AquaDriver Skim Clean on BK skimmer

[NorwayEagle]

Slief; I read this post:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2578925&page=2

and would like to hear your or any other opinions about the following:

I may order a Aqua Driver skim clean unit as supplement to my BK 200 Deluxe skimmer.
I have today a Avast Swabbie unit which do a great job of cleaning the necks inside, but a buildup of gunk on the swabbie itself I imagine reduce the effect of skimmer, and leads to more frequent cleaning than I hoped to gain with the Avast investment.

In other words a clean neck is good, but dirty swabbie is bad.

So today without any swabbie mounted I must clean the skimmer cup at least each 5th day, with the swabbie I do it every second week, and it is much more inconvenient to handle.

On the Aquadriver can I expect the spray unit to keep the complete wiper unit clean without any build up of gunk? Meaning the inside of the neck with all parts of the Aquadriver remains clean?

Further concerning the wash down unit as you write in above post:

"Then there's the optional wash down ring shown below that you connect to a water source via the 1/4" John Guest fitting on the lid. Turn the washdown on as needed to clean the outer neck and rinse the collection cup."

I understand it is an option to connect the wash ring to a RO unit, this is not possible in my setup.
Must it be freshwater/RO or can it be fed from the sump with saltwater?
If freshwater is recommended, can I feed it by a separate pump from my Dreambox water tank, or is it able to suck water by itself as the main Aquadriver?

 

[slief]

Slief; I read this post:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2578925&page=2

and would like to hear your or any other opinions about the following:

I may order a Aqua Driver skim clean unit as supplement to my BK 200 Deluxe skimmer.
I have today a Avast Swabbie unit which do a great job of cleaning the necks inside, but a buildup of gunk on the swabbie itself I imagine reduce the effect of skimmer, and leads to more frequent cleaning than I hoped to gain with the Avast investment.

In other words a clean neck is good, but dirty swabbie is bad.

So today without any swabbie mounted I must clean the skimmer cup at least each 5th day, with the swabbie I do it every second week, and it is much more inconvenient to handle.

On the Aquadriver can I expect the spray unit to keep the complete wiper unit clean without any build up of gunk? Meaning the inside of the neck with all parts of the Aquadriver remains clean?

Further concerning the wash down unit as you write in above post:

"Then there's the optional wash down ring shown below that you connect to a water source via the 1/4" John Guest fitting on the lid. Turn the washdown on as needed to clean the outer neck and rinse the collection cup."

I understand it is an option to connect the wash ring to a RO unit, this is not possible in my setup.
Must it be freshwater/RO or can it be fed from the sump with saltwater?
If freshwater is recommended, can I feed it by a separate pump from my Dreambox water tank, or is it able to suck water by itself as the main Aquadriver?

The spray system in the Helix does not keep the wiper clean. The helix lid will still need to be removed and cleaned everyso often depending on how wet or dry you skim. The drier you skim, the more frequently the Helix should be cleaned. That said, unlike the Swabbie and other traditional neck cleaners, the helix blade is angled to pull the scum from the neck up to the lip of the neck instead of smearing it around and allowing some to fall back into the skimmer body like the other wipers do. The built in spray system pulls water up from inside the skimmer body as the wiper rotates and sprays the neck and the lid so that when the wiper rotates, the cleaning is much more effective. This results in better cleaning efficiency of the wiper.

I use the Helix and remove my cup every several months if that and even then, its not needed because the neck is always clean and my Helix only runs 1 time a day for 15 seconds. I skim wet and remove my helix for a quick cleaning every couple months. The Helix also has a wiper for the lid which keeps the area above the neck free of buildup. It's designed to pull the buildup out to the edge of the ring on the lid and then drop that waste into the cup.

