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21 Attachment(s)
DROP1.2
Videos:
Similar DROP.6x installed on dirty freshwater tank:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnFyyRY7CSk
Similar DROP.6x first cleaning on dirty freshwater tank:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppvvl_8Cbv4
Similar DROP1.4 installed on saltwater reef pond:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGxK28lUq4I
Comparison of all the DROP scrubbers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUEKRh3g6Kk
DROP1.2 dimensions: 3.25" wide x 6" tall x 2.75" thick front-to-back (8 cm wide x 15 cm tall x 7 cm thick). It requires at least 5" (13 cm) of water to operate in.
Operates on both 120 and 240V. Can be shipped to any country.
Welcome to algae scrubbers. All the oceans, reefs, lakes and rivers are naturally filtered only by algae, and all the organic particles remain in the water to feed the creatures. Reduce your glass cleaning and water changes, and create an environment for living micro-animals to grow inside the scrubber. No more dosing or possible overdosing. No more refilling. No more pale corals from low nutrients, and no more sick animals from high nutrients. Far more powerful than chaeto or refugiums, and does not remove the food particles. And you can use the algae as food!
Strong injection-molded case! Finally an aquarium filter that offers drop-in installation in the smallest of spaces, along with reduction or elimination of water changes and nuisance algae. And it's small enough to drop into the back compartment of most all-in-one aquariums. It operates the way the oceans and lakes do, using algae to do all the filtering, and it truly can replace all other filters in your aquarium if sized and operated correctly. The DROP1.2 grows well in water with phosphate up to 0.4 ppm.
This DROP1.2 drop-in algae scrubber has 28 square inches (170 square cm) of extremely rough Green Grabber® one-sided algal growth surface which can grow up to 1/2" (1 cm) thick green hair algae. This is designed to absorb the nutrients from this much feeding per day:
1.2 Frozen cubes, or
12 Pinches of flake, or
12 Square inches (72 square cm) of nori, or
0.12 dry ounce (3.6 grams) of pellets
The physical size or number of gallons or liters of water in your tank or sump does not matter; however the amount of problem rock you might have, does. If you have rocks which are soaked with phosphate from having been in a problem aquarium, each 10 pounds (4.5 kg) of this problem rock will add 0.2 cube a day to your feeding amounts; so be sure to account for this when choosing a scrubber size or number of scrubbers. For example if you feed 0.5 cube a day, but have 20 pounds of rock that came from a tank with nuisance algae problems, this rock will add 0.4 cubes a day to your feeding. This applies even if the rock was dried out and bleached, because this does not remove any nutrients from the rock.
If you feed more than the above amounts, you can get multiple DROP1.2 units; multiple units are preferred over one larger unit because you can clean one unit per week, and because you'll always have one unit filtering while the other one starts growing again after a cleaning. Multiple DROP1.2 units are also good for backup.
The DROP1.2 will fit into any size aquarium, sump, and almost all back compartments of all-in-one aquariums. Nano and pico tanks, with sumps on the back side, normally have compartments at least 3" (15 cm) wide; and the DROP1.2 only need 3.5" width.. And of course it can fit into the display (the main part of the tank). The DROP1.2 has a special plate under it which allows it to sit on the bottom of your aquarium or sump, including sitting on sand; the plate not only keeps sand from getting into the filter, but also blocks most of the red light from coming out.
The DROP1.2 has water inlets and outlets at the bottom of the growth compartment, where internal upflowing air bubbles inside the unit (from an air pump which you provide) flow up into the growth compartment and bring aquarium water inside it. As the water enters the growth compartment, it mixes with the air bubbles, and rubs the algae-attachment Green Grabber textures, and gets blasted by the super-red 660nm LED light. This rubbing of bubbles causes algae to start growing on the rock hard (and heavy) Green Grabber textures; freshwater grows thin stringy algae, and saltwater grows thicker, denser algae. The air then goes out of the top of the unit, and the water goes down and out the bottom, without many air bubbles remaining.
