae growing inside, and if you clean/harvest it completely, there is little filtering for a few days until it grows back. And cleaning/harvesting it with freshwater in your sink will kill many of the pods that will otherwise eat your algae, thus increasing filtering more.

It's certainly possible to only clean half of a scrubber, or to just partially harvest it. But for higher nutrient water, cleaning all the way down to the white Green Grabber® rocky surface on a HOG, DROP or SURF model, or the white Green Grabber screen on a RAIN model (including inside the screen holes), helps the white surface reflect more light back to the roots of the growth, allowing for more days of attached growth to occur before it lets go.

If the focus instead is more pods (and not more filtering), then you want to leave as much growth in the scrubber as you can, for as long as you can, and clean/harvest it minimally so that the pods grow and multiply more. So multiple scrubbers are not needed. And in saltwater, if you can clean/harvest with saltwater (or just harvest in-place without removing the scrubber), then you will have the most pods possible for feeding. Pods also occur in freshwater tanks, but less so.

Here are two HOG3 units which have strings for saltwater; for freshwater you don't need the strings, and a HOG2 or 2x is fine:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYGa1gr29zc

[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG1 which is a small scrubber, being used on a sump of a large tank, mostly for pods:

8064

[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG1 or 1x Scrubber® in saltwater. It's rare to get a full harvest this quick, but here it is. Usually all the Green Grabber® white beach rock surfaces get coated with slime for several weeks first, and need brushings out in a sink, but this one went straight to green hair algae (looks like Cladophora) right away. Freshwater often does this as fast, but not saltwater. Anyway it's ready for feeding, fertilizing, skin wraps, seaweed baths, and salads :)

8065

[SantaMonica]

More HOG fun with this HOG1 or 1x in saltwater. There is an unknown white spot in the middle; probably is a growth ring with brand new Green Grabber beach rocky surface below it. This scrubber will need to be brushed in the sink, because this growth is not long and strong enough to be pulled out by hand.

The growth is light yellowish green, especially in the middle, meaning strong illumination compared to nutrients in the water. After cleaning, the white surfaces will reflect more light, and the growth might be even more light colored, so they might need to be reduced by two hours a day. Or you could feed more.

8066

[SantaMonica]

This is Jim Stime's customer's outdoor sump with a SURF4x (also has a HOG3 or 3x or 3xx) that has been growing a bit too many days and needs a harvest, and also a good brush cleaning of the light. The growth tends to seek out the light, and in this case can attach (somewhat) to the acrylic. Like they say, "just follow the light"...

8067

[SantaMonica]

Customer's SURF2 or 2x scrubber® in saltwater, where he put mustard on the algae before eating. Actually, the yellow is just lack of iron, or too much light, or lack of bubble flow. Anyway it needs cleaning down to the white Green Grabber® white strings and rocks. He can feed more now, and harvest more often.

8077

[SantaMonica]

Customer's SURF4 scrubber® floating in a big outdoor saltwater sump.

8086

[SantaMonica]

Feeding time :)

8088

[SantaMonica]

Vegan lasagna? Avocado dip? Spinach soufflé?

No, just a customer's fully grown HOG3 scrubber® in saltwater. Most HOG scrubbers never grow this much, so don't expect yours to. But this one did.

8090

[SantaMonica]

Customer's SURF2 scrubber®, lifted out of a saltwater sump.

8091

[SantaMonica]

HOG1 or 1x with lots of slime, ready for a brushing in a kitchen sink. Lots of nutrients in this slime, that was removed from the water.


8099

[SantaMonica]

Customer's two HOG3 units taken out of a saltwater sump. The top one is after a short initial growth time, and the bottom one is after a longer time of weekly cleaning, growing, cleaning, growing.

8104

[SantaMonica]

Customer's large sump for a freshwater cichlid tank, which has two HOG2 units (one on the front of the sump, and one on the back). In this case he could have put both units on the front, but he probably had space to walk around to the back side.

8109

[SantaMonica]

Customer's SURF2 or 2x filling in

8117

[SantaMonica]

Customer's SURF2 or 2x or 2xx filled in. This is with the water drained out. It is very thick and could be pulled out with your fingers.


