- Today we're gonna look at the Clear Water
external algae scrubbers.
And give you some insights into how
they can be really be beneficial for your aquarium.
Also, be sure to stick around until the very end
for a very special giveaway.
(lively music)
Hello everyone.
This is Wayland from Marine Depot here.
Controlling nutrient levels in your reef tank
is one of the most important parts of maintaining a healthy,
vibrant reef tank.
Nutrients are added to your reef
every time you feed your tank
and excess nutrients must be removed from your tank
to keep them from reaching toxic levels
and causing harm to your corals and fish.
There are many ways you can remove nutrients
from your reef, including mechanical filtration methods
like filter socks and protein skimmers.
There are also chemical filtration methods
like carbon dosing.
Many reefers these days are gravitating toward
a biological approach with the use of algae scrubbers
and refugiums specifically designed for nutrient export.
The use of algae for nutrient export
is certainly not new.
It's actually one of the ways that mother nature
has taught us to keep nutrients in check.
Algae growth has a major part of an ocean
ecological system,
and, in addition to neutral control as a natural filter,
also offer benefits like providing a natural food source
for many life forms and a habitat for many others.
In aquaria, we first use control algae growth
primarily in two ways.
Refugiums where macroalgae like Keto Amorphous
cultivated in a sump compartment or separate tank,
and algae scrubbers which grow hair algae
on a screen inside an enclosed housing.
Both of these are viable methods
for employing algae to export nutrients.
The refugiums typically need to be large
if they're going to be truly beneficial for nutrient export.
This makes the compact algae scrubbers
a more practical solution
because of the space constraints,
in most average-sized home aquariums.
Both macroalgae found in a refugium and green hair allergy,
will remove nitrate, phosphate
and heavy metals from the aquarium.
One benefit of a scrubber is that green hair algae
and turf algae also can directly consume ammonia,
which is appealing for fish stores and captive breeders.
Most external algae scrubbers
are relatively straight forward in their design.
Water is pumped into the scrubber,
which then directs the water
to naturally fall over some type of roughed up surface,
often a heavy screen.
Water then drains from the scrubber
through a drain pipe back into your sample or aquarium.
A full spectrum light source illuminates the screen area
inside the scrubber promoting rapid algae growth.
The colored of this light sources
often optimize a further increase the rate
at which algae grows because the faster it grows,
the more nutrients it will remove.
Scrubbers are designed in such a way
that water is highly oxygenated through a waterfall effect
as it falls over a screen or with the use of an air pump.
This further optimize the environment
for speedy algae growth.
Now that you're a little more familiar
with the concept of algae scrubbers,
let's specifically dive into
the Clear Water external algae scrubbers.
Clear Water offers four different models
of external water scrubbers,
ranging in size based on your aquarium water volume.
Starting with tanks, as small as 60 gallons
all the way up to 500 gallons or more.
The recommended flow rate through the scrubbers
increases respectively, with each model.
Here at Marine Depot, we are running the CW-100 model
on our Red Sea, reefer 525 deluxe aquarium.
As you can see, the Clear Water scrubbers
are designed to be externally mounted
above your tank or something
with a free flowing returns drain line.
This is convenient in the sense that
it does not occupy valuable footprint space
inside your sump, rather it sits on top
in an area that is often unoccupied.
The acrylic and PVC construction
is heavy duty and features a high output LED lights
specifically tailored for maximum growth
with two spectrums of red and two spectrums of blue.
They offer a nice set of acrylic light shields
as an accessory, which blocks any lights spillage.
Upon initial setup,
you'll need to establish the algae growth
on the scrubber screen, which takes four to six weeks.
The screen will then need to be cleansed
periodically thereafter every 10 to 14 days
depending on the rate of growth.
If the allergy is not removed from your screen regularly,
it will die off and return the absorbing nutrients
into your tank aquarium water,
so be sure that you maintain it.
The algae should be about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch thick
when you remove it.
If you neglect this, you'll be working against yourself.
For scheduling the light,
you can use a regular wall timer
or plug it into your aquarium controller.
At first, you can simply run it 24/7
to get the algae established.
You can then reduce the time the light is operating
based on your nutrient levels.
Less light, less growth, less nutrient uptake.
The rate of flow can also be used
to sort of dial in the scrubber
with the idea that a high flow rate
will increase the rate at which nutrients are removed.
Another awesome benefit is that algae scrubbers
help stabilize pH at a higher level
because of the increased gas exchange
and see what to consumption by the algae.
Running the scrubber
opposite of your display light schedule,
reduce the severity of the natural pH swings
that occur inside your tank.
Cleaning is crucial and thankfully it's super simple.
Just remove the lid and unscrew the top union
to remove the internal screen.
Scrape and dispose off the algae growth,
Using an old credit card or plastic algae scraper.
Be careful not to over clean the screen.
A very thin layer of algae should remain attach,
which keeps it react and rapidly growing.
You wanna be sure and clean the slot
on the top drip pipe as well,
which ensures an even waterfall over the screen.
Just run a card or a scraper through just slot.
The hair algae can potentially be an essence food source
for herbivores, fish and other animals in your tank.
Let them graze from the screen
for an easier cleaning method.
Now for the giveaway,
Clear Water was kind enough to offer one lucky winner,
a Clear Water external allergy scrubber.
Simply like share and subscribe to be entered
and a winner will be announced on social media
on May 3rd, 2019.
So be sure to follow along with us on Facebook,
Instagram, and Twitter to see if you have won.
Using this natural nutrient control
is an excellent way to keep your reef tank clean.
It's also suitable for both fresh and salt water cramps.
If you have any questions about
the Clear Water algae scrubbers,
or simply need aquarium advice,
please contact our support team any time.
Please give us a thumbs up below
and share this video with friends if you found that helpful.
Until next time,
take care and happy reef keeping.
(lively music)