The Green Grabber algal growth attachment surface is so rough and prickly that it might be the roughest thing you've ever felt. A cactus might be sharper, but that's about it. Rough surfaces are critical for allowing algae to attach and grow and thus provide strong absorption of nutrients. The rock-hard protrusions stick straight out 1 to 3 mm. Previous algae scrubber screens were made from "slippery" plastic canvas that is used for sewing and knitting; algae take a long time to attach to it. Green Grabber growth surfaces are not plastic at all; instead they are rock hard and have jagged rough edges and points (don't let children play with them). And the white color of the Green-Grabber surface reflects as much light as possible, allowing lots of light to reflect back to the algae. Light = photosynthesis = filtering.
The main advantage of the DROP1.2 or any algae scrubber is that if you size and operate it properly (based on how much you feed), it can be the only filter for your tank, even replacing waterchanges. It can, however, also be used with other filters. Some other filters such as carbon dosing (Zeo, pellets, etc) may slow down the scrubber, but nothing will really "hurt" the scrubber except possibly large amounts of algaecide or copper medications. The DROP1.2 is also dry-out proof, since it's always under water. Power outages will not affect it.
The DROP1.2 will run on both 120V and 240V, and comes with a 10 ft (300 cm) UL and CE approved power adapter cord with a U.S. plug. If you require a different plug you can get an adapter at any local hardware or travel store, or online, or you can cut off the U.S. plug and install your own plug from a hardware store. It is a simple 2-wire plug, which is also the same as a laptop power supply cord. The power cord is actually the same as a laptop computer cord with a C7 connector (looks like a figure eight), so you can swap your laptop cord with your DROP if you want to.
The DROP1.2 uses a low voltage that is perfectly safe. The LEDs are sealed in a double waterproofed manner; this prevents corrosion from fresh and saltwater. The UL and CE approved power supply works on both 120 or 220 volts, it converts (and isolates) the 120 or 220 volt mains to the safe low voltage which is isolated from the water, meaning that even if the LEDs were not sealed at all you could put the LEDs into the water and they would continue to work and nothing would happen. It is recommended that you use a GFCI safely plug, available at any aquarium, hardware, electrical or home improvement store, or online.
Comes with 3 ft (90 cm) of vinyl airline, but requires an air pump. A standard air pump will work, however a larger pump with two outlets combined into a single outlet is preferred. It is the air bubbles which move water into the growth compartment and up the growth surfaces, and also supply carbon dioxide (CO2 in the air) to the surfaces, which allow algae to grow in the filter. If you don't have a proper pump, you can use what you do have in the mean time. One pump which works well is the Fusion 700 from JW Pet, which we modified and sell HERE
The LEDs are three red (660 nm) 3-watt LEDs, which are double sealed in epoxy. Some red light does come out of the bottom holes, but most of the light is blocked by the special plate underneath the filter; so it will not make little red dots on the bottom of the aquarium or sump. You will need to get a timer so you can run the LEDs for up to 22 hours per day (preferably not 24, although you can start with 24 if you want to). The LEDs never needs replacing.
The DROP1.2 will need to be cleaned ("harvested") every 7 to 14 days or when thick with growth. Just lift up the DROP1.2 out of the water, open the hinged lid, and pull the algae out (freshwater use will usually require taking the filter to your sink). You can even feed some of the algae to your fish, and there will probably some some pods inside that you can feed too.
The DROP1.2 comes with a 1 year warranty: Warranty is for replacement or repair only; not a refund. Costs for shipping back to us are covered if you are in the U.S. Costs for shipping back to us are not covered if you are not in the U.S., however we will pay for shipping back to you. In either case, you will need to ship the entire unit back to us before we can ship a replacement. Warranty is limited to repair or replacement, and does not cover fish loss, personal injury, property loss, or direct, incidental or consequential damage arising from the use of it. The warranty and remedies set forth above are exclusive and in lieu of all others, whether oral or written, express or implied. We specifically disclaim any and all implied warranties, including but not limited to lost profits, downtime, goodwill, damage to or replacement of other equipment and property, and any costs of recovering animals, plants, tanks or other aquarium related items and/or equipment. We are not responsible for special, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from any breach of warranty, or replacement of equipment or property, or any costs of recovering or reproducing any equipment, animals or plants used or grown with this product.
