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Thread: The new Upflow Algae Scrubber (UAS)

  1. #201
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jason View Post
    If it's that complicated to get a significant result over a standard design, why bother changing ? Except for "wannbe a scientist" fun experiments.

    There's a bit of that, sure.

    But how else do you drive things forward? If everyone just settled for what we've got we'd all still be living in mud huts and eating grass wouldn't we?



    Incidentally, it's not complicated to add CO2. Mine is just a plastic bottle with a bit of airline stuck through the lid and some sugar solution & yeast inside. It's making one bubble every 1 or 2 seconds at the moment.

  2. #202

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    But how else do you drive things forward? If everyone just settled for what we've got we'd all still be living in mud huts and eating grass wouldn't we?
    I do agree, but i think i'll stay with the "old school" system

  3. #203

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    I dont think the new version is meant to replace ALL waterfall designs, it is simply another option. Honestly where it really shines for me is the possibilities it opens for tanks that dont have a sump, and the possibilities for a generic design that is no harder to install than a HOB filter. I am undecided if I will make one like this or a waterfall design for my saltwater tank, but if I ever make a scrubber for my freshwater tanks it will be based on this design.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jason View Post
    And due by the size of my tank, i'll not put any "box" inside, even les if it contains mineral oil for cooling leds
    The mineral oil is my idea, not part of the original plan by SM. As I said the mineral oil solves 2 problems of LEDs inside a sealed enclosure under pressure. My idea was was for an easily removeable and cleanable fixture that could be mass produced. It was not an idea for a DIY fixture.

    BTW: Everyone seems so worried about mineral oil in your aquarium and not saltwater in electronics inside your aquarium.... Why is that? Sure if ALL the mineral oil leaked out and covered the entire surface of the aquarium that would definately impede gas exchange.... Other than that does anyone know that mineral oil would even hurt critters in an aquarium?

    Either way it should not be an issue to seal an acrylic box. Assemble it, seal it on all sides but one, then fill it 99% of the way with mineral oil, then seal the top on, and make sure it is watertight, you could just drop it in a container of water for a few hours and make sure no mineral oil floats to the top of the container, and make sure there is no water at the bottom of the fixture. Then put a layer of silicone over the outsides of all the seams just to be sure it wont leak.

  4. #204
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    If you're going to seal LEDs in a waterproof box and submerge them in water, why do you need mineral oil?

    Won't the water keep them cool enough?

  5. #205

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    And might need to buy a chiller after that !


    LOL

  6. #206
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    Phosphate vs. Phosphorus

    -deleted by Ace25- I never created this thread.
    Last edited by Ace25; 04-30-2012 at 05:46 PM.

  7. #207

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    Quote Originally Posted by Rumpy Pumpy View Post
    If you're going to seal LEDs in a waterproof box and submerge them in water, why do you need mineral oil?

    Won't the water keep them cool enough?
    Air is a poor conductor of heat, even more so when it is not moving. The air (and plastic) between the heatsink inside the box and the water outside the box acts as an insulator. If you replace the air with mineral oil, heat will be conducted away from the LEDs+heatsink much faster than air. It would drastically decrease the temp of the LEDs and increase their life.

    Quote Originally Posted by Ace25 View Post
    I don't think the mineral oil idea is good myself. Reason being, you can't just stick the LEDs in mineral oil and call it a day. Mineral oil works because it is non conductive so electrical items can be submerged and still work, problem is, mineral oil acts as a heatsink. If you put an item like a CPU or LEDs inside a box of mineral oil, you just end up heating the mineral oil to the point you start cooking things. You also need some type of heat exchange (copper tubing?) with the mineral oil for the heat to be able to dissipate.
    The whole box would be inside the aquarium, so it would transfer the heat to the water, not 100% ideal, but overall better than LEDs burning out. Plastic is also a poor conductor of heat, if the walls of the box were very thick, it would be better to use glass, that conducts heat much better and would keep the LEDs cooler. I think it would usually be fine with plastic though. Also remember that while LEDs have to be kept cool, they dont produce nearly as much heat as other types of light. I doubt 2-5 LEDs inside a decent sized aquarium will cause any overheating issue unless one was present already.

    Quote Originally Posted by Ace25 View Post
    I still can't wrap my head around why this method would be more desirable than the old. In a breeder tank, sure... in a FW tank, maybe... in a SW reef tank, not at all.
    I feel this is an oversimplification, however I do tend to agree with you. I feel that the new design is better for setups without a sump and setups with low water flow. The old design is easier to DIY if you have a sump to work with.

    Quote Originally Posted by Ace25 View Post
    And I took out some skimmate out of my skimmer, put in 1 drop... again... 1 drop of skimmate into the Phosphate vial that holds 10ml. The rest I filled with RO/DI water. Super super super dilluted skimmate and this was my results. .1 Phosphates and 25 nitrates on my Salifert nitrate test kit. I took the vial out after the test ran to show that the water is clear vs the skimmate.
    I would respectfully argue that proving the skimmate has phosphate in it, is not the same as proving the skimmer removed phosphate from the water. I feel a better test would be to put a tank in a dark room, fill it up with water of a known phosphate level, then put in the skimmer and measure the phosphate of the water later.

  8. #208
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    Somebody please change the title of this forum to UPFLOW from UPLOW. I know it's not important but details matter in this game.

  9. #209

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    That's the name of the section it's in

  10. #210
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    Quote Originally Posted by Garf View Post
    Somebody please change the title of this forum to UPFLOW from UPLOW. I know it's not important but details matter in this game.
    Oh that is funny I never noticed that...

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