- [Thomas] Four square aquatics have created a fantastic
external algae turf scrubber
with a drawer system for harvesting algae
that just makes the whole process
so much easier to do with less mess
and you don't even need to turn off the pump.
It uses a pair of LED panels
with active cooling to provide that algae
with loads of energy for photosynthesis
plus the fully enclosed design blocks, light spill,
keeping things nice and tidy in the sump.
It's not tiny but the dark cube design
is growing on me pretty quickly.
When you open up the box, you'll find the
APIS polycarbonate housing along
with the drawer and ultra stiff screen
as well as light fixtures and bulkheads.
You'll also get power cords,
a Foursquare Aquatics towel which is a nice touch.
A thank you card with the serial number of your unit
as well as instructions and a cool sticker
so you can rep your Foursquare Aquatics pride.
The Foursquare Aquatics algae turf scrubber is
currently available in two sizes.
The APIS-60 and the APIS-300 rated
for aquariums up to 200 gallons
and 500 gallons respectively.
The units themselves are quite large,
with the 60 I have here,
measuring in at roughly 11 by 11 and a half
by 11 and a half inches but
that shiny dark cube keeps everything nicely contained
and is really easy to maintain.
The overall design is quite smart and using the
a APIS-60 that I have here as an example.
Water enters through the unit
through a three quarter inch threaded bulkhead
at the back of the scrubber directly into the spray bar
which sits right above the algae screen.
Water flows over the screen,
then out the back of the drawer, down into the bottom
of the scrubber, where there are a pair of oversized
one inch drain bulkheads, one for the primary drain and one
for the secondary or emergency drain to act as a backup
should anything plug up that primary drain
which I am really glad to see.
The lip at the front of the scrubber
also has a drain port to allow any spills
or drips from the drawer to make it
down into the drain, which is brilliant.
The drawer itself is clear on the sides
but black on the top and bottom to keep light contained.
Speaking of lighting, these scrubbers come
with a pair of LED panels with a red
heavy hydroponic spectrum to
encourage vigorous algal growth
on the APIS-60 that I have here.
Each fixture is drawing roughly 37 Watts from the wall
for a combined 74 Watts, which should translate
to plenty of light for growing
copious amounts of algae on the screen.
The fixtures are actively cooled
meaning there are cooling fans
but they are reasonably quiet.
I was really happy to see that the power cords included
with these fixtures use 90 degree plugs at the light.
So they won't be sticking straight out
but instead they can sit flat against the scrubber.
Although it isn't immediately obvious
the lights are actually separated
from the wet components behind clear acrylic panels.
And the lid has grooves for the tops
of those walls to sit in, making for a very tight fit
to prevent any splishes or splashes
from getting anywhere near the light fixtures.
To control these lights, a simple
dual outlet digital timer works really well
or you can plug them into
your recording controller.
And just like a refugium or cater reactor
running them opposite of your display
lighting can really help keep the pH up
especially at night, which is a welcome bonus.
But the specs and the flow path, aren't the best part.
The real showstopper here is how easy
this algae turf scrubber is to maintain.
While most scrubs require you to shut off the pump
and unscrew a union to remove the spray bar
and then pull the algae screen up from the top,
the APIS has an ingenious drawer system
that allows you to easily access the algae
from the front without turning off the pump
and without having to remove the spray bar.
Once you slide the drawer forward
you can tip it back to let the water drain out,
then tip it forward to contain
any leftover water or drips from the algae
as you walk the drawer to the sink.
You can then lift off the lid to the drawer,
remove the screen scrape off the algae,
reattach it to the lid, place it back on the drawer
and reinsert it into the APIS.
It's quick. It's simple. It's relatively mess free
and you're not gonna forget to plug the pump back in
because you never had to unplug it in the first place.
Now there is one hurdle, installing these ATS units
isn't as simple as a drop in option
because the drains come out of the bottom.
You'll most likely want it to sit over top
of your sump and you can do that pretty easily
using a sheet of polycarbonate as a shelf
or even make a simple frame using PVC pipe.
My favorite solution though,
is the one that Mark shows off
in his long term review video
that you can check out right here.