8123

[SantaMonica]

Customer's DROP1.2x from a saltwater tank. Lots of slime, pulling out lots of nutrients, but needs brushing more often. Every 3 to 5 days probably. Also note the light brown spots where the strong red LEDs shine through the growth.

8125

[SantaMonica]

Customers DROP1.4x from saltwater, with unusually thick Cladophora growth all over, including on the Green Grabber® surfaces on the door. This growth is easily pulled out with your hands.

8126

[SantaMonica]

HOG3 or 3x or 3xx scrubber® showing what sometimes happens in very high nutrient water: Very dark/black slime oily growth has trouble holding on, and lets go, leaving white spots. The Green Grabber® rocky textures hold on as good as can be expected (much better than waterfall screens), but can be further helped by maximizing light to 24 hours, and brushing clean every 3 days. Here is more info on slime:

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

8128

[SantaMonica]

All our upflow algae scrubbers® stay underwater all the time, so if the power goes out, the algae stays alive for a long time. And you can just let the fish eat the growth, so that you don't add new nutrients to the system when the power is out and there is no filtering. Pictured is a HOG scrubber® feeding some freshwater fish.

8131

[SantaMonica]

HOG3 or 3x or 3xx from a saltwater sump. Looks like the water level in the sump was very very low (the green part), or the air outlet hole at the top was blocked which caused the unit to fill with air and push the water level down. So this is a good example of how different light levels, and different nutrient levels, affect growth.

The upper part was out of the water, and only got slight spraying or splashing as bubbles popped at the top of the green area. So it got very little nutrients from the water. And, since there was no water to reduce light, the light was the strongest there. So you end up with very orange slime growth that can be peeled off with your fingers sometimes. It still does filter well if you remove it before it gets too thick.

The lower part was in the water, so it got lots of nutrients from the water, and a bit less light because of the water. So you get dark green growth. Darker has more nutrients but blocks light sooner, so if you clean it sooner then you can get more filtering.

So all types of situations and growth can grow and filter well.

8135

[SantaMonica]

HOG1x growth lifted up; was growing in a larger saltwater sump, but is used for free feeding.

8144

[SantaMonica]

Here is a HOG2 scrubber® that looks like it came out of saltwater, although it could be freshwater because this slime growth looks the same. The upper section was out of the water, and you can see where the growth has grown around some bubbles. The upper growth may not look as nice as the green, but it can filter just as much as long as you brush it out often (such as every 5 days). It also demonstrates the different type of growth in a higher-light and lower-nutrient condition that occurs above the water line.

This type of slime growth is hard to grow on a waterfall screen because it lets go and flows away, but since the Green Grabber® rocky white textures are such a large rough area compared to a screen (no wasted open holes), and also because the rocks are natural silica rock material that algae attaches to at the beach, the slime can stay attached much longer. More slime info: http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?3740-Slime-is-the-best-filter

8148

[SantaMonica]

This customer's HOG2 or 2x is in freshwater and shows some very fine Cladophora growth which looks like green slime:

8167

[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG scrubber® taken out of a saltwater sump. This one would be a HOG3 or 3x or 3xx because the wet side is the same; the difference is in the lights, which you can't see here.

Some HOG scrubbers grow mostly on the strings, and some grow mostly on the Green Grabber® white rocky textures (dark slime does this), but this one is growing on both.

8177

[SantaMonica]

HOG2 or 2x scrubber® full of dark or black slime. Slime usually fills in first, and the slime grabs the bulk of the nutrients in the water while the grabbing is easy. But brush that slime out often, because it does not hold on well and will let go and flow away.


8194

[SantaMonica]

This customer's HOG2 or 2x scrubber® in a freshwater tank was growing very thick on the Green Grabber® white rocky surfaces (left photo), then the growth started growing on the glass where the red light shines through (right photo). So when the HOG is removed from the glass, the fish and snails can eat live algae from the glass, and if you keep the HOG tray in the water too, then the growth in it can also be eaten.

