duganderson Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Any user reviews of the new drop.2 or drop.6 scrubbers? I was thinking of adding one or two of these to my Red Sea 130D. Link to comment
duganderson Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 Anyone have experience with these? Link to comment
mattberrytr Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Really depends what you want them to do. They generally can remove a small amount of nutrients from the tank. The problem is that the algae often grows very slowly, so that they are pretty ineffective overall. They can't be relied on as one of the main forms of filtration in tanks. There are other more promising algae scrubbers on the way. Though turbo algae scrubbers are excellent for larger tanks. Link to comment
Tyron Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 to the OP dont listen to this guy. Ive seen the Santa Monica Algae scrubbers do wonders. On big tanks or small. Some used all kinds of filtration and some used only the algae scrubber. This is why i will only be using a santa monica algae scrubber on my 40. ill do a build thread on it soon enough. the key is finding the proper size for your tank and your habits. algae scrubbers aint for everybody. but there is a nice writeup on sizing on their website. the turbo algae scrubbers are the same as santa monica's older design. the real only "drawback" is once it takes off you have to clean it once a week. Link to comment
duganderson Posted March 14, 2015 Author Share Posted March 14, 2015 There are other more promising algae scrubbers on the way. Can you speak more about the more promising scrubbers on the way? I'm curious.... Link to comment
jabeuy Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I'm trying out one of their HOG scrubbers. So far I'm still having cyano issues, but there is algae growing on the "screen". It must be pulling out nutrients to grow that. Time will tell, what they're really caoable of in my system. Link to comment
mattberrytr Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Tyron, there's also a huge amount of people who have lots of problems with UAS scrubbers. Waterfall scrubbers are many times more effective than the HOG or SURF scrubbers, it comes down to the much, much higher flow rate. I'm not saying Santa Monica scrubbers scrubbers don't grow algae, but I stand by my statement that they can't be relied on, unless you have a small tank or feed very conservatively. Different designs are currently being tested, I can't say whether they will outperform waterfall scrubbers (or even equal them), but they are very likely to outperform UAS and HOG scrubbers by a large margin. Link to comment
Tyron Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 On every scrubbed tank I've seen I've never seen the owner "feed conservatively" but hey I don't know everything. Link to comment
atoll Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 I recently installed a HOG2 on my 350ltr reef tank it;s been on 3 weeks and I did the first harvest of algae a couple of days ago. SM scrubbers are not sized to the size of the tank but to the amount of food you feed which seems logical to me, My HOG2 is designed to match feeding of around 2 cubs of frozen food a day. My HOG2 will take a while to effectively reduce nutrients to the level I expect to see a reduction in some low growing Caulerpa that is making a nuisance of itself. Only time will tell and few things good happen quickly in this hobby. Link to comment
duganderson Posted March 19, 2015 Author Share Posted March 19, 2015 Anyone have experience with the Drop .2 or .6 Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I have no experience with algae scrubbers, but from the DIY setups I've seen and the amount of algae I see produced in my tank, I think they are way too small to make a serious impact. Could be cool, but IMO, a square foot would be more appropriate. Link to comment
atoll Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 In which case I think you need to do a bit of research Mr . microscope. That's if you are really interested of course Link to comment
dillct Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 I can't speak for the hog or drop in scrubber, but I did own the SURF2 and it didn't grow squat...green strings and a little brown slime, but no real algae to speak of. That was in a skimmerless tank. There are many countless posts on the algae scrubber site with people that had the same negative experience...I'd highly recommend you read through their posts before making a decision to purchase.. I don't know if he doses miracle grow in his test tanks, but something is seriously wrong with the amount of growth he claims in his youtube videos. Link to comment
atoll Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Nothing wrong with my HOB2 it's working a treat for me. Seems strange it works for so many but not for others. However I do know some aren't setting them up and using as they should which will explain whY theirs don't. The SM scrubbers are well proven that's why I have one. Link to comment
mattberrytr Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 That's great your HOG2 works well for you, but there's plenty of other people who they don't work well for. How do you define how well it's working anyway? Just because an algae scrubber grows some algae it doesn't mean it's a success. In my opinion, a decent algae scrubber is capable of being the only form of filtration in the tank if desired (pulling N and P right down). Good waterfall scrubbers can do this with ease. I very much doubt that SM's HOG and SURF scrubbers can be relied on to do this. Not saying they are useless, but if I am going to spend a decent amount of money on a filtration product I will expect it to have a large impact on nutrient reduction. Link to comment
atoll Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Well you just keep doubting then. However the fact many people are having good success using the HOGs shows they work but like anything if you don't size or use a piece of equipment correctly then your not going to get the results expected. However you are correct in what you say about results and SM and others are using the HOGs without other forms of filtration apart from the norm like live rock. I still use my skimmer as I believe it's beneficial to do so one day when I consider my tank fully mature I may remove it but until then I will continue to run it. Link to comment
mattberrytr Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Everybody has different measures of success. To some people, just seeing some algae grow in it is a success. Each to their own, just don't set your expectations too high with the HOG and SURF scrubbers. Link to comment
atoll Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 How high is too high? If a company makes claims why shouldn't the purchaser expect to realise them? Link to comment
mattberrytr Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Because peoples experiences vary wildly with the SURF and HOG scrubbers. Just because a company makes a claim it doesn't make it true. Link to comment
atoll Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Who suggested the claim was true? What I said was if a company made claims the purchaser should expect to realise them. The fact many do is testestament to the fact they work. If somebody can't make them work while many can they should ask themselves why. It can't be the priven scrubbers fault if they work for so many But as they saying goes a bad workman blames his tools. Link to comment
mattberrytr Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 This is pointless. I'm out. Link to comment
atoll Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Agreed but then it was you who raised it in the first place. There are loads of success stories of algae scrubbers doing excatly what they were designed to do and many have shown them on YouTube. A little research is all that is required. I have no idea why some can't get their algae scrubber to work perhaps bad design perhaps used incorrectly or they haven't who given them time who knows but little good happens quickly in this hobby. Link to comment
HecticDialectics Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 You seem a bit overly zealous on this topic atoll. Really no room for anyone to disagree with you huh Link to comment
atoll Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Just posting facts as I know them to be. Simples and as somebody who uses one I can give a first hand account of an algae scrubber in use. Of course some can't get in with algae scrubbers but then again some can't get in with marine aquariums. So just where is the disagreement then? Simples huh. Link to comment
HecticDialectics Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 How high is too high? If a company makes claims why shouldn't the purchaser expect to realise them?You're obviously naive. The fact that you can't see room for disagreement and make such ridiculous statements like this one You must have an entire case of headon in your garage Link to comment
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