As for the optional collection cup washdown ring, I don't suggest using salt water because the calcium and other stuff in it will clog the spray holes in the washdown ring. Fresh water is really what you want to use whether it's tap water or RODI. That said, mine is connected to a tap water source and not RODI water. You could use a seperate pump from your dreambox water tank. The washdown ring accepts 1/4" or 6mm RODI type of tubing via a push lock John Guest style fitting. It cannot suck on its own and needs a pressurized water source such as a pump or tap water connection. Keep in mind that the optional washdown ring is designed for adding clean water to the collection cup to wash it. It sprays onto the outside of the neck through little holes in the washdown ring that are spaced apart every inch or so. The more pressure your water source has, the more powerful the streams will be and the faster they will fill the collection cup with clean water. This is something you use on an as needed basis to rinse the cup.

This is a good video that shows how the Helix works. It covers the construction, wiper spray system and the optional collection cup washdown.

https://youtu.be/Cm52tqfSovw

 

[NorwayEagle]

Thank you for this detailed answer.

I normally skim wet, meaning the cup would be filled within 4-5 days, I normally drain it every other day.

As you write the Helix wiper will not be kept clean, but you also write you only demount the unit for cleaning with several months in between. I then think you do not see the build up of gunk as I see, but this may the effect of the angle as you describe. Anyhow as I have to clean the swabbie after two weeks I understand you have a much longer interval with the Helix.

It seems from the video the flow on the wash down ring is quiet low. Is it any recommended max or optimum flow for this unit?
I think the higher flow/pressure the higher the efficiency of the cleaning, but of course not using to much that may damage the unit.
How often do you activate the wash ring to clean the cup?
Maybe the best thing is to manually activate the pump flushing RO water from my RO tank at times when i can visually inspect?

 

[slief]

Thank you for this detailed answer.

I normally skim wet, meaning the cup would be filled within 4-5 days, I normally drain it every other day.

As you write the Helix wiper will not be kept clean, but you also write you only demount the unit for cleaning with several months in between. I then think you do not see the build up of gunk as I see, but this may the effect of the angle as you describe. Anyhow as I have to clean the swabbie after two weeks I understand you have a much longer interval with the Helix.

It seems from the video the flow on the wash down ring is quiet low. Is it any recommended max or optimum flow for this unit?
I think the higher flow/pressure the higher the efficiency of the cleaning, but of course not using to much that may damage the unit.
How often do you activate the wash ring to clean the cup?
Maybe the best thing is to manually activate the pump flushing RO water from my RO tank at times when i can visually inspect?

To be clear, I remove my Helix and clean it every 2-3 months. I remove my collection cup every several months but have gone as long as a year before pulling the cup off since the neck is always gunk free. As such, there really isn't much need in disturbing the skimmer by removing the collection cup. Plus removing and cleaning the cup and neck means the neck will need to break back in before it's performing normally again. As for wiper build up, every tank is different and my skimmer is a Supermarin 250 which is larger size with a larger neck diameter so a bit less buildup on the blade itself than a smaller skimmer with a smaller diameter neck. The Helix does work much better than the others though in terms of performance and should not collect as much gunk on the wiper because of it's design.

As for the washdown ring pressure, my tap is around 60 PSI so I have decent pressure. Keep in mind though the washdown is for rinsing the collection cup. The pressure behind the flow will only result in filling the cup up faster. I use my washdown every few months. I fill the cup and wobble the skimmer back and forth a bit to swish things around. I then drain the cup and repeat the process which results in the cup being pretty clean. That said, I really dont care if my cup is dirty so I don't use the washdown as often as others who are much more anal about having a clean cup.

 

[NorwayEagle]

Thanks again.

It seems like I have got the arguments to order such equipment

 

[slief]

Thanks again.

It seems like I have got the arguments to order such equipment

:beer:

You wil love it. It makes the Swabbie look and feel like a cheap toy. Plus it matches the bubble king perfectly right down to the CNC machined PVC top and red trimmings. And, unlike all the other neck cleaners out there that use a cheap Chinese motor, this is a truly engineered solution and uses a high quality high speed gear driven motor. The wiper spins MUCH MUCH faster than the motor used on the Swabbie and other neck cleaners which means high efficiency, less run time, better cleaning and much better longevity.

