Algae turf scrubbers are a great way to control nutrients, but lets face it, most are not that pretty to look at. The new line of Clear Water External Algae Scrubbers are tidy units that are designed to maximize space and efficiency.
Although technology like LED light has improved algae reactors and scrubbers, getting a big surface area relied on big buckets or bins. While they worked, they took up space and weren’t always the prettiest things to look at under the aquarium.
We liked what we saw on first impression, a nice sleek and unobtrusive design. The Clear Water External Algae Scrubbers are made to be mounted above the sump to allow the water to simply flow into the sump. The algae turf pad looks like the plastic waffle crafting mat material many people use in the DIY builds, and its hung over an acrylic tube that feeds the aquarium water over the mat where the algae grows.
The water is fed over the algae using a feed pump, either a controllable DC or an AC pump and ball valve to allow you to dial in the best flow rate for your tank and crop of algae. The water drains through a 1 in. pipe into the sump and has an emergency backup 1/2 in. drain just in case the main gets clogged with algae. Once algae is seeded, it is fueled by the nutrients in the tank and a combination of high-power red and blue LED lights blasting it from both sides to expedite algae growth.
According to Clear Water, maintaining the External Algae Scrubbers is pretty simple and is about on par with other types of scrubbers. Every week to three weeks (depending on how fast he algae grows), simply remove the screen and rinsing under the faucet will remove most of the algae while leaving just enough to seed the next batch. For tough build up, a toothbrush is helpful to scrub free.
The Clear Water External Algae Scrubbers come in three sizes:
Clear Water External Algae Scrubbers CW-100— Rated for tanks up to 125 gallons, measures in at 13 3/4 in x 9 in. x 9 1/4 in. high with a 7 in. x 6 3/4 in. screen. They recommend a flow rate of 350 GPH. The Clear Water External Algae Scrubbers CW-300 retails for $299.99.
Clear Water External Algae Scrubbers CW-200— Rated for tanks up to 250 gallons, measures in at 16 in. x 10 in. x 11 in. high with a 9 3/4 in. x 8 1/4 in. screen. They recommend a flow rate of 450 GPH. The Clear Water External Algae Scrubbers CW-300 retails for $379.99.
Clear Water External Algae Scrubbers CW-300 — Rated for tanks up to 400 gallons, measures in at 19 in x 10 1/2 x 14 in. high with an 11 1/2 in. x 10 1/2 in. screen. They recommend a flow rate of 600 GPH. The Clear Water External Algae Scrubbers CW-300 retails for $449.99.
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