DROP3.4(TM)
Drop-In
Scrubber
with Green Grabber® strings, surfaces
and replaceable GEM5® lights
For saltwater only
Ships in one week
Photos coming soon
Eliminate
water changes. Remove
nuisance algae, nitrate and phosphate. Cultivate algae for feeding.
Smaller 2.6 salt and freshwater version is
HERE
DROP3.4 dimensions: 6" wide x 10.5" tall x 4" thick
front-to-back (15 cm wide x 26 cm tall x 10 cm thick). It requires at least 7" (18 cm) of water to operate in.
Operates on both 120 and 240V. Can be shipped to any
country; you can find shipping costs by putting the item into the
shopping cart; be sure to click "display rates"
No dangerous metal 240/120 volt lights.
Welcome to algae scrubbers. We are the only source for patented upflow scrubbers # 9,115,008 and
9,708,207. All the oceans, reefs, lakes and rivers are naturally filtered only by algae, and all the organic
particles remain in the water to feed the creatures. Reduce your glass cleaning and water changes, and create an
environment for living micro-animals to grow inside the scrubber. No more dosing or possible overdosing. No more
refilling media. No more pale corals from low nutrients, and no more sick animals from high nutrients. Far more powerful
than chaeto or refugiums, and does not remove the food particles. And you can use the algae as food!
Get the no-overflow advantage of an upflow scrubber: since it is ALL underwater, it can't overflow onto your floor like box-style waterfall scrubbers can.
Finally an aquarium filter that offers drop-in installation in small spaces, along with reduction or
elimination of water changes and nuisance algae. And it's small enough to drop into the back compartment of larger all-in-one aquariums. It operates the way the oceans and lakes do, using algae to do all the filtering, and it truly
can replace all other filters in your aquarium if sized and operated correctly. The DROP3.4 is for saltwater only, because it has strings (strings are best for saltwater).
This DROP3.4 drop-in algae scrubber has 62 square inches (387 square cm) of
extremely rough Green Grabber ® growth surface. This is designed to absorb
the nutrients from this much feeding per day:
3.4 Frozen cubes, or
34 Pinches of flake, or
43 Square inches (294 square cm) of nori, or
3.4 Grams of pellets
The physical size or number of gallons or liters of water in your tank or sump does not matter; however the
amount of problem live rock you might have, does. If you have live (calcium carbonate) rocks which are soaked with phosphate from having
been in a problem aquarium, each 50 pounds (23 kg) of this problem rock will add 1 cube a day to your
feeding amounts; so be sure to account for this when choosing a scrubber size or number of scrubbers. For
example if you feed 1 cube a day, but have 50 pounds of live rock that came from a tank with nuisance algae
problems, this live rock will add 1 cube a day to your feeding, for a total of 2 cubes a day. This applies even if the live rock was dried out
and bleached, because this does not remove any nutrients from the rock.(Does not apply to non calcium carbonate rock).
If you feed more than the above amounts, you can get multiple DROP3.4 units; multiple units are preferred
over one larger unit because you can clean one unit every few days, and because you'll always have one unit
filtering while the other one starts growing again after a cleaning. Multiple DROP3.4 units are also good
for backup.
The DROP3.4 will fit into any size under-tank sump, and many back compartments of larger all-in-one aquariums. And of course it can fit into the display (the main part of the tank) as long as it does not sit on sand or gravel. The case is completely black to block almost all red light from escaping. Only a few small spots of red light come out of the hole where the cables and tubing come out of the top; if desired you can tuck a small piece of black cloth around the cables to block this.
The DROP3.4 has water inlets at the bottom of the growth compartment, where internal upflowing air
bubbles inside the unit (from an air pump which you provide) flow up into the growth compartment and bring aquarium
water inside it. As the water enters the growth compartment, it mixes with the air bubbles, and rubs the
algae-attachment Green Grabber textures, and gets blasted by the super-red 660nm LED light. This rubbing
of bubbles causes algae to start growing on the strings and rock hard (and heavy) Green Grabber texture. The air then goes out of the top of the unit, and the water goes down and out the bottom water exit hole,
without many air bubbles remaining. If you position the top 2 inches (5 cm) of the DROP3.4 above the water, it is very
quiet and all bubbles are removed (the top section, which looks like the roof of a house, keeps the popping bubbles inside).
The Green Grabber algal growth attachment surface is so rough and prickly that it might be the roughest thing
you've ever felt. A cactus might be sharper, but that's about it. Rough surfaces are critical for allowing algae to
attach and grow and thus provide strong absorption of nutrients. The rock-hard protrusions stick straight out 1 to 3
mm. Previous algae scrubber screens were made from "slippery" plastic canvas that is used for sewing and knitting;
algae take a long time to attach to it. Green Grabber growth surfaces are not plastic at all; instead they are rock
hard and have jagged rough edges and points (don't let children play with them). And the white color of the
Green-Grabber surface reflects as much light as possible, allowing lots of light to reflect back to the algae. Light
= photosynthesis = filtering.
