anyone got a fix for my skimmer

[skyhawk8519]

hey guys..
steve, you sparked me to go to a bigger tank.
I have a 37 gallon ( i know its not big but its way bigger than what i have now (8 gal biocube))

I got 45 lb of cured live rock from a friend in there now and have it up and running now. I ordered a 250w hqi MH fixture.

I have an xp2 on it for filtration, and i went ahead and bought what i have always reccomended. The SeaClone 100. Well, it seems to be working well, yet it has a mass of microbubbles. I know many individuals who have this and it works amazing, yet it isnt working all that hot for me. ANyone got a fix for the microbubbles?

Thanks guys...ill put up some pics soon...

 

[dadyoj21]

Have the same problem with my seaclone 150 on my 55, I have to open the air inlet enough so that water flow decreases, but this makes the skimmer less efficient (less flow going to it and less skimate).

 

[manderx]

maybe now you won't recommend them anymore

microbubbles are often from water chemistry. something in the water causing bubbles to not want to merge together into bigger bubbles that want to rise. pretty normal for a new setup with new plastic. give it a week or two and it should take care of itself.

seaclones *can* make skimmate, but they require *constant* tweaking and i wonder if the gunk they make is not so much a sign of them working but rather them not working and the water getting so nasty that even a seaclone can get something out.

you won't find many positive reviews of them from people who have used other skimmers.

 

[CWebHokie]

yeah my seaclone "works" like a fast food employee that shoulda been fired 2 months ago. You gotta keep messing with it to get any work out of it...

 

[AIMFish]

I'd work on making a bubble trap or getting another skimmer I have a really old hang-on , Big Mombasa, that has a pretty nice bubble trap design and I've wanted to make a similar one out of specimen cup for a while to see if it would work well on seaclones but like most ideas, thought and plans that never get put into action

 

[Jacsubi]

I'm having the same problem wit my remora pro, it is making a substantial number of microbubbles. upgrading to a rio 1700 doesn't help, I guess, but that is what it came with. I was wondering if that is the only true problem for all the extra bubbles.

 

[skyhawk8519]

im thinking of taking just a regular saltwater dip cup, and placing it where the return to the tank flows into. I'll drill multiple holes in the bottom of the cup and then put some floss or something in the bottom of it. It should catch the bubbles...
anyone think its just the skimmer from hell and want to suggest another one. I'll gladly take it back and order something better, but i dont have all the money in the world now ;-)

 

[manderx]

i don't think there is a good HOB skimmer. if for no other reason they pretty much all have the risk of flooding from random events that you have no control over (ie: clam/snail/bristleworm/whatever spawning).

if you can fit it around your lights and don't have a sump i'd look at the tunze nano. it fits inside the tank, but blends in nice since it's a black square column (looks like an overflow). probably less obtrusive than a pump hanging in from a HOB. if you *gotta* go HOB i like the simplicity and extra functionality (stick heater/carbon/whatever in the bio side of it) of the bakpak. and add an airstone to it and it'll outskim any other HOB.

 

[dadyoj21]

Obviously the best bet is an in sump model, I have used several different hang-ons and they all present a flood risk. Have used my seaclone 150 in the sump and it was ok at best there.

Now i put a prizm pro on my 120 (hang on) with the seaclone still in the sump and the seaclone stopped producing so I removed it. The regular prizm is worse than the seaclone, microbubbles and less skimate.

It may be too large for your tank and mine has flooded once on me in two years while I had my arms in the tank and raised water level suddenly, it freaked out so I keep a close eye on it.

not terribly expensive checked three sites on-line under $160 and checked ebay has a brand new one under $150 including shipping.

I would like a better skimmer myself but with limited space this skimmer does a pretty good job once you get it tweeked in.

anyways goodluck