TheClark Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 If you haven't seen these, check out this video: Those who know me, know I hate scraping algae. Saved for a long time, resisted frags and fancy new equipment. Eye on the prize, I finally made my order 11 months ago. After a long wait, I now have it. It is pretty much as amazing as the videos show. Will do a detailed review but just wanted to get this info out there if people are building Christmas lists 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrabbyCrabs Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 That's impressive. Will it avoid snails on the glass? Is it a felt pad like on the flipper? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjmdh Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 Pretty fancy, with a pretty fancy price tag too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted December 2, 2018 Author Share Posted December 2, 2018 53 minutes ago, CrabbyCrabs said: That's impressive. Will it avoid snails on the glass? Is it a felt pad like on the flipper? It just knocks em right off! Asterina stars too. Loving it so far... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted December 2, 2018 Author Share Posted December 2, 2018 10 minutes ago, cjmdh said: Pretty fancy, with a pretty fancy price tag too! I am definitely a budget reefer. I run cheap lights, DIY skimmer pumps etc etc. This was a big splurge for me The math is interesting though. This does three sides of the tank. When I purchased this. a robosnail cost 250. That would be 750 for an 'equivalent' solution. So I figured for 1 robosnail more, this solution is so vastly superior. I did buy one though to check it out on Prime. The robosnail was a bit noisy and would fall of my tank often on the edges. Figured it was not going to last long so I returned that sucker. The rumor is, most leave this hobby due to algae. I believe it, gets frustrating when life is busy. Hoping this will keep me around for the long haul! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrabbyCrabs Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 Does it have some sensor or something that keeps it from knocking wavemakers off the glass? I saw how it went around their markers on the glass but not sure how it knows. Ithink this tool is awesome except I could see a lot of dead snails with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted December 2, 2018 Author Share Posted December 2, 2018 1 hour ago, CrabbyCrabs said: Does it have some sensor or something that keeps it from knocking wavemakers off the glass? I saw how it went around their markers on the glass but not sure how it knows. Ithink this tool is awesome except I could see a lot of dead snails with it. It is controlled with stepper motors, the same thing that controls 3d printers. They are accurate down to the hundredth of a millimeter. Basically you train it where the wavemakers are, and it remembers, and always goes around them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrabbyCrabs Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 That's pretty cool. Should be long lived using quality steppers/electrics. I'd love to have one as I get lazy sometimes, although I only scrape glass every other week or so. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted December 2, 2018 Author Share Posted December 2, 2018 4 minutes ago, CrabbyCrabs said: That's pretty cool. Should be long lived using quality steppers/electrics. I'd love to have one as I get lazy sometimes, although I only scrape glass every other week or so. I am hoping as they ramp up production costs will come down. Definitely a splurge. These guys had all the pain points figured out, really impressed me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
youcallmenny Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 Jeremy, you can't open this door and not walk through it. 😇 Let's see this thing in action! I remember seeing this around probably around the time you ordered it. My big question is how does it do on coralline algae? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted December 2, 2018 Author Share Posted December 2, 2018 10 minutes ago, youcallmenny said: Jeremy, you can't open this door and not walk through it. 😇 Let's see this thing in action! I remember seeing this around probably around the time you ordered it. My big question is how does it do on coralline algae? Ha, right! Well, I think the goal is to keep coralline from coming back by scraping the entire tank 4-8 times a day. My tank is covered in coralline now, so I am going to let it chew on it for a few days before I (practically) climb in the tank and start scraping. Curious myself how much it will clear out on its own. Will be doing some before and after pics for sure! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrabbyCrabs Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 What does it use for the scraper part? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 1 hour ago, TheClark said: Ha, right! Well, I think the goal is to keep coralline from coming back by scraping the entire tank 4-8 times a day. My tank is covered in coralline now, so I am going to let it chew on it for a few days before I (practically) climb in the tank and start scraping. Curious myself how much it will clear out on its own. Will be doing some before and after pics for sure! Hey Jeremy, if this thing works you don’t really have an excuse to not set up that new tank! 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gumby Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 19 hours ago, CrabbyCrabs said: That's impressive. Will it avoid snails on the glass? Is it a felt pad like on the flipper? I was going to say. The snail are like trying to hold on for dear life saying "Oh crap here comes that our replacement1" 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted December 2, 2018 Author Share Posted December 2, 2018 2 hours ago, albertareef said: Hey Jeremy, if this thing works you don’t really have an excuse to not set up that new tank! 😁 Exactly! This was on my checklist. Try it out on the old tank before hooking it up to the new beauty! Excuses though? Oh I have plenty LOL Thanks for the encouragement... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted December 2, 2018 Author Share Posted December 2, 2018 Just now, Gumby said: I was going to say. The snail are like trying to hold on for dear life saying "Oh crap here comes that our replacement1" Too funny! Yep, they are going to have to be redeployed to the rock work and back wall! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted December 2, 2018 Author Share Posted December 2, 2018 4 hours ago, CrabbyCrabs said: What does it use for the scraper part? They have a closed cell material, proprietary I guess according to the site. Something similar to most scrapers but some different material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted December 2, 2018 Author Share Posted December 2, 2018 Asterina vs ocean swipe. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted December 2, 2018 Author Share Posted December 2, 2018 And just a general shot video, showing the front of the tank. The left side is basically solid coralline... the front, patchy. The right side is some calcerous green algae. So I plan to let it go a week and see how much it can recoup on its own... If I can stand the wait... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjmdh Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 When I get the 150 set up this may be on the to buy list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted December 2, 2018 Author Share Posted December 2, 2018 54 minutes ago, cjmdh said: When I get the 150 set up this may be on the to buy list. Something to consider for sure. I will post back as I learn more about it, get more results... This is a 4x4x2 240 cube for reference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrabbyCrabs Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 Do you worry that any hard algae, like Coraline, will get stuck under the cleaning pad and scratch the glass? I know aragonite sand under one will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted December 3, 2018 Author Share Posted December 3, 2018 3 hours ago, CrabbyCrabs said: Do you worry that any hard algae, like Coraline, will get stuck under the cleaning pad and scratch the glass? I know aragonite sand under one will. Hmm, definitely worried about sand. They have sandbed programming and easy to change limit switches to be sure you don't dig into the sandbed. Also, the motion can be slowed near the sandbed to avoid stirring it up. Amazing stuff! I have never worried about coralline. I guess this is the same as using a magfloat but with a robot moving the float instead of a human. Will be thinking about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrabbyCrabs Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 I only use the stainless scraper on mine. I suppose if I did it daily I could get away with the felt? pad on it. Which I guess if you start with a clean glass and have this go over it daily it would not be an issue. My coraline seems to start at the silicone seams then spreads. Or the back where I don't scrape. I honestly get tired of coraline, if it stayed on the rock it would be fine but it's always trying to cover the glass, or corals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted December 3, 2018 Share Posted December 3, 2018 Ha! Of all people you need this! Hope it keeps you in the hobby for a long long time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.