Various upflow growth pictures

[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.

[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.






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...








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.

[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.








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...







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...






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.

[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.







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:







58