Santa Monica RAIN2 Waterfall Algae Scrubber ATS (4 x GEM5 lights)

Four (4) GEM5 lights

RAIN2 Pole Mountable Waterfall Algae Scrubber
 
With waterproof submersible GEM5 lights and Green Grabber screen

Eliminate Waterchanges
Remove nuisance algae, nitrate and phosphate, or Cultivate seaweed for feeding

RAIN2 dimensions: 10" long x 5" wide x 8" high (25cm long x 12.5cm wide x 20cm high).
Operates on both 120 and 240V.

From the inventor of the original waterfall algae scrubber in the year 2008 finally comes the first new version: the patent pending RAIN2. The underwater submersible GEM5 lights (also patent pending) allow the RAIN2 to be placed in your sump anywhere you like, as low to the water as you like, which saves a lot of space. And the pole mount option (pole not included) means you don't even need a shelf or a bracket to place the RAIN2; just use your pole mount to set it on the bottom of your sump. You can fit two RAIN2 units into the same space that other waterfall algae scrubbers take for just one of their units.

Also included is a 2 mm thick, 2 sided, patent pending Green Grabber® algae attachment screen. The screen is also sold separately HERE for DIY. The Green Grabber screen is 3D printed in Rough 3D (TM) and has no mortar coatings to fall off into your water, and has no metal pins to damage your corals. Also, similar to our bubbling upflow UAS scrubbers, the screen is surrounded by air, so that when algae growth is strong on the screen the algae can get the carbon it needs from the CO2 in the air instead of from the alkalinity in your water. Thus the scrubber growth (filtering) is not limited by your alkalinity, and your alkalinity will thus stay at higher levels. This is compared to sealed chaeto reactors which don't contact air and thus must get all the carbon it needs from the alkalinity.

The RAIN2 device will do most of the filtering needed for your fresh or saltwater aquarium, and in most cases it will do all the filtering if it is the proper size for your amount of feeding that you do, and the amount of rock that you have. Part of this filtering includes helping eliminate two very important things that drive most aquarium owners crazy: Algae and waterchanges. The filter works by growing algae inside the filter, and these algae consume all the "bad" things out of the water*. This is how all the oceans, and all the lakes, are naturally filtered.

When ordering the RAIN2 4 of the GEM5 lights, which will be already mounted to the inside of the dome lid.

Here are the differences in the RAIN2 units available:

Aquarium size: The RAIN2 with 1 GEM5 light has 12 square inches of 1-sided growth surface and is designed to be the only filter on an aquarium that is fed up to:

1/2 frozen cube per day, or
5 pinches of flake food per day, or
5 square inches (30 sq cm) of nori seaweed per day, or
0.05 dry ounce (1.4 grams) of pellet food per day.

Each 50 pounds (23 kg) of phosphate-soaked nuisance algae problem rock counts for an additional 1 cube a day. The level of light of the 1 GEM5 light works well in saltwater when nutrients in the water are non-measurable, and also works well in all freshwater systems. Up to 3 more GEM5 lights can be added at any time.

The RAIN2 with 2 GEM5 lights has 12 square inches of 2-sided growth surface and is designed to be the only filter on an aquarium that is fed up to:

1 frozen cube per day, or
10 pinches of flake food per day, or
10 square inches (60 sq cm) of nori seaweed per day, or
0.1 dry ounce (2.8 grams) of pellet food per day.

Each 50 pounds (23 kg) of phosphate-soaked nuisance algae problem rock counts for an additional 1 cube a day. This medium level of light of 2 GEM5 lights works well when nutrients in saltwater are low or non-measurable, and also works well in all freshwater systems. Having lights on both sides of the screen allow it to grow a few more days before the growth starts shading the attachment roots. Up to two more GEM5 lights can be added at any time.

The RAIN2 with 4 GEM5 lights has the same growth surface area and feeding as with 2 GEM5 lights, but the high level of light of 4 GEM5 lights works well when nutrients in saltwater are easily measurable, and when nutrients are very high in freshwater.

The amount of water in the aquarium, or the dimensions of the aquarium, are not important. If you feed more than the above amounts, you can use additional RAIN2 filters (or our SURF, HOG or DROP filters) to add up to the amount that you are feeding, and then clean one of them at a time on a rotating schedule (one per week, etc). If you feed much less than these amounts, and the aquarium is very small, then it will still work but you just need to find a place where the filter will fit. It’s not possible to over-scrub.

Drain Pipe: Although a drain pipe is not needed, you can add one by using a standard 1” drain bulkhead which fits standard 1” (25mm) schedule 40 pvc pipe. The drain hole in the tray is 1 ¾” (44.5mm) diameter.

If you commonly have power outages, traditional waterfall scrubbers will dry out after a few hours, but you can prepare for and prevent this with your RAIN scrubber by placing it low enough in your sump (even slightly underwater if needed) so that when the power goes out the water level in the sump will rise up high enough to keep the screen under water. The GEM5 lights will not be harmed at all because they are designed for underwater use. With the screen submerged like this, it can last for several days with no flow or light.

The GEM5 lights can be put on a timer so that they stay on for part of the day, and off for the rest of the day, to possibly improve growth and filtering. However you can try 24 hours of light (no timer) if you like because sometimes it does work well in freshwater, or in saltwater with high measured nutrients.

The RAIN2 requires a water pump that can pump at least 200 gph (760 lph) water flow 24 hours a day. 300 gph (1135 lph) might be better to fill up all areas of the screen. The height (“head”) of the filter above the sump water level will require that the pump be able to pump up to that level and still be able to supply enough water. Generally, a 400 gph (1500 lph) pump with an adjustable output works in most cases. The water can also be fed from your display overflow; any type of overflow system (Herbie, etc) will work.

This RAIN2 will run on both 120V and 240V, and comes with a 10 ft (300 cm) power 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-prong plug, and no transformer is needed.

* Water Changes: If you have been doing water changes to reduce nitrate, phosphate, or nuisance algae, then an algae scrubber filter will greatly reduce the need for them and may possibly eliminate them. When algae grow in the filter, they consume nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, ammonia/ammonium, metals, CO2, and some toxins; so it’s just a matter of growing enough algae inside the filter to do the filtering you need, compared to how many nutrients you are putting into the tank with the food you feed (that is why the RAIN filter is sized for a certain amount of feeding per day). However, this filter (and algae in general) do not supply calcium, alkalinity, magnesium or strontium. So if you wish to reduce or eliminate water changes, you will need to supplement any calcium, alkalinity, magnesium or strontium that you were depending on water changes for. Freshwater aquariums, which may only need alkalinity (hardness) to be maintained, may get enough alkalinity from just doing evaporation top-offs with tap water from your sink.

This RAIN2 comes with a 6 month warranty through the manufacturer: Warranty is for replacement or repair only; not a refund. Costs for shipping back to us are covered if you are in the U.S. Costs for shipping back to us are not covered if you are not in the U.S., however we will pay for shipping back to you. In either case, 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.