8201

[SantaMonica]

Customer's HOG scrubber® which could be a HOG2, 2x, 3, 3x or 3xx, but you can't tell without knowing if there are strings inside, and without knowing how many LED's are in the light. But the growth is definitely in saltwater, and it looks like it is all Cladophora species. The pathway down the middle is probably where bubbles found a way to travel through, and, the space at the top is the waterline inside the unit (a small air pocket). This amount of growth is between 2 and 3 cubes of feeding per day.


8206

[SantaMonica]

Customer's hand-harvesting of a DROP1.4 scrubber after it has been growing a while. You can't always hand-harvest, but it's neat when you can. And of course, some of the growth could be fed right back to the tank.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XebTP07jkGQ

8217

[SantaMonica]

Opening a SURF4 or 4x to see the growth in the box and on the light.

8218

[SantaMonica]

HOG1 or 1x scrubber® pulled out of saltwater. The green is mostly Cladophora species. Below that is darker slime, caused by shading from the green (less light causes darker growth). Should probably clean a day or so earlier so that the dark occurs less; dark holds a lot of nutrients but will let go sooner and clog the holes. And a good brushing down to the white Green Grabber® surface is best.


8224

[SantaMonica]

Six weeks of a HOG2 or 2x in a new freshwater system

8229

[SantaMonica]

DROP.6x which was in very high nutrient water, causing black slime to grow (black slime consumes more nutrients than any other growth). Note the growth rings which still get through the slime. This type of black slime will not hold on to a typical waterfall screen. More info:

http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?3713-Growth-Rings
http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?3740-Slime-is-the-best-filter

8230

[SantaMonica]

A very packed HOG1x from a saltwater system. The "X" looks neat, but not sure what caused it.


8232

[SantaMonica]

DROP.6x with growth pulled out, from a saltwater system. The DROP models without strings can be used in fresh or salt. And the growth of course can be fed to the fish.


8236

[SantaMonica]

Dark slime in a HOG3 or 3x or 3xx from a saltwater tank. Once again it's important to remember that dark slime filters the best. It holds the most nutrients, but must be brushed cleaned more often (3 to 5 days).

8239

[SantaMonica]

This is not mud. It is living, growing, macroalgal slime that has consumed nutrients out of the water. The worm-like things are Green Grabber® strings attached to the bottom of the Green Grabber rocky walls.

8244

[SantaMonica]

Everyone clap for Cladophora (species). This can grow in salt or fresh, and tends to be a bit thicker in salt, as shown here. This could feed several large fish for a few days.

8255

[SantaMonica]

Growing some food, and doing some filtering, in freshwater with a HOG.5 scrubber


8260

[SantaMonica]

Although black slime absorbs the most nutrients from the water
(see http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?3740-Slime-is-the-best-filter)
it can cover up weak LED lights easily. But the strong 660nm deep red LED lights in
DROP scrubbers® cut through the slime to enable growth on the other side of the box.

8262

[SantaMonica]

Here is a small HOG1x scrubber® on the front of a large saltwater sump, growing some live food to be fed later. The red light on the glass does not matter because the sump in in a cabinet.

8264

[SantaMonica]

A reminder that you are never alone when you have an algae monster nearby...

8265

[SantaMonica]

This SURF8 or 8x scrubber® has dark slimey strings in both compartments. This is from saltwater (strings are best for salt) and shows how the dark slime is only on the Green Grabber® strings, and not the rocky side walls. Some growth just prefers strings, and some prefers rocky walls; none of this growth would hold on to a waterfall screen very well, however.

8267

[SantaMonica]

This DROP1.2 scrubber® is over due for a cleaning:

8278

[SantaMonica]

This looks like a HOG1 from high nutrient saltwater. After a few weekly brushings, the dark growth should start turning lighter, and the growth ring should fill in...

8283

[SantaMonica]

This is a freshly baked algae casserole. I mean, it's actually the saltwater growth of a HOG3x or 3xx

8285

[SantaMonica]

This HOG.5 scrubber® is a bit small for filtering this freshwater tank, but plenty big enough to grow fresh food for it.

8292

[SantaMonica]

Small but mighty HOG1x scrubber growth in saltwater.

8293

[SantaMonica]

SURF4x packed and ready to harvest. Looks like two of the four bubble pathways have filled in.

