Becket skimmer question???? Urgent

I actually have a bit of water pressure coming down my return, I have an iwaki 100 pumping into the main tank from the sump so i do move a lot of water.
 
Nope, it wont work, you need a pressure rated pump to push enough water through the beckett to pull air in.
 
Definately won't work. As it was mentioned above, a beckett skimmer needs a dedicated pressure rated pump such as an Iwaki to run properly.
 
Hey guys do you think that i could take off the beckit and run a mrc mr-2 skimmer like a downdraft? Here is a little info on my sump. it is a 55 gallon in the basement my return pump is an Iwaki 100 going up about 10 feet. At 10 feet i have huge flow still with that iwake. Actually as it is returning to my sump right now it has made a natural skimmer, i actually have to scrape the foam head out of my sump every hour. So my thought was maybe somehow i could make this mrc mr-2 into a pumpless skimmer. Save on some power ya know. Thanks everyone If anyone has any ideas- please chime in.
 
The only issue I have with Beckets they generally require a large pump to power them. I am going to switch to a Cone skimmer. I have a Bashsea Twisted skimmer - the heat generated from the pump causes major temp issues with my tank. My advice to you stay away from the Becket style - go with a reef Octopus with a bubble blaster pump...
 
I'm running a Eheim 1262 on a beckett and it works great.

DSC04620.jpg

DSC04622.jpg

DSC04621.jpg
 
adam1980 said:
Hey guys, does anyone know if i can run a becket skimmer off of my return line? Thanks everyone.
Click to expand...

I do...


attachment.php


and love it.. (see the vertical 1.5" PVC manifold on the right, coming up from the pump?).. the pvc cross in the middle feeds both beckett injectors on my skimmer..

I also run UV, Chiller, GFO Reactor, Calcium Reactor, and soon a Biopellet Reactor off that pump... Reeflo Snapper
 
if I had it to do over again (or when this pump buys it) I'd use a DART instead of the snapper...

the beauty of these pumps is that you see ACTUAL efficiency savings by valving them back... (as you restrict flow on the output of the pump, you decrease the wattage used.. ) - I've verified this with a KillAwatt... Currently, I'm running at just under 100W. My previous pump BL40HD-X ran at over 140W whether it was wide open or restricted to a trickle.


Also, by replacing my previous skimmer (venturi type), I removed one pump (MAG7) from the system entirely...

I'd estimate that I run at least a degree cooler in my sump and run 250W lower on the pumps...
 
With the higher end beckett skimmers, you WILL need to use a pressure rated pump. Maybe a smaller Beckett skimmer can get away with being fed by the overflow as others have done, but in general, most decent beckett valves need that pressure generated by the correct sized pump in order to be efficient. As far as converting your skimmer to downdraft.. I would not advise it. My thought would be to sell what you have and get more efficient recirculating skimmer or cone skimmer before making mods to your existing skimmer. In my opinion, beckett driven skimmers are more reliable and fool proof that down draft skimmers.

Having run a high end beckett skimmer in the past and playing with a couple different pump options, I base my comments on experience.
DSC00348.jpg


Beckett skimmers when powered properly run great! In my case, I switched to a high end cone skimmer and am very happy with my choice as I saved a bunch of power by eliminating pumps. I will say that the Barr Aquatic Beckett skimmer I had previously was a great skimmer and was certainly one of the best skimmers I have owned as far as its skimming capabilities.
 
Last edited:
that was a pretty snide comment..

the skimmer that I'm running IS a high end skimmer.. (since you directed your comment at me)
I just don't need a skimmer that's rated for 1,000 gallons.. (400+ rating is enough for my 130 gallon system)

my setup works perfectly, and I'm basing that on current application, not something that I did 10 years ago..

next time you want to comment on a thread, be helpful, not argumentative.. or of course, you can feel free to keep your opinion to yourself.. since it's not very helpful, seeing that the original poster was asking about a skimmer similar to mine.. and not a frankenstein'd monstrosity aimed at compensating for a lack of manliness..

:-) have a good weekend, dont touch yourself while thinking about "when you used to have a 6' skimmer"...
 
So anyways on the output of your pump you have a gate valve to restrict flow, where on the line did you put that is it directly over your pump or should it go above where i will t off for the skimmer. Thanks rbredding
 
rbredding said:
that was a pretty snide comment..

the skimmer that I'm running IS a high end skimmer.. (since you directed your comment at me)
I just don't need a skimmer that's rated for 1,000 gallons.. (400+ rating is enough for my 130 gallon system)

my setup works perfectly, and I'm basing that on current application, not something that I did 10 years ago..

next time you want to comment on a thread, be helpful, not argumentative.. or of course, you can feel free to keep your opinion to yourself.. since it's not very helpful, seeing that the original poster was asking about a skimmer similar to mine.. and not a frankenstein'd monstrosity aimed at compensating for a lack of manliness..

:-) have a good weekend, dont touch yourself while thinking about "when you used to have a 6' skimmer"...
Click to expand...

LOL.. That was not directed at you. I should have said larger skimmers instead of high end.

In my experience, different becketts have different needs and I am of the opinion that in order to get the most out of the beckett and atomize the air the way a particular beckett valve was designed, the correct pressure is needed from the pump to make the valve work as designed. When I set my skimmer up, I played with different pump arrangements and found very different results.

That said, please dont take offense to my comment. I am glad your skimmer works good for you. Beckett skimmers are very nice and it appears as though yours is a nice one. Again, sorry for the confusion as I was not directing that comment at you.

FWIW.. Mine was 4' and not 6' but since I have a Napoleon complex, size does matter.

Now I must go "touch myself" (some more)! :beer:
 
adam1980 said:
So anyways on the output of your pump you have a gate valve to restrict flow, where on the line did you put that is it directly over your pump or should it go above where i will t off for the skimmer. Thanks rbredding
Click to expand...

I've got it there, but it's wide open.. originally, I wasn't sure whether I needed to valve it back or not (the pump I'm using delivers nearly 900gpm more than the pump that was suggested for use with the skimmer).

through the upgrades that I've made to the manifold and filtration system, I've used up most of that 900gpm (extra) that was initially built into the layout..
 
slief said:
LOL.. That was not directed at you. I should have said larger skimmers instead of high end....

That said, please dont take offense to my comment. I am glad your skimmer works good for you. Beckett skimmers are very nice and it appears as though yours is a nice one. Again, sorry for the confusion as I was not directing that comment at you.
Click to expand...
no problem... :)
 
I dont think this would be the best set up as most of them require a pressure pump. I have a few tanks and also a few frag tanks. My 220 has a becket skimmer on it and I feel its the most effective as far as stripping organics but not the best on energy. It is the least maintance of the bunch but have a cone skimmer a euro reef skimmer a pm redline skimmer all working also and am quite pleased with becket maybe im old school but nothing works better imo.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

E
innovative Marine AIO 60 Gallon skimmers?
Replies
8
Views
271
Agent Kooper
A
M
New to the hobby!
Replies
1
Views
118
Smadav
S
D
New- skimmer question
Replies
3
Views
1K
Guygettnby
Guygettnby
R
Replacement Pump for Vertex Omega 150 Protein Skimmer
Replies
4
Views
2K
r1racer
R
S
Overskimming on New Protein Skimmer
Replies
2
Views
114
wvned
wvned
Back
Top