Santa Monica Filtration SURF2 Algae Scrubber

The SURF2(TM) is the world`s first floating surface Upflow Algae Scrubber® (also called a UAS®). It is also the first Ribbon Scrubber®, which is what allows the algae to be removed from the scrubber with one hand without needing to disassemble anything or take anything to the sink. Simply lift up the lid and pull the algae out. And you can feed some of the algae to your fish and snails if you want to; fresh is best!

The physical size or number of gallons or liters of water in your tank or sump does not matter, however the phosphate level does: The SURF2 is good with saltwater with phosphate less than 0.2 ppm; if phosphate is higher than 0.2 ppm, consider the SURF2x. And if you feed more than the above amounts, you can get multiple SURF2 or SURF2x units; multiple units are preferred over one larger unit because you can clean one unit per week, and because you`ll always have one unit filtering while the other one starts growing again after a cleaning. Multiple SURF2 or SURF2x units are also good for backup.

The SURF2 start with two air bubble openings at the bottom, where upflowing air bubbles (from a strong air pump, sold separately) flow up into the growth compartment and bring aquarium water with it. As the bubbles and water enter the growth compartment they rub the algae-attachment ribbons and get blasted by the super-red 660nm LED light. The bubbles then circle around and around inside the growth compartment, rubbing against the ribbons and the Green-Grabber® super-rough rock-hard attachment textures as the bubbles rise up to the water surface. This repeated rubbing of bubbles causes algae to start growing on the ribbons and textures; freshwater grows thin stringy algae, and saltwater grows thicker, denser algae. The air then goes out of the top of the unit, quietly and with very little salt spray, and the water goes down and out two holes in the bottom, without hardly any bubbles remaining.

A few features of the SURF2 provide real usefulness and are available on no other algae scrubber (except the SURF4). First, the enclosed growth compartment increases the dwell time of the water and bubbles inside the unit so that they rub the algae many times before leaving the compartment. This actually reduces nutrients (nitrate, phosphate) to a level lower than the outside water, which allows greener growth to occur sooner (lower nutrients grows greener algae) inside the unit, especially in high-nutrient aquarium water. In other words, the SURF2 creates a lower-nutrient ecosystem inside itself which is different from the rest of the water in your aquarium. Also, the position of the air bubble inlets (below the growth) causes the bubbles to flow through the growth no matter how thick the growth gets. This is in contrast to waterfall scrubbers, which mostly flow water on the outside of the growth, leaving the inner layers of growth without flow.

Another feature which was highly requested was quiet operation. Since the SURF2 do not touch the aquarium glass or sump glass, and since it`s made of heavy material surrounded by foam, it is by far the quietest algae scrubber ever made. As a matter of fact it`s almost silent (the air pump is usually louder). The thick and heavy gauge plastic growth container is coated internally by even thicker and heaver Green-Grabber textures, and is surrounded on the outside by 1" (2.5 cm) of closed cell polyethylene foam. This stops virtually all sound from going sideways. And the 1/2" (12 mm) thick LED lid is filled with super dense but flexible polyurethane, which absorbs more sound than a rigid structure would, and much more than a non-sealed structure would. Lastly the path that air has to take to get out of the top requires the air to first go sideways towards the foam, and then upwards along the foam; this allows the foam to absorb any remaining sound exactly the way foam absorbs sound in a studio. So while you may hear very muffled bubbling if the filter were next to your bed at night, you will hear nothing if there is any other activity occurring in your house.

Comes with 3 ft (90 cm) of dual vinyl airline, but requires a 2-outlet air pump that can pump at least 5.0 total liters per minute (0.2 cfm), which small low-cost pumps cannot do. Pumps that say they can handle 10 or more airstones, or pumps with 2 tubing attachments instead of one, are best..You can have as much air as you like, however, 10 lpm pumps are no problem.

The SURF2 lid contains 4 red (660 nm) 3-watt LEDs, which are attached to an aluminum heat sink which is painted black to reduce heat; it does get warm. The LEDs will give the aquarium or sump a slight red color at night when the aquarium lights are off, but this will occur less as the SURF2 fills with growth. You will need to get a timer so you can run the LEDs for up to 22 hours per day (not 24). The LEDs never needs replacing.

The SURF2 will need to be cleaned ("harvested") every 7 to 21 days. Just lift up the LED lid, grab a handful of algae, and pull it out. You can even feed some of the algae to your fish. You do not need to take anything apart, or take anything to your sink.

Specifications

• Dimensions: 6" wide by 8" long by 3" thick (15 cm wide, 20 cm long, 7.5 cm thick)
• Recommended Water Level: ~3" (7.5 cm) of water to operate in
• LEDs: Four red (660 nm) 3-watt LEDs, which are double sealed in epoxy.
• Requires a standard air pump that can pump at least 5.0 liters per minute (0.2 cfm), which small low-cost pumps cannot do. Pumps that say they can handle 10 or more airstones, or pumps with 2 tubing attachments instead of one, are best..You can have as much air as you like, however, 10 lpm pumps are no problem.