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Thread: The new Upflow Algae Scrubber (UAS)

  1. #261

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    Very crude Paint drawing to explain my idea....... "sealed" upflow air scrubber (pump has venturi) and the algae will stay in water with a loss in electricity.


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  2. #262

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    taggin along, this should be interesting.

  3. #263
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    I get it, I'm just saying there's no way the box won't empty. You would have to seal it with silicone or something, or a rubber gasket and locking flange like on a reactor. Plus then how are you going to get into it to clean and service the screen? As for air not getting into the box - airstone/venturi! You're going to be constantly blowing air into the box, then when you lose power the water will I guarantee drain out because the water is heavier and will just end up creating a vacuum unless the box is always devoid of air.

  4. #264

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    That is why I was saying "SEALED" with a gasket under the lid held down by some nylon screws.
    As for the bubbles they'll be flushed out with the water flow.If there is no flow there is no point doing this in a sealed box outside of the tank or sump no ?

    And I did not say at anytime an airstone, just venturi.

    There will be a "layer" of air at the top, for sure, but the screen will definitely stay in water.

    For the vacuum forming, it's kind of "non measurable" as both sides are connected to the same water level and it will balance.
    Of course if this thing is a couple of meters above the water line that's an other story

  5. #265
    kotlec's Avatar
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    No way this would be easier than "old" style.

  6. #266
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    Is there anything else to expect to come out tomorrow
    No, one new thing per month.

    mirrors?.. whats reef safe?
    Plastic mirrors seem to be ok. Any metallic chemicals would probably be absorbed by the algae.

  7. #267

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    No way this would be easier than "old" style.
    I agree, but if it's more efficient why not ?

    And it's just an idea anyway.

    And it's just the assumption of "the water will drain out no matter what " that upsets me, and according to our current laws of physics about pressure equilibrium in fluids it will not drain.

    So, finish for me about this "single brain storming" development idea.

  8. #268
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    Quote Originally Posted by kotlec View Post
    No way this would be easier than "old" style.
    I had an in tank test unit going in less then three minutes after I rounded up the parts. No if I can just get it to grow algae LOL. I got my SW HOB unit growing algae and my FW is trying to but my pleco really likes it.
    150G. Reef/Mix
    125G. 3 Regular Oscars/1 Jack Dempsey
    75G. 20+ Africans
    40G. Fish/Reef. Algae Scrubbers on ALL my SW
    10G. SW Fish/Reef.
    10G. SW Hospital/new fish quarantine/pod breeder tank
    6 stage RO/DI system 200 GPD.

  9. #269
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    I guess if you sealed it perfectly, including all bulkheads/etc, thumbscrews, etc that it might work. I still think though that with a pocket of air at the top, your box it going to at least partially drain, and if the seal isn't 100% then the only time you will find out is when the power goes out. If there's a slight leak in the seal, and the box is running, the water level won't be affected because the excess air would just get pushed out by pressure and water would go down the drain. When the power goes out, your box drains.

    Also I just thought of this. If you have a 100% sealed box with a drain at the top, and you push in an air/water mixture, you're going to create an air pocket at the top. This air must go somewhere if you want to continue with flow through the box. With the box sealed, there is only one place for this air to go: down the drain. Your drain is not going to be full of water, it will be full of air, as the air will never get fully purged from the box.

    Eventually, the air in the box would collect and pressurize and one of two things would happen: The air would get pushed down the drain pipe and "blurp" out every once in a while (during which time, little water would flow) or the box would get "airlocked". This is what happens to household sump pumps when they are improperly plumbed (I know). The pump pushing the water ends up fighting air compression, and cannot pump any more water. To minimize the risk of airlock, you would need to terminate the drain pipe just below the sump water level. The problem here is that when you lose power, the drain pipe is mostly air and this will try to suck up water as the pressure in the box drops from the water wanting to fall. This will cause a rapid suction up the drain pipe and if there's air anywhere near that termination point, it's going to suck it in until the water level in the drain pipe is at the level in the box and a balance is achieved. So to minimize that, you have to terminate the drain lower in the water, but then you run into airlock.

    The solution to this would probably be to snake an airline down the drain pipe all the way to the sump, so that the air had a lower-pressure route to escape when this situation arises. I'm not sure that would work or not, but it makes sense.

    I still think that it's more trouble than it would be worth to make a sealed box than it would just to do what I did, which is just pump it into the top and use an airstone. You could also just put in a check valve to prevent backflow instead of sealing the box and relying on that. But, either way, you're relying on something functioning properly to prevent the box from draining.

  10. #270

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jason View Post
    OK, so I guess I badly express my self, and it's pretty obvious to understand......

    So read carefully what I say:



    LOL I did not say much actually

    I this easyier to picture ? instead of a U shaped tube, you have a sealed box with the entry point connected to a pump, below water level in the sump, and the exit comes down below water level in the sump as well.........it will NEVER empty as air cannot go in, SIMPLE.

    As for the bubbles, they will stop being produced as the same time the pump stups, because the pump + venturi is making them.
    That looks remarkably like a Tunze overflow box to me.

    Dennis

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