Advise on protein skimmers

[TitansFan]

Nice writing Chris.
I am not trying to start an argument as probably both you and I have read many things before on skimmers.. But.. do you really think the high pressure pump required for a MR4 would out out draw the power consumption of 2 eheims? Also do you think water all over the floor is really a concern with a quality needle wheel? As far as the not cleaning the cup as much would not the H&S or Deltec for the size he would need not have a drain on the cup like a MRC? Deltec even offers a self cleaning head if the $$ is wanted to be spent. How much cleaning is needed to keep the beckett working at optimum compactly? Does it require tinkering with all the time? My Deltec has been plug and play with no maintenance thus far. I honestly have never used a MRC skimmer. Yes the price compared to a high end needle wheel is attractive. In the long run though which is going to save me time, energy consumption, heat to the tank, and noise?

A skimmer rated twice the volume is an ok rule of thumb I guess. How was the rating determined by the manufacture though. Many skimmer manufactures have over inflated their claimed capacity to be able to sell more skimmers. For example, I would not trust ASM's capacity measurements.

The ASM IMO would not even be a consideration here with the requirement of an external skimmer.

I need to get a beckett one day and truly compare it vs. a quality needle wheel.... Want to trade skimmers for a month?

 

[fishdoc11]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10342749#post10342749 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TitansFan
Nice writing Chris.
I am not trying to start an argument as probably both you and I have read many things before on skimmers.. But.. do you really think the high pressure pump required for a MR4 would out out draw the power consumption of 2 eheims? Also do you think water all over the floor is really a concern with a quality needle wheel? As far as the not cleaning the cup as much would not the H&S or Deltec for the size he would need not have a drain on the cup like a MRC? Deltec even offers a self cleaning head if the $$ is wanted to be spent. How much cleaning is needed to keep the beckett working at optimum compactly? Does it require tinkering with all the time? My Deltec has been plug and play with no maintenance thus far. I honestly have never used a MRC skimmer. Yes the price compared to a high end needle wheel is attractive. In the long run though which is going to save me time, energy consumption, heat to the tank, and noise?

A skimmer rated twice the volume is an ok rule of thumb I guess. How was the rating determined by the manufacture though. Many skimmer manufactures have over inflated their claimed capacity to be able to sell more skimmers. For example, I would not trust ASM's capacity measurements.

The ASM IMO would not even be a consideration here with the requirement of an external skimmer.

I need to get a beckett one day and truly compare it vs. a quality needle wheel.... Want to trade skimmers for a month?

As far as comparing wattages I was more comparing what I am using (MR3 running a 55 class pump at ~ 180 watts) to a dual Eheim/Aquabee with recirc pump. The Needlewheels in general are more efficient but the other arguement of course is are they efficient enough to make up for a $800 - $900 (or more) price difference. Another arguement that ties into it is with the speed of processing water...is it better to process more faster or less more thouroughly?


You just need to look at what happened to Steve Weast's tank to see if water all over the floor is a concern. ALL skimmers overflow from time to time and without something to shut the skimmer off it will eventually happen. Mods can be performed to prevent this as mentioned in the thread I referenced but I am refering to stock skimmers here.

As far as cleaning the cup I was refering to the fact that most needlewheels are run with the philosophy that drier skim is better and need to be cleaned every 2 or 3 days to perform optimally (as do becketts if you skim dry). Running a needlwheel to skim wet externally that has not been fitted with a custom sealed lid or some sort of electronic shutoff device is just asking for overflows even more IMO. I can run my beckett "semi wet" pulling out ~ 2 liters of skimmate a day and not worry at all about an overflow happening.

The beckett doesn't need to be cleaned but about once a month assuming nothing gets lodged in it which can mostly be prevented by proper screening of the intake. It does happen however and it takes me maybe one minute to disassemble, clean and reassemble my beckett head.

As I stated the doubling the rating thing is just good a general rule of thumb, nothing more.

If I didn't answer anything all of your questions have been covered in many debates on RC (including the thread I posted) many times. In the end it is a matter of opinion and both types of skimmers work well for many people. You will notice most people have only used one type or the other and typically used terrible skimmers before their present one and only have that to compare to. FWIW I personally have the beckett and a smaller needlewheel so I have some reference.

I would swap skimmers for a while if the amount of work involved wasn't prohibitive

Chris

 

[gflat65]

I can certainly vouch for the MR4 (I think they automatically come with dual becketts). It produeces some tiny bubbles and a lot of skimmate. I've had the MR2 overflow before (it always seemed to over react after not running). Thehe sump level dropped, killing the skimmer while on vacation (ato hose came off pump...). A friend refilled the tnak a couple of days later and the skimmer when nuts and put about 20 gallons on the floor. Luckily, nothing died, just a wet floor.

I do adjust the gate valve every day, just a tad and clean once a week.

 

[fishdoc11]

You need an autotopoff container Gary....they cost less than $5 to make.

 

[gflat65]

Yes I do. I have it running into a 7 gallon bucket, which is fine most of the time, but having peace of mind and knowing that it'll shut off when it fills...

 

[fishdoc11]

They are easy to build and that's one of the benifits of using a beckett....you can use one
All you need is some 1 1/2" pvc, a few fittings, a jar with a plastic lid and a ping pong ball. Here is a pick of one I've been using for a while now. Not fancy but it works:

Chris

 

[skwirl]

really look into the d.a.s. ex3, and the bermuda aquatics skimmers..