Introducing the new Turbo Algae Scrubber! (Rev 4)

Turbo's Aquatics · Nov 21, 2015

cono said:
Hey Floyd
Don't know if you remember me ....I sent you a picture of my tank (the 180 gallon with cyanobacteria and customs )
I really like your product , could not get enough YouTube videos on it (lol) .I just can't remember which one you suggested for me ...I have the lifereef lfs -300 from Jeff .And I cound see a really nice match (workmanship and quality ) . Can you tell me which one to get . Right now I only have 4 fish 2 gsm clowns a yellow belly hippo and (forgot the name ) wrasse. I just got over ich and was recovering from the supper storm Sandy ( no power for 5 weeks and had to major repairs to roof of house (lol)

I'll look for you on my email, shoot me a PM with your name & email address and I'll make sure I get it right!

Stephanie11 said:
Silly easy question for you. What happens if you use higher flow?. I saw for the L2 you recommended 220gph flow. What if that was doubled or tripled? What does flow do to ats?

the rule of thumb is 35 GPH/in of screen width, so 6" x 35 = 210, but you ca go up to 50 which woudl be 300 GPH, beyond that I would say it's questionable whether or not you get any additional benefit, as you might start running into a point of diminishing returns. But I've had people run 400 GPH+ and say they still get good results, so at best, it's not a negative effect to have too much flow. Although that might have been what @jason2459 experienced on his L3

human said:
Looks like it'll be an awesome product, put me down for an L2.

I've got you down!

cono · Nov 21, 2015

Don't know how to pm on phone my email is onoc425@Gmail or aol.com

Roberto CRC · Nov 21, 2015

@ Floyd R Turbo

Thanks.

Turbo's Aquatics · Nov 21, 2015

@cono just tap my username then select the "start a conversation" link

New2dareef · Nov 21, 2015

I'd like to be on the list also

Phil M · Nov 22, 2015

I am interested, let me know about the L4 when available

Turbo's Aquatics · Nov 22, 2015

Added you both to the list!

cono · Nov 22, 2015

Did you get my pm

Turbo's Aquatics · Nov 23, 2015

Yes, I did - responded

imustbenuts · Nov 27, 2015

Hi Turbo
Would you add me to your initial offering of the L2. Thank You.

Turbo's Aquatics · Nov 27, 2015

I've got you down @imustbenuts!

cono · Nov 30, 2015

Hey I'll go with the l2

Turbo's Aquatics · Nov 30, 2015

Already had you down @cono, now I just know what size to check off!

Maximus · Nov 30, 2015

Are there any working prototypes built yet? I'm still enjoying my L2 and it's doing a great job.

805reef · Dec 2, 2015

What is the input pipe size on the L2? Will 3/4" pipe be enough?

jason2459 · Dec 2, 2015

Floyd R Turbo said:
...

the rule of thumb is 35 GPH/in of screen width, so 6" x 35 = 210, but you ca go up to 50 which woudl be 300 GPH, beyond that I would say it's questionable whether or not you get any additional benefit, as you might start running into a point of diminishing returns. But I've had people run 400 GPH+ and say they still get good results, so at best, it's not a negative effect to have too much flow. Although that might have been what @jason2459 experienced on his L3

I've got you down!

Yeah, my production reduced when I went wide open on my ball valve. I cut it back and production rebounded and keeps producing lovely thick green stuff. Flow's not even cut back that much but it was just enough it seems to hit that diminishing return area and possible negative return. I'm loving that L3 on my 180 and looking forward to going all out with the L8.

Turbo's Aquatics · Dec 2, 2015

Maximus said:
Are there any working prototypes built yet? I'm still enjoying my L2 and it's doing a great job.

I started on a prototype out of acrylic, had parts CNCd, but it became clear that cutting the grooves would be very difficult. I had a set of fitted parts made on a CNC and that was good enough for me to show that the seal system worked. The rest was so highly detailed with the 3D models, I didn't see the point. The first run of parts will be here in a few weeks, and the first production run shortly after that (as long as there aren't any glaring problems). I'm still waiting on a firm shipping date, I will be expediting a portion of the first order (or all of it)

805reef said:
What is the input pipe size on the L2? Will 3/4" pipe be enough?

The slot pipe is 3/4" input, so that's perfect!

jason2459 said:
Yeah, my production reduced when I went wide open on my ball valve. I cut it back and production rebounded and keeps producing lovely thick green stuff. Flow's not even cut back that much but it was just enough it seems to hit that diminishing return area and possible negative return. I'm loving that L3 on my 180 and looking forward to going all out with the L8.

I'm working on releasing the L4 and L8 simultaneously

Turbo's Aquatics · Dec 8, 2015

Got a few updates

Schedule:
Things are on track for L2 production, the only thing I am waiting on to officially pull the trigger are the first-run samples. These are supposed to be in my hands a few days either side of Christmas. So, with that timing, I'm expecting them after Christmas. As long as there are not issues that require correction, I will have the first run of 50 units in my hands around January 20th. I have already adjusted the 2nd post of this thread to reflect the Wait List date of January 1st 2016 for locking into the Introductory Pricing.

L4 and L8:
I've been getting a little more interest than I expected for the L4 and quite a few inquiries for the L8 (and larger). I'm pushing hard to get the L4 models finished up. I've also come up with a way to make the L8 work without the need for a huge and super-expensive mold. If it works out as I forsee, the L8 should be available at the same time as the L4. I'm still hoping for mid-Spring on both, so stay tuned.

Win an L2 in the Reef2Reef 2015 Toy Drive! <--clicky, donate, pretty self explanatory.

Mortar Screen:
This is something that @Paul B posted a little while back, and I posted on the Algae Scrubber Basics thread. I posted my version of this method in the same thread earlier today. After seeing how these turned out, I have a lot of confidence that this is the new screen type that I have been searching for.

Gooey blobs of algae:
One thing this thread has been lacking is pictures. Pictures of slap-yo-mama growth. Well here's your fix for that type of stuff, 500 pictures to make your kids go EEEWWWWWWWW like mine do. Weaklings. They've never been fortunate enough to get a huge whiff of skimmate or they wouldn't be complaining!

http://s611.photobucket.com/user/FloydRTurbo/library/00 Algae Scrubbers/2015 Cleanings?sort=9&page=1

Here's a few for those who don't want to scroll through Photobucket.

These pics are a mixture of 3 scrubbers I maintain:

A Rev 1 L2 on my personal 120g (top of tank, sole filtration)
A Rev 1 L2 on a 144g tank at an office in town (over sump, sole filtration)
A Rev 3 L4 on a 200g tank at a Japanese Steakhouse in town (alongside skimmer, filter sock, and carbon)

At some point in time, I started weighing harvests. These are always shown as a series of about 6 pictures: Wet (first in Ounces, then Grams), then after a good squeeze of the whole ball of algae (Oz & g), and then after a really strong squeeze of the algae, one chunk at a time to really get the majority of the water out (Oz & g). To me, this is the only reliable method of comparing harvests, as it shows the differential between wet, somewhat wet, and relatively dry harvests. Do that consistently for a series of months and you will see a pattern that shows it wasn't just a one-off measurement, or just the pick-of-the-litter harvest.

Something like this

Wet (14.8 oz)

Squeezed (9 oz)

Squeezed a lot (4.9 oz)