The main advantage of the DROP3.4 or any algae scrubber is that if you size and operate it properly (based on
how much you feed), it can be the only filter for your tank, even replacing waterchanges. It can, however, also
be used with other filters. Some other filters such as carbon dosing (Zeo, pellets, etc) may slow down the
scrubber, but nothing will really "hurt" the scrubber except possibly large amounts of algaecide or copper
medications. The DROP3.4 is also dry-out proof, since it's always under water. Power outages will not affect it.
And very important - it cannot overflow onto your floor like box-style waterfall scrubbers can!
The DROP3.4 will run on both 120V and 240V, and comes with a 10 ft (300 cm) UL and CE approved
power adapter cord with a U.S. plug. If you require a different plug you can get an adapter at any local
hardware or travel store, or online, or you can cut off the U.S. plug and install your own plug from a hardware
store. It is a simple 2-wire plug, which is also the same as a laptop computer cord with a C7 connector (looks like a figure eight), so you can swap
your laptop cord with your DROP if you want to.
The lighting for the DROP.3.4 has a total of 10 red LEDs, which is a step up from the 6 LEDs of the smaller DROP1.4x. The DROP3.4 (and DROP2.6) is also the smallest DROP model that uses GEM5 lights, which are easily replaceable. You may need to get a timer so you can run the LEDs for less than 24 hours a day (especially in new tanks or low-nutrient water), although you can start off without a timer if you'd like.
The DROP3.4 uses a low voltage that is perfectly safe. The GEM5 lights are sealed in a triple waterproofed manner;
this prevents corrosion from saltwater. The UL and CE approved power supply works on both 120 or
220 volts, it converts (and isolates) the 120 or 220 volt mains to the safe low voltage which is isolated
from the water, meaning that even if the LEDs were not sealed at all you could put the LEDs into the water
and they would continue to work and nothing would happen. It is recommended that you use a GFCI safely plug,
available at any aquarium, hardware, electrical or home improvement store, or online.
Requires an air
pump that can pump at least 2.0 liters per minute (.07 cfm), preferably more. A pump that
says it can handle 2 or more airstones/outlets, or a pump with 2 tubing attachments instead of one, is a good start. You can have as much air as you like, however; 10 lpm pumps are no problem (although it will make some sound). For low air power and standard filtering, the Danner AP-4 air pump has two air outlets which match the two air tubings of the DROP3.4. For high air power and higher filtering, the Danner AP-8 has four air outlets which connect to the included "T" fittings to match the two air tubings of the DROP3.4. Other pump options are in the link at the top.Make sure to put the air pump above the waterline so that it will
not drain any water if it shuts off; or use a one-way valve on the airline if the pump is lower. .
The black silicone airline tubing extends 16" (40cm) out of the top of the DROP, and comes with an additional 3 ft (90 cm) of tubing, plus extender connectors and "T" connectors, so that the air pump can be up to 50" (125cm) away, and can be disconnected easily (along with the lights) if you need to take the DROP to your sink or put it into a bucket.
The DROP3.4 will need to be cleaned ("harvested") every 5 to 10 days or sooner if thick with growth or slime. If thick growth, lift
up the DROP3.4 out of the water, open the door, and pull a lot of the algae out. Then pour some RODI water on the growth to kill pods, and wait one minute. If thin slimy growth, set the DROP in your sink or a bucket of tap water, and brush out the slime with a toothbrush.
The DROP3.4 comes with a 1 year warranty: Warranty is for replacement or repair only; not a
refund. Costs for shipping back to us are not covered; you will need to ship the entire unit back to us
before we can ship a replacement. Warranty is limited to repair or replacement, and does not cover fish
loss, personal injury, property loss, or direct, incidental or consequential damage arising from the use of
it. The warranty and remedies set forth above are exclusive and in lieu of all others, whether oral or
written, express or implied. We specifically disclaim any and all implied warranties, including but not
limited to lost profits, downtime, goodwill, damage to or replacement of other equipment and property, and
any costs of recovering animals, plants, tanks or other aquarium related items and/or equipment. We are not
responsible for special, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from any breach of warranty, or
replacement of equipment or property, or any costs of recovering or reproducing any equipment, animals or
plants used or grown with this product.
Can be shipped to any country; you can find shipping costs by using
the shopping cart; be sure to click "display rates". If you don't have a zip code, enter "zip code"
instead. Note that shipping outside of the USA might require you to also pay an import charge when it
arrives. We cannot mark it as "gift", however. The lowest cost overseas shipping is generally USPS Priority Mail International. The size of the shipping box is 14" x 14" x 8" (35 cm x 35 cm x 20 cm).
DROP3.4 dimensions: 6" wide x 10.5" tall x 4" thick front-to-back (15 cm wide x 26 cm tall x 10 cm thick). It requires at least 7" (18 cm) of water to operate in.
No returns; please make sure this is the model you need.
