IceCap 50 PRO HOB Turf Scrubber Drain Extender

[Waboss]

So I wanted to play around with this ATS from Icecap. I have built my own, but thought this might be fun to try out, especially while I'm redesigning the one I have on my tank now.

The issue is that the drain opening is pretty far above my water line in my sump (yes, I know this model is more suited for hanging on the tank, but I have a sump, and would like to NOT use as much of the real estate inside the sump as generally needed for an in sump ATS.........besides, like I said, I was playing around). Now, back to the issue (well the one I'm addressing here anyway), it's very, very, very loud due to the drain being high above the water line in my sump. So I wanted to see if I could address that.

This is what I came up with. It allows me to extend the drain to just under the water line (can't go too far or there's back pressure concerns) by just cutting 1" PVC to whatever length I need and connecting it. This in turn made the ATS much quieter. Not quite silent, but not noticeable with all the pumps and such on anyway.

It's not perfect, but it seems to work ok in testing (haven't actually put it on my tank yet, I've only tested it on a spare sump I had laying around, but it should be the same as it's the same application.

 

[Tomsimtim]

I had the same loud noise problem with my Saphire 34 Sump. The effluence of chamber #2 was 6" above the level of the water of chamber #3. Plenty of headway for the water to build up a good head of steam and be very loud when it hit the water of the sump.

This company AquaHub https://aquahub.com
Sells a 3" X 14" strip of moldable plastic with their DIY ATO kits. I ordered a piece of this moldable plastic 18" X 9" for $50.00, a bit pricey, but what isn't in this hobby.

I was able to drill three holes into the sump wall and corresponding holes in the piece of plastic. I put 3 plastic bolts with 3 plastic wing nuts to attach the moldable plastic to the wall of the sump.

You put the plastic into near boiling water. The white plastic turns translucent. That is how you know it is ready to mold. You can heat it and cool it over and over until you get the angle you want just right. You will have to flatten it out again and put it back to its original shape. But it is just a matter, heat and cool and repeat until you get the shape right. It is fool proof. You can do it in the kitchen, mold it, cool it off with the spigot in the kitchen sink.

Be careful of gravity, the plastic will become so maluable that it will distort the holes you drill. It may be wiser to mold the plastic, cool it and then drill the holes if you need to drill any.

I was able to bend the 18" x 9" piece of plastic to an approximate angle of 60 degrees.

Now the water just cascades down the plastic into the water of the sump on a water slide without a sound.

I saw an algae scrubber that used a piece of needlepoint plastic grid, flexible and very low profile to install on top of my "waterfall" and install a light. Instant algae scrubber. Killing one bird and birthing another bird with one stone...

Not sure what size you would need, but if you call them, they will charge you for multiple "Strips" to equal the dimensions you need.

Anyway just food for thought.

 

[Raph]

Hey man! I know it's been a long time since that thread but how do you like the scrubber?
Thanks!

 

[Idech]

@Waboss how do you like your icecap hob scrubber ? Is it noisy ? Is it efficient ?