8296

[SantaMonica]

First week's growth in a DROP.6 scrubber®. Sometimes it is black slime (high nutrients), and sometimes it is yellowish (low nutrients), but this one is probably from medium nutrients.

8300

[SantaMonica]

Green Worms! Actually, this SURF2 or 2x scrubber® is just showing an ultra rare type of growth which "fluffs up" on the Green Grabber® strings. It's not better; just different. And it needs to be cleaned off of the strings using your fingers, in your sink, because you generally don't want to use a brush on the strings (although you can still brush the white rocky walls).

8303

[SantaMonica]

This looks like a DROP1.2 from saltwater. The growth is mostly Cladophora species in this case, and it is sticking to the door a little bit even though there are no Green Grabber® rocky surfaces there. This growth is easily pulled out with your fingers, and fed to your fish. In freshwater you would not get this; you would instead get a bright green slime that would need brushing in your sink (but could still be fed to the fish).

Note the white spot in the lower right area; it is kept free of growth because the high brightness of the 660nm deep red light is more than enough to cause photo-inhibition on it's surface, meaning the growth is "burned off" of the LED, which keeps the light bright.

8315

[SantaMonica]

This SURF4 or 4x (cannot tell without counting the number of LEDs) is overgrown and sticking to the light.

8316

[SantaMonica]

This SURF4 or 4x has the water drained out

8329

[SantaMonica]

This tiny DROP.2 is starting to fill in with slime

8338

[SantaMonica]

This looks like a SURF2 or 2x or 2xx lifted up out of saltwater. Reach in and grab :)

8347

[SantaMonica]

This HOG3 or 3x or 3xx scrubber® is partially lifted out of the water, and is still bubbling on the right side. It might look like the algae (looks like Cladophora sp) is just sitting in a bowl, but it's actually attached very strongly to the Green Grabber® rocky textures and strings and won't fall out. A tang would live to be swimming in there.

8348

[SantaMonica]

The two growth compartments of the SURF8 scrubber® let you clean/harvest one side while letting the other side continue growing and filtering. And only 3 inches of water surface depth is needed; all other space below the scrubber is open for your rocks, pumps, etc.

8352

[SantaMonica]

SURF2 harvest from saltwater. The water level is just below the arrow.

8354

[SantaMonica]

The "wet" side of the small HOG.5 scrubber® pulled out of saltwater. This looks like the early stages, with thick slime, which needs brushing off in the sink; the black plastic shell needs brushing too, as well as the air tubing. The white Green Grabber® rocky texture holds on to slime well, much better than plastic screens of waterfall scrubbers. Slime also absorbs the most nutrients...

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


8356

[SantaMonica]

Feed your fish from your scrubber.

Free, fresh, and does not add nitrate or phosphate to the water like normal feeding does.

8357


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOERmld_8mY

[SantaMonica]

This is why you need waterproof submersible lights for a scrubber in sump water. Yes this is a light, and not a screen.

8358

[SantaMonica]

Here is a vintage SURF4 floating, and with lid up, and with growth removed from a saltwater sump

8361

[SantaMonica]

This HOG1x growth is from saltwater, and could be brushed out or pulled out by hand. A brush is better here because of the darker slime growth on the outer areas. Also the holes in the bottom and sides, and the hole at the top, should be brushed clean, as well as the tubing at the bottom. When brushing the tubing, it helps to have the air running so you can see how well it is bubbling.

8369

[SantaMonica]

Green and red Holiday colors in this HOG3 scrubber in the middle section of a saltwater sump. Big growth in a small space.

8371

[SantaMonica]

This is a rare photo of cyano filling up a scrubber. This SURF4 or 4x has contained a lot of the floating red cyano, without letting it escape out the drain holes on the bottom. This cyano will be removed/cleaned/harvested with the regular cleaning of the scrubber. You don't see this amount of red cyano on a waterfall scrubber screen because it would let go and wash away.

8383

[SantaMonica]

Only Green Grabber® surfaces, like in this DROP1.4x scrubber®, can hold on to so much slime.
Note the LEDs (arrows) burning through the slime.

