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Thread: The new Upflow Algae Scrubber (UAS)

  1. #151
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rumpy Pumpy View Post
    Whenever someone has a new idea or when a new product is launched, there are always people who immediately say

    "That won't be any good".

    It was the same with the original scrubber.


    Why not just see how it develops before you condemn it?
    This attitude can be irritating to some people, but it can also be very useful in improving a system rapidly. Ace has obviously decided that for him it won't work, and will keep on finding faults with the design. This is good. Occasionally he will come up with something that results in a system improvement. I don't think these types of people wait to see how things develope, they force development. Keep 'em coming ACE25.

  2. #152

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    So it can be considered by some members as a Xnd style of scrubber.

    In the end, the results are going to be the same, 0 N/P if done correctly, right?
    Exactly !

  3. #153
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    Just made a quick video.. original audio so you can hear the insanely loud Tetra Whisper 10 airpump. Can't hear anything else in the room over the stupid pump.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ5rprW4S-s

    Funny thing is I have to crank my speakers up to hear it in the video because the sound in the room is so loud. I find it amazing that between all my tanks/equipment that this one little pump is so much louder than anything else I have. If I put the pump under the stand, it acts like a speaker box and makes it even louder.

  4. #154
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    if i get a power out while im in work or away my scrubber wont die
    Correct. At least not from drying out. If it sat there for 3+ days, it would die from lack of light.

    How do you eliminate the noise of the air pump
    The small pumps I've used are silent. If larger pumps are needed, they can be placed as far away as needed, with no reduction in air flow.

    How do you ensure the airstone stays clean and creates an even distribution of bubbles
    Doesn't need to stay clean. Growth is growth, on the screen or on the stone. Or you could shade it. And just like a slot, it would be self-correcting: if some growth slowed the air flow, that section would slow down in growth, and would direct more air to the less-growing sections.

    how do I avoid the salt creep all over my walls and carpet?
    Put a plastic sheet over that part of the top.

    SM hasn't been able to make a "proof of concept" version with a video showing it works.
    How do you know this?

    There are A LOT of bugs to be worked out here
    Been working on them for year.

    So how is needing more equipment (air pump and stone) that require more work than the old method better
    Less equipment: Just pump and stone. No water pump or plumbing.

  5. #155
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    Not putting syran wrap over my open top tank.. sorry, I want open top for a reason. Only thing plastic wrap will do is stop the spray but then the plastic gets coated with salt creep which blocks the display lighting. Plus that is a very "ghetto" method IMO. Using plastic in order to use the "MorganAtlanta" style method instead of a slot is one thing, that plastic is hidden from view in a sump or box, so that is different than putting plastic wrap over a section of the display tank.

    How do I know you don't have a proof of concept? Well, 15 pages in, and no pictures or videos showing proof of concept from you. If you had one that works in saltwater, I would have thought you would have posted it in this thread before you made it public. Seems silly to spend a year posting around the internet about this great new method, then you finally release the info on that method and can't show anything about it.

    Been working on the bugs for a year... and this is the best you come up with, zip tying a screen to an airstone? Sorry, I am just so disappointed with all the hype that went into this and it turns out to be something I can pick apart in the first minute of reading about it.

    Less equipment? Plumbing cost me less than a good quality ceramic airstone, certainly less than an air pump.. and my return pump feeds my ATS for the most part. So yes, if done with the overflow style waterfall method it is much cheaper. I would put $ on the old style working better (due to the boundary layer being much bigger, which is what you always say is what makes the ATS work, right?). You have critters to worry about with this new method (sure, you can stop snails, but what about large pods?), you have algae breaking loose from the turbulent air bubbles to worry about, you have both an airstone that will clog up rather quickly along with an airpump that won't last more than 12 months. I have no equipment I need to worry about on my current ATS. If my return pump fails, I have a backup, but it is a quality pump (eheim 1262) that has worked non-stop for 7+ years without a hiccup. I spent a good 10 years dealing with air stones in other hobbies, they do clog up quickly, and when they do you get one or two spots that let out large bubbles, the rest of the stone is clogged, so that will make this method not work if the stone clogs up like I have seen countless times in the past.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJum36nEuXk

  6. #156

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    Make it out of 2 pieces, held together by magnets. The outside is a black plexi box with an exposed heatsink on the back and exposed LEDs on the front that are held 1.5" away from the glass and magnets around the outside.

