CW-50 Algae Scrubber - Ready-2-Run Bundle

Start Controlling Nutrients in your Aquarium the Natural Way!

Pair the Clear Water Algae Scrubbers with a powerful Sicce Syncra Silent water pump and you get a potent combination that can manage your reef tanks nitrates and phosphates. Algae scrubbers are designed to grow turf algae on a special screen, which gives the algae ideal conditions allowing it to grow on the scrubber's screen instead of your aquarium's display. 

Ready-2-Run Algae Scrubber Bundle

No guessing is needed with the BRS Ready-2-Run Clear Water Algae Scrubber Bundles. The kits include a high-quality Clear Water Algae Scrubber paired up with 3 feet of flexible silicone tubing and a Sicce Syncra Silent water pump that can feed the scrubber at the proper flow rates. Since every system is different, we included a Two Little Fishies Ball Valve that will let you dial in the perfect flow rate to grow algae as fast as possible. In most cases, the scrubber can drain right into the sump without any additional plumbing out of the bulkheads, but we do highly suggest using a small piece of PVC and an elbow for the drains to keep any potential splashing to a minimum. 

CW-50 External Algae Scrubber

• Easy to harvest
• Safe design
• Simple to plumb
• Quality acrylic construction
• Multi-directional input barb

Sicce Syncra Silent 0.5 Pump

• Powerful and efficient
• Fully submersible
• Adjustable flow rate
• Synchronous motor 
• 3-year manufacturer warranty

Algae Scrubber Specifications:

Max Recommended Tank Size - 125 Gallon

Dimensions - 12 1/4" L x 7" W x 7 1/2" H

Screen Dimensions - 5 1/2" x 6"

Recommended Flow Rate - 150 GPH

Input Barb Size - 1/2"

Main Drain Bulkhead - 1/2"

Emergency Drain Bulkhead - 1/2"

Power Consumption - 20W @ 120VAC

Sicce Syncra Silent 0.5 Water Pump Specifications:

Dimensions - 3.54" H x 1.89" W x 2.83" H

Max Flow - 185 GPH

Max Head Height - 4 Feet

Power Consumption - 8W @ 120VAC

Input Size - 1/2" Female NPT

Output Size -  1/2" Female NPT or 3/8" - 9/16" Barb

What's Included?

1x CW-50 External Algae Scrubber

1x Sicce Syncra Silent 0.5 Pump

3ft 1/2" Silicone Tubing

1x 1/2" Two Little Fishies Ball Valve

How to Properly Size an Algae Scrubber

While we can provide tank sizing recommendations based on typical feeding habits, the best and most accurate way of sizing for an ATS is based on the amount of food fed each day, measured for ease here as cubes of food, regardless of the size of your aquarium. There should be 12 square inches of growing screen per cube or equivalent amount of food fed to the tank each day. Oversizing an algae scrubber does not necessarily mean that it will grow algae faster or be more efficient, and in some cases, we have found oversizing the scrubber too large, can lead to poor results.

Installation Instructions:

1. Find a suitable place for the scrubber to be placed that allows it to freely drain into your aquariums sump. 

2. For best results remove the main and emergency drain bulkheads and install them in reverse (flange and gasket inside of the scrubber body).

3. Using 1" soft tubing or PVC plumb the drain into your sump. 

4. Plumb the emergency drain with 1/2" PVC or soft tubing allowing it to drain into your sump. We prefer to keep the emergency drain a few inches over the water level making the water crash into the sump that produces an audible noise, letting you know when something is not correct with the main drain.

5. Attach 1/2" soft tubing to the included feed barb fitting. We really like using soft silicone tubing for this application. 

6. Adjust the flow over the algae screen so that an even sheet of water flows down the screen. Flow adjustments can be made with either a ball valve on the feed line or with a DC style pump. 

7. Plug the LED light power cord into a timer or aquarium controller and program it for a 12-hour daily photoperiod. We suggest illuminating the algae scrubber in an opposite lighting cycle than your display tank to help stabilize your aquarium pH. 

8. Monitor the algae growth and after a few weeks, algae will be ready to harvest!

Note - For feeding the scrubber we prefer to use a stand-alone feed pump since they can be fine-tuned to the algae scrubbers needs. We really like to use DC pumps that let us control the flow rate through a controller or an AC pump with a ball valve.