Introducing the new Turbo Algae Scrubber! (Rev 4)

[Turbo's Aquatics]

Yes, you got yours under the Performance Guarantee, but I'm going to need to catch up on a lot of orders before I can start swapping units out...then, actually, ahead of you in line would be a handful of Rev 3 customers who bought that version right before the announcement that I was rolling up to Rev 4 - I gave them an exchange guarantee.

I never really cared when I bought a piece of reef equipment then a new version came out the next day, so I wasn't going to do that to my customers

 

[805reef]

Yes, you got yours under the Performance Guarantee, but I'm going to need to catch up on a lot of orders before I can start swapping units out...then, actually, ahead of you in line would be a handful of Rev 3 customers who bought that version right before the announcement that I was rolling up to Rev 4 - I gave them an exchange guarantee.

I never really cared when I bought a piece of reef equipment then a new version came out the next day, so I wasn't going to do that to my customers

That sounds fair to me! I just wasn't sure if I has missed the boat on it. I know you have been very busy keeping up with all this (and life). My L2 is working great and I will patiently wait til it is my turn to swap it out for an L4. Keep up the great work!

 

[gettaReef]

Hey Bud, on Facebook I just saw a post for these new ATS's for sale by "Illusion Aquatics" (post by owner Vincente Reich). They look awfully similar to your design! From what you see, what's your opinion on these?

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

Yup there are more options out there every day, this one looks less like mine than it does to another product out there.

The only similarity I see is the removable growth chamber, other than that it's quite a bit different.

 

[gettaReef]

Huh, perhaps I'm thinking of that design then. Whoops!

 

[puffy127]

Bud,

I'm turning off my ATS while I dose Vibrant, probably for a few weeks. Do I need to keep the screen/mortar wet? If so, what's the best way to do so and how long can it stay like that?

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

you can just put it in a bucket of water, if it's got algae on it and you want to keep it alive, in your sump so it gets flow (doesn't need much). Tie to something so it doesn't go buck wild. Can leave it there for quite a while, probably weeks, but the algae will slowly disappear. But it won't completely go away.

 

[Black Pearl]

Hey Bud, it's been about 15 days and I did my first cleaning of the L4
Leds on for 12 hours a day still set at 6 o'clock following are pics of before and after cleaning

 

[Black Pearl]

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

Looks good, you might have been able to go without cleaning it even, but a "culling" at 2 weeks isn't a bad idea! The growth looks very even, so your light level looks good, I would extend the hours to 18 and bump the intensity up just a smidge, maybe to 5 o'clock or 4:30. Then let it grow at least 10 days, peek in on it at 3 days and 7 days

I really need to have stickers printed up so I can quit referring to clock position....

 

[Black Pearl]

Stickers would be a great idea. Thanks for the recommendations.

 

[jason2459]

Getting so close to getting my rev4 L8 I can smell it!!

 

[805reef]

Looks like i took too long to empty it out again, the algae stuck to the sides. This L2 works great! I cant wait to get my L4 upgrade, double the fun!

 

[Jlentz]

Mine mostly grows on the sides.

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

Yup that is like mine also, that doesn't mean that you waited too long, it's what you should expect and what you want actually. That means your growth got into the 3D stage, so it traps water in that mass of algae but it's still flowing through it quite fast. You can see that if you slide one of the light fixtures sideways before you cut the flow - it drains out quickly.

The side effect of course is that when you pull out the screen, the growth that is stuck to the side tears away. But again, not unexpected. The growth is generally easily removed from the polycarbonate growth chamber with a single pass of the scraper, I usually have some that is more anchored to it also though, but I just leave that in place, there's really no reason to get the growth chamber super clean anyways, it's just going to grow right back.

Also the attachment to the growth chamber, in a way, helps to keep the growth in the chamber. You get support from the screen and from the growth chamber. I've noticed this actually has the effect of making the screen easier to harvest, the growth isn't as firmly attached.

It's kind of interesting, what I've noticed is that when you have an open-air screen or a screen in an enclosed box that does not fill it up with the 3D type growth (I still run a Rev 1 on one tank, it doesn't get as much 3D growth) that those screens have firmer attachment. It's like the algae sort of adapts. Like with the UAS units I've ran, since there is no gravity/waterfall force, the algae almost doesn't need to stay as firmly attached in order to stay in place, so it just doesn't form that tough attachment - it's easy to remove the growth. But with a large open air screen that is mature, that growth is very firmly attached and you sometimes need to really scrape hard to get it off. That doesn't seem to be the case with my Rev 4 L2, at least not so far (and it's been running long enough where I would have seen that)

 

[PJS]

Got it fired up!

 

[PJS]

This may have been asked and answered already so I apologize if so, is there a better period of the day versus another to run the lights? Is there any benefit running the lights at night?

 

[Black Pearl]

Running my ATS 18 hours. off 12N to 6p.m. My PH has been 8.1-8.3 where it ran at 7.6-7.8 before

 

[PJS]

Running my ATS 18 hours. off 12N to 6p.m. My PH has been 8.1-8.3 where it ran at 7.6-7.8 before

Ok, thanks for sharing. I presently have it on from noon until midnight, I have been thinking about flipping the schedule. I thought it might help with PH.

 

[b4tn]

Mine likes to grow chaeto algae. I'm not complaining though. Its a macro and the DT is algae free. Here is 3 weeks growth.