8387

[SantaMonica]

This HOG.5 with just a single LED light has been running in shallow saltwater, about 4 inches deep (probably because no deeper area was available), and you can see the waterline where growth occurs only below the line. Keeping the upper part above the waterline provides a benefit though... it keeps most of the salt spray inside the case, and make it more quiet too.

8393

[SantaMonica]

This SURF2 or 2x is drained out, and on the top and left you can see the white Green Grabber rocky walls; this looks like maybe it was setting at an angle in the water.

8399

[SantaMonica]

Packed SURF4 or 4x showing what looks mostly like Cladophora species, and maybe a little Ulva Fasciata. It is growing on the light too, which needs to be scraped off with a plastic card (like a credit card) to get the most illumination into this growth.

8405

[SantaMonica]

A new SURF2 or 2x with light removed, and black shade cloth which was covering the left side. Since the left side was growing more, and was shaded, this tells you that more of the area should be shaded so more can grow. Once growing, the white surfaces will reflect less, and the shade cloth can be removed.

8408

[SantaMonica]

This is probably a HOG3, overgrown whith mostly Ulva Fasciata.

8422

[SantaMonica]

This DROP1.2 scrubber is ready for brushing out; the Green Grabber® white rocky surfaces are better at holding on to this growth than waterfall screens are, but this particular type of growth growth cannot be pulled out with your fingers.

8440

[SantaMonica]

This DROP1.2 (tm) UAS® upflow scrubber is pulled up from a saltwater sump and is full of cladophora species growth. Note the growth on the upper back right; it has pulled away (in a block) from the white Green Grabber® rocks on the back wall because some of the growth was attached to the door when it was opened. All of this growth should be pulled out for harvesting, and the door (on the left) should be brushed clean.

8445

[SantaMonica]

Looking inside a SURF4 to check the bubbling and growth

8454

[SantaMonica]

This HOG1 or 1x is pulled out of a large saltwater sump. This size HOG is too small to do enough filtering by itself here, but it can help, and the growth can do all the herbivour feeding by just dropping it into the display for a day or so. Note the top 1 inch is flopped down; this is where the waterline was.

8459

[SantaMonica]

This HOG3 or 3x or 3xx from saltwater shows very dark slime growth in the middle, and cyano on the lower outer parts. This is probably a HOG3, which has most of the light in the middle, and less light on the outer areas, because cyano grows in a scrubber usually only if light is low, when nutrients are high. This combination of cyano and green slime holds a lot of nutrinets, but must be brushed out more often because it does not hold on well, although the Green Grabber® rocky walls are doing the best it can (a regular waterfall screen could not hold on to any of this).

8462

[SantaMonica]

This SURF4 or 4x scrubber (tm), or one half of a SURF8 or 8x scrubber, shows worms and tar!
http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?3740-Slime-is-the-best-filter

8494

[SantaMonica]

This DROP1.4 scrubber® has just been brushed clean in the sink. Looks like the black shade screen has been used, but it should not be, because the dark growth means it needs more light, not less.

8507

[SantaMonica]

Another example of high nutrients in the water, leading to black growth in the scrubber. This HOG1.3 scrubber® only has two LED lights, but still pulls nutrients:

http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?3286-Dark-Slime-and-Black-Slime-what-it-looks-like
http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?3740-Slime-is-the-best-filter

8514

[SantaMonica]

This DROP1.4x is full

8516

[SantaMonica]

This DROP1.4 is dealing with lots of high nutrients in the water

8518

[SantaMonica]

This HOG1 or 1x scrubber® looks like its black shade cloth (not shown here) was kept on the top half, when it should have been removed. The shade from the cloth caused dark growth on the top; dark growth needs more light. If the cloth can be removed, the whole thing should start growing like the bottom.

Also, it should have been brushed clean much sooner, including the air tubing and circulation holes, every 7 to 10 days as is recommended.

8526

[SantaMonica]

This SURF2 or 2x or 2xx is shown after being pulled out of a cylinder tank during a water change. Since there is no sump, the SURF floats at the top. And since this is saltwater, a SURF (which has strings) is ok; but if it were freshwater then a model without strings would be best.

8528

[SantaMonica]

This SURF4 or 4x in a saltwater sump shows clearly the four air bubble pathways that the bubbles make from the bottom of the Surf, through the growth, and up to the light at the top (light is removed for photo). These bubble pathways let light and water pentetrate deep into the growth, thus letting the growth get thicker before dying.

