Introducing the new Turbo Algae Scrubber! (Rev 4)

[charleslotz]

My sump is large ,.. 60x36x24 ... Sump Has standard plastic rim would like the unit to sit on the rim and take twater from one of overflows , from the 400 gallon display ,.. So length 36x ??30x30?? I would say is max .... About ...

Point is I want to be on the list when it's my turn we can work out the final dimensions.... Hopefully I'm early enough for rev4 mid December? Perfect Christmas present for myself ,.. Let me know if ok....? And thanks ....

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

Unfortunately at this time I don't have any immediate plans for making a custom size for the Rev 4. The dual-drain system with the o-ring seals are very difficult to hand-fabricate to the required tolerances - there are a lot of things that have to be cut nearly perfectly in order for the o-ring gland to seal properly into the base, so if I'm off by as much as a half a millimeter on each part that is involved, things wont line up. I've become somewhat of a self-taught expert on o-ring gland design! But if I can ever get the tooling set up right to make it feasible, I'll let that be known. That doesn't mean, however, that I couldn't hand-fabricate one along the lines of the Rev 3 or Rev 2 design (hand fabricated acrylic w/schedule 80 PVC slot pipe).

The manufactured Rev 4 will (hopefully) take a lot of fabrication time for the smaller units off my hands. At least that's the plan. The trade off of course is my volume goes way up, so I have to play custom builds by ear.

You can still plumb a Rev 4 directly off the overflow, as you could for any of my previous versions. The caveat to that is that you really should have another full-volume return path available. The danger is not the Slot Pipe clogging with growth, it is something going down the overflow pipe and blocking the flow to the screen (regardless of what protections you have in place to prevent this). So if you run a dual durso, a Herbie, or BeanAnimal, you are probably covered (the latter being the best IMO)

 

[knmhermary]

Wow, seems like a dream!

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

It's my dream baby!

 

[SPotter]

looks awesome Bud!!!!

 

[charleslotz]

Ok makes sense still interested I'll pm you , we and we can discuss options on how to proceed with a custom unit...

 

[WilRams]

Add me to the list please. If you need a PM I can do that as well. Thanks!

 

[WilRams]

Looks great. Maybe I missed it but what are the dimensions of it? Mainly width as I would like it to just sit across on top of my sump. Thanks

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

Looks great. Maybe I missed it but what are the dimensions of it? Mainly width as I would like it to just sit across on top of my sump. Thanks

As it is currently laid out, the L2 footprint of the base will be just under 11" long and just over 5" wide. The heat sinks fins will extend out another 1/2" in either direction but those don't contact anything the unit is sitting on.

Height of the L2 and L4 will be about 7.5" with the lid on. Length of the L4 will be around 17" long. The L8 will be the same length as the L4, and 4" taller (about 11.5").

I'm still pondering some changes, one related to the slot pipe

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

Add me to the list please. If you need a PM I can do that as well. Thanks!

I've got you on it now! Busy weekend, busy week...

 

[skydancer]

Can the growth screen slide out from either side of the unit once the cover is off?
And what mounting options are available?

 

[ebushrow]

Is the second hole on the bottom (next to the false bottom just an emergency outflow point? Wasn't sure because the description said on the side with the elbow

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

Can the growth screen slide out from either side of the unit once the cover is off?

Yes it can. There is no reason to bond in the end plates, they will stay in place on their own. Both end plates will probably need to be removed to disengage the Growth Chamber from the Base anyways.

And what mounting options are available?

People have been pretty creative with mounting methods over the past few years. You can mount the unit over the sump, on top of the tank, on a shelf above the tank, or even remote from the tank/sump (but it needs to gravity-drain to something)

I make acrylic mounting brackets which are pretty simple, it's just a 1" wide strip of 3/8" acrylic with a 1" strip of 3/4" acrylic bonded to the underside and a rubber strip on the top. I have been making these custom for each customer that wants one, but I'm working on a 2-part extruded ABS design that can be cut to whatever length you need. Same concept, different material.

I've mounted scrubbers free-standing in the sump using 1/2" PVC pipe and 3-way elbows to create a box frame, that worked very well actually.

I've used a sheet of thick acrylic with a hole drilled in it and laid it across the sump, that works too. You can also take 2 pieces of 3/4" or 1" PVC pipe with notches cut in them for the rim of the sump, ziptie a piece of egg crate to the pipe, and knock out a hole for the drain

For mounting remote from the sump, you can hard-pipe the drains. This worked OK on previous versions, but sometimes there was still some salt creep over time. The Rev 4 should not have this problem as the drains off the Base are ready for solvent welding (or friction fit - they are not under pressure)

For mounting on top of a tank, this works OK but the issue is that without any room under the scrubber for flow control, you can end up with a lot of noise from the drain sucking air and a lot of bubbles injected into the tank. But I'm working on a low-profile drain control valve system that will hopefully minimize this for this specific situation, and it will also replace the bulky 1.5" single-union ball valve.

I will try to post some examples of the mounting options I describe above...

Is the second hole on the bottom (next to the false bottom just an emergency outflow point? Wasn't sure because the description said on the side with the elbow

That is correct, the end drain is an emergency / secondary drain. The "side drain with elbow" is a reference to how this was designed on the previous 3 versions I made.

Dimensionally, it's actually smaller than my previous versions, which has the Emergency Drain on the side (elbow down).

 

[revhtree]

Awesome!

 

[domination2580]

So what exactly is this supposed to do?

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

So what exactly is this supposed to do?

I take it you are not familiar the concept of an Algae Scrubber?

The short answer is that it is similar in nature to a refugium, only it is very compact, and is designed to grow algae. More specifically, green hair algae, but other types will grow also depending on the system you are running it on.

If you google "Algae Scrubber", "Algal Turf Scrubber", "Algae Turf Scrubber" you'll find enough to read to last you weeks!

 

[domination2580]

Sounds good I'll check into it

 

[Broadwave]

Turbo, can you please put me on the waiting list for one?
I have a couple of question for you.

What size system is this new a algae scrubber rated for? My system is about 225 gallons.

Also, what will the price on this system be?

 

[reburn]

What do you reccomend flow wise for the L2 and L4

 

[Salty0331]

Genius! Looks like an Alege Fusion Reactor.[emoji106][emoji6]