SantaMonica MIX2 overflow-fed UAS scrubber

[SantaMonica]

MIX2
Mixer Scrubber
Overflow Fed
Upflow Algae Scrubber®



With Green-Grabber surfaces
With or Without Foam


For aquarium sumps which are below the display. Eliminate water changes. Remove nuisance algae, nitrate and phosphate. Cultivate seaweed for feeding.

Order at Santa-Monica.cc

This MIX2 is an upflow algae scrubber designed for aquariums which have overflows that drain down to a sump below. The overflow hose is used to generate the turbulence and bubbles inside the MIX2, which cause algae to attach and grow on the strings and Green-Grabber surfaces. This attached algae growth can then be easily removed by just grabbing it and pulling it out. If your aquarium is an all-in-one with a sump in the back (not below), you will instead want to get a HOG or SURF scrubber:

HOG.5 Hang-On-Glass
HOG1 Hang-On-Glass
HOG1x Hang-On-Glass
SURF2 floating surface

The MIX2 overflow fed scrubber has over 24 square inches (150 square cm) of extremely rough Green-Grabber algal growth surface which can grow up to a 2" (5 cm) thick block of green hair algae. This is about two full handfuls, and is designed to absorb the nutrients from this much feeding per day:

2 Frozen cube, or
20 Pinches of flake, or
20 Square inches (125 square cm) of nori, or
5.6 grams of pellets

The physical size or number of gallons or liters of water in your tank or sump does not matter. If you feed more than the above amounts, you can get multiple MIX2 units; multiple units are preferred over one larger unit because you can clean one unit per week, and because you'll always have one unit filtering while the other one starts growing again after a cleaning. This is accomplished by dividing the overflow into separate hoses for each MIX2, or, by placing up to four MIX2 (without-foam) units together so that one overflow hose empties into the meeting point of them.

The version with foam is for floating on the water surface in your sump; directly under the water coming out of your overflow hose. You will need 3" (7.5 cm) of water depth to do this. Multiple MIX2's will need a divided overflow hose to reach each one. The version without foam is for attaching to your sump wall, again, directly under the overflow hose. Although you can glue the MIX2 to the wall (with aquarium safe silicone), it might be easier to work with if you use removable plastic clips, such as the big plastic clips used for keeping potato chip bags closed.

The MIX2 starts with water flowing down from your overflow hose into the MIX2's growth compartment, causing bubbles to form. As the bubbles and water pour into the growth compartment they rub the algae-attachment ribbons and get illuminated by the light which you supply. The bubbles then circle around and around inside the growth compartment, rubbing against the ribbons and the Green-Grabber super-rough rock-hard attachment textures as the bubbles rise up to the water surface and then spill over into your sump. This repeated rubbing of bubbles causes algae to start growing on the ribbons and textures; freshwater grows thin stringy algae, and saltwater grows thicker, denser algae.

The Green-Grabber algal growth attachment surface is so rough and prickly that it might be the roughest thing you've ever felt. A cactus might be sharper, but that's about it. Rough surfaces are critical for allowing algae to attach and grow and thus provide strong absorption of nutrients. The rock-hard protrusions stick straight out 1 to 3 mm. Previous algae scrubber screens were made from "slippery" plastic canvas that is used for sewing and knitting; algae take a long time to attach to it. Green-Grabber growth surfaces are not plastic at all; instead they are rock hard and have jagged rough edges and points (don't let children play with them). Green-Grabber surfaces are so good at grabbing algae and letting it grow that you may start seeing tiny growth spots within hours, instead of days. And the white color of the Green-Grabber surface reflects as much light as possible, allowing lots of light to reflect back to the algae. Lastly, the MIX2 cannot dry out, since it's always under water. So if you turn the flow off, or if the power goes out, the MIX2 compartment will remain full of water.

The main advantage of the MIX2 or any algae scrubber is that if you size and operate it properly, it can be the only filter for your tank, even replacing waterchanges. It can, however, also be used with other filters. Some other filters such as carbon dosing (Zeo, pellets, etc) may slow down the scrubber, but nothing will really "hurt" the scrubber except possibly large amounts of algaecide or copper medications.

You will need to get a timer so you can run your lights for up to 22 hours per day (not 24!).

The MIX2 will need to be cleaned ("harvested") every 7 to 21 days. Just reach in and grab a handful of algae, and pull it out. You can even feed some of the algae to your fish. You do not need to take anything apart, or take anything to your sink, usually.

Other functions of the MIX2, such as growth, are identical to the SURF2.

The MIX2 comes with a 60 day warranty: Warranty is for replacement or repair only; not a refund. Costs for shipping back to us are covered if you are in the U.S. Costs for shipping back to us are not covered if you are not in the U.S., however we will pay for shipping back to you. In either case, you will need to ship the entire unit back to us before we can ship a replacement. Warranty is limited to repair or replacement, and does not cover fish loss, personal injury, property loss, or direct, incidental or consequential damage arising from the use of it. The warranty and remedies set forth above are exclusive and in lieu of all others, whether oral or written, express or implied. We specifically disclaim any and all implied warranties, including but not limited to lost profits, downtime, goodwill, damage to or replacement of other equipment and property, and any costs of recovering animals, plants, tanks or other aquarium related items and/or equipment. We are not responsible for special, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from any breach of warranty, or replacement of equipment or property, or any costs of recovering or reproducing any equipment, animals or plants used or grown with this product.

Can be shipped to any country; you can find shipping costs by using the shopping cart; be sure to click "display rates". If you don't have a zip code, enter "zip code" instead. Note that shipping outside of the USA will probably require you to also pay an import charge when it arrives. We cannot mark it as "gift". The lowest cost overseas shipping is generally USPS First Class Mail International. The size of the shipping box is 11 x 7.5 x 5 inches, (28 x 19 x 10 cm).

MIX2 size: The MIX2 with foam is 6" wide x 8" long x 3" thick (15 cm wide x 20 cm long x 7.5 cm thick). It requires at least 3" (7.5 cm) of water to operate in. The MIX2 without foam is 4" wide x 6" long x 2" thick (10 cm wide x 15 cm long x 5 cm thick). The shipping box is 7.5" wide x 11" long x 5" thick (18.75 cm x 27.5 cm x 12.5 cm).

MIX2 Instructions:
English (Word)
English (PDF)

[GHill762]

interesting.. never seen/heard of this style.. do you have any pics of this running?

[SantaMonica]

No, I don't have a sump any more.