8530

[SantaMonica]

This is the wet side of a HOG3 or 3x or 3xx taken out of saltwater. Almost can't tell which end is up, except for the air tubing on the right side, which is up, which means the bubbler is on the left, which is down.

First, this should have been cleaned/harvested much sooner, because when it gets this thick (about 2 inches) the light can't reach the bottom layers as well, and those layers start dying. The extra light in the 3x and 3xx reach deeper, but still get shaded eventually.

Second, the yellow in the middle is from lack of iron/nutrients, because:

1. The thick growth blocks bubbles from flowing through, thus reducing nutrients to the growth.
2. The thick growth is pushing up agaist the glass, which is nearest to the light, so it gets more light than it needs.
3. The thick growth blocks/covers the water circulation holes in the case, further reducing nutrients getting to the growth.

So for max filtering and nutrient reduction in the tank, this scrubber should probably be cleaned/harvested or fed to the fish every 5 days or so, and when doing so the entire inside of the case should be brushed with a brush in a sink with running tap water to kill the pods.

However if the goal is to just grow pods for the fish, you don't have to clean/harvest at all. Just let it run, and pods will grow and come out of the holes to feed the fish. Maybe you'll need to unclog the circulation holes a bit. Or you could modify them larger, say 1/4" diameter.

Or if the goal is to grow algae to feed to the fish, then you just open the case and let the fish swim in and eat overnight, then put it back into operation for another week.

8533

[SantaMonica]

Here is an old BRS post of I think was a HOG3

8535

[SantaMonica]

This DROP.6 with it's one LED is feeding a lot of snails. If you leave it running and don't open it, the snail eggs will flow out and feed the fish. It won't filter though, because all algae is being eaten; but it could mean you'll have to feed less. Here are other ways to feed from your scrubber:

http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?3699-The-Super-Guide-to-Algae-Turf-Scrubbers

8538

[SantaMonica]

This is a good example of how a thin coating of slime in the left photo (with the black shade screen to reduce light), after a few brushings/cleanings, can fill with green hair algae on the right.

8542

[SantaMonica]

This HOG3 or 3x or 3xx wet-side looks fairly new, and is still filling in

8544



#algaereactor
#algaescrubber
#ats
#ballingmethod
#biopellets
#bulkreefsupply
#canisterfilter
#carbondosing
#chaeto
#chaetomorpha
#chaetoreactor
#coralvue
#fleecefilter
#fluconazole
#freshwateraquarium
#gfo
#nitrate
#phosphate
#pelletreactor
#plantedtank
#premiumaquatics
#proteinskimmer
#reef2reef
#reeftank
#refugium
#rollfilter
#saltwatertank
#tritonmethod
#turfscrubber
#zeovit

[SantaMonica]

This HOG2 scrubber® is clogged with very dark hair algae mixed with black slime (the dog likes it!). It really needed to be brushed out in the sink long before now, so that the white Green Grabber® surfaces are visible so it can reflect more light back to the growth. The light should go to 24 hours. And cleaning should be every 3-5 days until nutrients come down and growth gets lighter in color.


8547

[SantaMonica]

This SURF8 or 8x is bubbling away. The one airline in the center feeds all the bubbling at the bottom.

8558

[SantaMonica]

This HOG2x scrubber® has just been brushed clean, and is a good example of how the Green Grabber® rough rocky surfaces holds on to remnants of growth to make re-growth faster.

8563

[SantaMonica]

This is probably a HOG3 scrubber® or larger. Can't see the strings, but it would be difficult for a model without strings to hold on to this much growth in saltwater. Even the stronger light in this model is having trouble cutting through the growth to get to the back wall, and thus the growth on the back is darker. So in addition to cleaning off the circulation holes more often, the light should be run 24 hours in this case, and cleaned every 5 days or so, including brushing the Green Grabber® back wall with a toothbrush in a sink, so you see the white again. And of course don't forget to clean the glass before re-attaching the HOG to it.

Or, just put the whole things into the display overnight for the fish to eat.

8568