Can be shipped to any country; you can find shipping costs by using the shopping cart; be sure to click "display rates". If you don't have a zip code, enter "zip code" instead. Note that shipping outside of the USA might require you to also pay an import charge when it arrives. We cannot mark it as "gift", however. The lowest cost overseas shipping is generally USPS First Class Mail International, however this option does not offer tracking outside the U.S. So a better option is USPS Priority Mail, which offers both tracking and insurance. The size of the shipping box 10" x 7" x 5" (25 cm x 18 cm x 15 cm).
DROP1.2 size: 3.25" wide x 6" tall x 2.75" thick front-to-back (8 cm wide x 15 cm tall x 7 cm thick). It requires at least 5" (13 cm) of water to operate in.
DROP Instructions:
English (Word)
English (PDF)
Comments:
"[DROP1.2] seem to be working, it fills up in about 7 days" -- Mike O'Connor, Australia
"Really well built [DROP1.2]; barely fit into the back of my Innovative Marine Fusion 10... had to take the bottom plate off:
Attachment 6959
"It's a common sense product; easy and reliable" -- Martin Caceres, Total Aquariums retail store, East Rockaway, New York, USA:
Attachment 6960
"It works great. I love this product! [DROP1.2]" -- Mike Orlando, Clifton Park, New York, USA.
"Happy reefer with DROP1.2 and now I only clean my glass once a week" -- madreamseeker on the SGR site.
"I have not had to clean the glass of algae since [2 months after getting DROP1.2] and there is no algae at all in the tank. It took a few months to get the type of algae in my image to grow but not its normal to pull that much out of the tank a month. I have 4 fish in a IM 40 I feed once a day at night. The scrubber just stopped the usual cycle of algae in a new system. This tank has been set up for 18 months now so it's still new. Would not set up a tank without an algae scrubber its just a so easy to use and takes little of my time to care for. Which for me is utter important. Using GFO and other methods of phosphate removal require a constant interaction and replacement of media. So there is a cost in time and money. Which to me is not sustainable" -- reefwiser on the 2R2 site
"Working well. [DROP1.2] Makes a big difference" -- Chis Moser, Easton, Pennsylvania, USA
"Very happy with the unit [DROP1.2], it is superlative at what it does" -- Douglas Dixson, Port St. Lucie, Florida, USA
DROP1.2 from Chris Viola:
Attachment 6958
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Update: Since the Fusion 700 air pump is no longer available, the Danner AP-4 is now recommended for most scrubbers, except the SURF4 or 4x which can use a Danner AP-8, and the SURF8 which needs a large single-outlet pump.
Note that all HOG and DROP models have 1 air inlet, therefore the 2 outlets of the Danner AP-4 pump can be combined into 1 with a "T" or "Y" fitting, and this will give you a lot of air which can still be reduced with the control knob. If you don't want to combine the outlets, then the smaller Danner AP-3 pump has only 1 outlet, but it also does not have a control knob.
https://www.dannermfg.com/supreme-ox...lume-air-pumps
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By placing the top 1/2 inch of a DROP1.2 scrubber above the waterline (red arrow), almost all salt spray and bubbles are removed, and it becomes almost silent.
Attachment 8313
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Most algae scrubbers have lots of light escaping, even with light blockers. But look how dark our DROP scrubber is; only one dot of red light out the top.
Attachment 8375
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The most popular scrubber for Christmas gift nano tanks: DROP1.2
Attachment 8382
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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.
Attachment 8442
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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.
Attachment 8444
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The DROP1.2 is available again. It's a mid-size version, and is in the middle of size, sound, lights, and growth area, of the Drop models.
Attachment 8506
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This DROP1.2 (an older one with clear tubing) looks like some growth has been pulled out by hand. For more filtering, you could brush the surfaces off in the sink under freshwater.
Attachment 8675
