Drain Pipe: Although a drain pipe is not needed, you can add one by using a standard 1” ID drain bulkhead which fits standard 1” (25mm) schedule 40 pvc pipe. The drain hole in the tray is 1 ¾” (44.5mm) diameter.
Head Room: If you are installing the RAIN2 in a sump or cabinet area with limited space, the RAIN2 will need 4" (10cm) above the top of the light-cover dome lid in order to remove the lid. However you can lift the whole tray unit up off of a pole mount, with as little as 2" (5cm) head room, and then remove the light-cover dome lid in your sink.
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 such as more than 1.0 ppm phosphate.
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, siphon, 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.
If you want to DIY the same pole mount as our video, it's standard 2" schedule 40 pipe, a 1/4" flat pvc plate, and here are the fittings:
T-fitting in the video:
Flange cap in the video; it just needs it's rim to be grinded off so it sets flat:
This one we have not tried, and it does not look as strong, but it does not need to be grinded:
This RAIN2 (except screen) comes with a 1 year warranty: The Green Grabber screen comes with a 6 month 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. Note that shipping outside of the USA will probably require you to also pay an import charge when it arrives. We cannot mark it as "gift". The lowest cost (but slowest) foreign shipping is generally USPS Priority Mail International, but USPS Priority Express International is faster. The size of the shipping box is 12 x 10 x 6.5 inches (33 x 23 x 16 cm) and the weight is 5 pounds.
RAIN2 product (not shipping box) dimensions: 10" long x 5" wide x 8" high (25cm long x 12.5cm wide x 20cm high).
Operates on both 120 and 240V. Can be shipped to any country.