400 gallons of saltwater running through my house.

[DevonM]

Update: 4 months up and running (started ~ 1/1/2014). After planting the refugium with some Turtle Grass (Thalassia testudinum) on 2/13/14 I am very happy with it's appearance. I can't wait for the grass to spread throughout the bottom of the tank. The only issue I had with the turtle grass was a bunch of hitchhikers came with it (flat worms, bubble algae, aiptasia, etc.). After a few peppermint shrimp were added to the fuge the aiptasia were taken care of but only after feeding the aiptasia so the shrimp could find them. I used a turkey baster to suck 10-12 flatworms off the glass, really hope they don't show up again but they might.

Turtle Grass (Thalassia testudinum)

A bottle of Tigger Pods to help seed the refugium.

Nice hidy hole on the right side of the refuge. 2-13-14

I really like the look of the turtle grass planted in the fuge.

The right side of the fuge. Nice little arch/cave for dwarf cuttlefish one day.

Update photo as of 3-26-14.

Update photo as of 4-3-14.

Turtle Grass (Thalassia testudinum) as of 4-3-14.

The left side of the fuge has a nice clam shell shelter. Should be a great spot of “dark” organisms.

 

[CarlaW]

When that turtle grass spreads, how much beer for some of it?

Things look great and are startin to take hold Devon

 

[DevonM]

When that turtle grass spreads, how much beer for some of it?

Things look great and are startin to take hold Devon

I will let you know how the growth goes. I just ordered some Red Bush Algae & some Tufted Joint Algae too.

 

[CarlaW]

We got time Devon, I know I am in no real hurry.

 

[DevonM]

A couple more videos:

 

[DevonM]

 

[DevonM]

 

[sarmo]

the fuge looks awesome Devon.... I really like the turtle grass. I could see that in a display tank, very cool. I like how you used the old empty shells. better than sitting them on the porch!!! I think an eel swimming through the grass would be awesome.... tough on shrimp though

 

[DevonM]

I ordered a Surf2 UAS from Santa Monica Filtration today.

The Surf2 supports my current feeding level but should also work well with my refugium as it cycles. For the long run I think this will be a great addition to the system.

For those of you who don't know what the heck a Surf2 is:

 

[DevonM]

Here is the Surf2 in action:

 

[sarmo]

cool idea! post your results when you get it installed..... I wonder why it uses the air lines? for water movement?

 

[DevonM]

Yeah, I assume that's why the use of air. The air lines probably move the water just like the hang-on side algae scrubbers. I'm pretty excited to see how this product will affect my system. The tank has now been up and running in it's current configuration for a little over 5 months.

 

[LostCreekReefer]

Just curious Devon..I've looked at these scrubbers w/ algae vs bioballs w/ bacteria for doing the cleanup work. What persuaded you to go this way?

 

[DevonM]

Well I guess I just like the results I see of others using a scrubber. I also like that there is no dosing, just algae removal every week or two. I had bio balls in the tank overflows before we moved and felt they caught a lot of extra debris. The bio balls quieted down the tank a bit but I think they added to the evaporation issue. Removing the bio balls and adding a stand pipe made my tank really quiet. Just getting ready to add some picks of the new unit...

Just curious Devon..I've looked at these scrubbers w/ algae vs bioballs w/ bacteria for doing the cleanup work. What persuaded you to go this way?

 

[DevonM]

After picking up my SURF2 algae scrubber today from the post office I’m happy to see that the scrubber seems to be built for the long run. The construction of the floating growth container is very solid and the lid is nice and heavy. Not sure why I assume quality with a product’s weight but I’ll go with it. After a few weeks of cycling we should see some green stuff! Here area few photos I took of the SURF2:

Unpacking my SURF2 algae scrubber from Santa Monica Filtration.

Here’s what the bottom of the SURF2 algae scrubber looks like. This side shines down on the algae in the floating growth container.

The LEDs that light this unit are really bright! As you can see there are four super-red 660nm LEDs to get the job done.

Here’s where the magic happens! This evening I will “seed” the growth compartment by rubbing some green hair algae on the inside of the box. The idea is to get a good culture on the sides of the box and harvest the algae that grows on the strings. It should take about a week to cycle the box and another couple of weeks before it’s time to harvest the algae.

The “Green-Grabber” side wall material of the SURF2 provides a lot of places where algae spores can populate. This surface seems to be very durable!

The bottom of the SURF2 has a few openings to allow air to be pumped in. The air helps oxygenate the algae and move water in and out of the unit.

The LED lid sits nice and snug over the top of the growth box. I think I might float this unit right in my refugium.

I thought it was kind of interesting that the LEDs need to be turned off for at least 2 hours a day, make sense though. I will be using an open outlet on my APEX controller to program a light schedule. The instructions included with the unit provide some very useful insight on how to finely tune in the scrubber’s algae production via the trouble shooting section.

The folks at Santa Monica Filtration recommended using a Fusion aquarium air pump (model 700) to supply the air to the unit. An air pump is not included so I picked up two (one for a backup).

 

[DevonM]

 

[DevonM]

SURF2 Algae Scrubber Update - Day 8

 

[DevonM]

 

[LostCreekReefer]

Hey Devon - do you have the Apex Fusion software running with your controller?

 

[DevonM]

I am not. I just use the app on my phone to control the system. You?

Hey Devon - do you have the Apex Fusion software running with your controller?