 

[NorwayEagle]

I often use a lot of time to evaluate the pro and cons of all type of technics I buy to my tank. Thats why, beside the kalkmixer and the at the time being phosban reactor from Julian Sprung, everything else are of German origin.
That includes the tank and cabinet from West Aquaristik, of course the Dreambox with skimmer etc, circulation pumps and calcium reactor from Tunze, lighting from GHL and down to the titanium heater from Schego.

Solid equipment keeps the reef and me happy.

 

[NorwayEagle]

Today I have installed the SkimClean, I use a cheap timer that are progrmed to wash the skimmer neck twice each day by one minute.
The outside wash will be done manually.

 

[slief]

Today I have installed the SkimClean, I use a cheap timer that are progrmed to wash the skimmer neck twice each day by one minute.
The outside wash will be done manually.

Nice. One minute is way too long. 15-20 seconds is all it needs and won't disturb the skimmer as much. If you run it for one minute, you will be removing part of the slime coating. I would get a timer that allows you to set it for seconds and not minutes so you can set the timer for 15 seconds once a day.

 

[NorwayEagle]

I have not managed to find any timers that can be programmed on just for seconds.
As I have no use for advanced controllers like Apex or GHL Profilux for other purposes I have searched for single timers.
Do you know about any alternatives for 220V?

 

[slief]

I have not managed to find any timers that can be programmed on just for seconds.
As I have no use for advanced controllers like Apex or GHL Profilux for other purposes I have searched for single timers.
Do you know about any alternatives for 220V?

I would search online in your area for digital plug in timers. There are many that can be controlled in 1 second increments. They are also very popular in the reptile keeping hobby. Especially for chameleons that use spray mist devices. You turn those on for a several seconds at a time and would be well suited for your use.

 

[NorwayEagle]

Thanks I will check the local reptile shops

 

[slief]

If you have Amazon out there in Norway, I would check there as well.

 

[NorwayEagle]

I have ordered one of these, which can be programmed on just inn seconds:

http://reptilutstyr.net/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=135

 

[NorwayEagle]

An update about two months after starting this Helix unit.

I use the above linked to timer, the inner cleaner is activated for 20 sec each 24 hours.
The outside of skimmer neck is cleaned when I feel for it, meaning about each 6-8 days.

The Helix has been running without any demounting and manual cleaning since start.

The skimmer works incredible stable. I run wet skimming, and empty the cup through drain tube every second day. It drains almost exact 1,2 liters in this timeframe and the concentration/colour of gunk is very much the same each time.

The only downside is that the wash down ring could have been a bit more effective. The spray holes in the circle tubing points a bit to much toward the bottom instead of pointing toward the skimmer neck. Resulting in that some gunk are not washed down. I will test with a somewhat larger pump to supply the RODI water, hoping this will create more effect on this part.

Overall I find the Helix to be a somewhat expensive add-on to a skimmer, but which really make my system more convenient to maintain

 

[slief]

An update about two months after starting this Helix unit.

I use the above linked to timer, the inner cleaner is activated for 20 sec each 24 hours.
The outside of skimmer neck is cleaned when I feel for it, meaning about each 6-8 days.

The Helix has been running without any demounting and manual cleaning since start.

The skimmer works incredible stable. I run wet skimming, and empty the cup through drain tube every second day. It drains almost exact 1,2 liters in this timeframe and the concentration/colour of gunk is very much the same each time.

The only downside is that the wash down ring could have been a bit more effective. The spray holes in the circle tubing points a bit to much toward the bottom instead of pointing toward the skimmer neck. Resulting in that some gunk are not washed down. I will test with a somewhat larger pump to supply the RODI water, hoping this will create more effect on this part.

Overall I find the Helix to be a somewhat expensive add-on to a skimmer, but which really make my system more convenient to maintain

That is great to hear. Just a heads up, you can actually rotate the tubing for the wash down in the fittings. Just grasp the tubing where it comes out of the John Guest T fitting on the underside of the lid and rotate the red tubing to aim the sprayer holes wherever you'd like them.