    The inside (in the tank) is a black plexi box that has an encased heatsink, and encased LEDs and holds the screen nearly right up against the glass (with room for bubbles) and 1.5" away from the LEDs on the inside. It has magnets around the outside and you fill the compartment that has the heatsink and LEDs with mineral oil (so the LEDs and Heatsink are submerged in oil) then seal it up tight. With mineral oil the cooling of the in tank LEDs is not an issue and there is no compression issues, since it is non compressible, as long as you can seal it well you could use any thickness of plastic in any depth tank.

    Then run vent tubes from the inside box up to the surface with a 90 degree bend at the surface to slow the bubbles.

    The idea is clear in my mind I will try to use sketchup to draw some pictures, although I suck at it so the result might be lackluster. But I think the idea is very sound and workable.

  7. #157
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    LOL.. ya, that sounds WAAAY complicated. I have run computer motherboards in mineral oil as an experiment, so I know that works, but no way am I putting a container of mineral oil anywhere near my tank where there is even the slightest possibility it could end up in the tank. I think the idea is to make it as simple as possible.. your method sounds far from that, but if you wanted to do it I can't see any reason to say "no, don't do it" if your willing to do the work and take safety precautions.

  8. #158

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    Ace, I know how your feeling. I had a very similar reaction at first, ask Floyd... I have had one running now for a little and it has "grown" on me! Hahaha no pun intended! At this point, to me... the UAS is design a "design option" and until proven wrong I believe it will be the "easy build" for many and would in most cases run as a secondary filter. (I hope I am wrong) Having said that, I am sure when the first skimmer was built, it was hardly the coolest looking or best working equipment in the hobby, nor was the first bucket design. Over time this design can be built into something amazing... But it wont be that "DIY-able". Think HOB filters with built in air pumps, or canister designs, I even had a moment thinking about a skimmer-scrubber...! You have to see the "bucket waterfall" design here... this thing is brand new. SM I am sure has his reasons for not posting too much, but I will say there are threads not viewable by all... Hang in here with us, we need your support. Please build a test unit if you can, it maybe the "breeders scrubber" after all...

  9. #159

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    Quote Originally Posted by Floyd R Turbo View Post
    I don't think the microbubbles will really be much of an issue either. Microbubbles are usually caused by turbulence, the bubbles produced by an airstone will generally be bigger and since they are 'traveling' upward by design, will tend to break at the surface. If you think about the usual sponge filter bubbler, or old undergravel filter with airstones at the bottom, you don't get a microbubble problem in those systems.
    I agree, you never see microbubbles in those systems.

    I think the new design is really good, what about using a venturi system on a powerhead to deliver the air instead? A venturi (like on maxijets or aquaclears) that comes after the impeller produces airstone like bubbles much more quietly... more of a white noise than a buzzing noise too. So if you build (slotted pipe, I know) an upside down waterfall scrubber and feed it water with bubbles mixed in by a venturi, you should get a quiet, reliable system.

    However I think salt creep prevention, especially if you plan to not change a lot of water, is really very crucial. At the very least, make sure you do NOT get salt creep into your aquarium, take it out, and if your salinity slips over time, just add some salt to your top-off water.

    The main problem I see in the new design is algae growing on the walls of the scrubber chamber/walls of the tank. Is this actually a problem?

    I'm thinking about downsizing to a 15 gallon nano instead of getting out of the hobby entirely to focus on freshwater fish breeding. Of course one of these setups would be pretty awesome for raising baby fish...

    I have to say, I thought the new scrubber would be horizontal, lit from above, water fed from below for some reason.

  10. #160
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    Quote Originally Posted by fauxjargon View Post
    I have to say, I thought the new scrubber would be horizontal, lit from above, water fed from below for some reason.
    While the limitations are obvious by going horizontal, that is actually an intriguing idea. A 6x6 screen laying just below the water surface (because as we all know, most of the bad stuff in the water is at/near the surface), round air stone below and LEDs above. Seems that idea is much better than the original one. Obviously I would still have issues with the airpump/stone in a reef tank, but like you said, in a baby fish grow out tank it actually sounds like a great idea.

    Quick and dirty to show what I mean. I have some magnetic frag racks I can put on the side/back in a corner and attach the screen to the frag racks.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toGeYjLpkLM

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