fission skimmer...over skimming!!!

[petermai]

yes, you heard it right! this little bugger works like charm. i was in the market looking for a nano skimmer for my girlfriend's 6gal nano. i found steven(smy168) giving one away for free and so i took the offer knowing that this skimmer did not work for him at the time.

basically, i'm here to try and explain why this skimmer won't work for a lot of people in hope that you can share the same joy as while i am looking at the half cup full of skimmate after about 2 hours of skimming.

so here's the deal, first, take the pump apart and check the tiny little base of where the airline is attached to, to whether it is property fitted into one of the four quarter circle slots on the(lack of a better description) big piece with the airline coming out of. once in the slot, push a little more of the airline into the grating of the filter to ensure that the base of the airline won't come loose from the quarter circle slot.

second of all. because this item came to me, "used." i have no idea how the factory initially set up the cotton filter tubes. but upon closer inspection and observation while the skimmer was in action. with all of the cotton pieces where they are. i realized that the piece of cotton that was wrapped around the "internal flow rotator," was preventing the micro bubbles from spiralling up to the skimmer cup. so i got rid of this and the darn looks to be working more efficiently than my MRC MR-1 skimmer.:rollface:

hope that helps all of the frustrated souls out there. if anyone is confused or need further info, pm me and i will gladly help you out. thanks.

peter

 

[cherbub]

very cool

 

[fella1320]

how is it still working for you? i thought about getting one but many people said that they are worthless so i decided to go with a fuge but if you think that this thing is really worth it i will pick one up.

 

[petermai]

it's still working great for me. i pull out about a cup a day. it's not looking like the rotten coffee color look alike that i get from my MR-1 skimmer. but in my opinion that little thing is highly efficient.

 

[banditfl]

I sent you a PM with some questions. It does seem to produce some decent skimate but the bubbles are too much.

 

[Clarkii01]

Mine works like a charm as well.

 

[KING OF THE REEF]

mine emptied about 5 gallons out of my 20 gallon tank. i had to tear it down (the tank) becaus eof water damage. damn thing works very well i must say. i have since upgraded to a aquapod qith 70 watt halide

 

[petermai]

it works great but there's a few flaws in its' workmanship. the base of the air tube that fits snugly into one of the quarter circle slots comes loose easily, and when it does. you will get nothing. just check that every now and then especially when you're playing around with it. i'm very happy with it. i have to thank steven(smy168) for sending me this straight from NY.

 

[petermai]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7024136#post7024136 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by banditfl
I sent you a PM with some questions. It does seem to produce some decent skimate but the bubbles are too much.

you've got pm.

 

[fella1320]

is that pm for me because i didnt get anything?

 

[petermai]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7026916#post7026916 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fella1320
is that pm for me because i didnt get anything?

you got a pm also.

 

[fella1320]

ok i just got mine plugged it in last night and it doesnt look like it is going to come close to pulling anything out. i dont have any cotton inside of the thing it came with some but i thought that was just packing shouldi put it back in there?

 

[banditfl]

The white poly material is to be installed in the grating of the skimmer cup. It is the mirco-bubble reducing ring. They package several extras with the unit.

 

[petermai]

only pack it in there and that's it. and make sure the airline is secured in its place.

 

[djrecklessk]

Do you have any pictures of the fission in action. Your response would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[fella1320]

thanks guys i put the packing in there and the foam actually started to rise up ill ust have to see if this is goign to work ill see if i can get some pics up for you. mabey we can turn this into the nano fission skimmer club?" hahaha

 

[LornaS]

Well after fiddling with this thing for abount anhour a few points.

1. The air intake tube was blocked and I had to take the pump apart to ensure that this little wee tube was inserted far enough to draw air into the pump. Finally got air moving through the chamber

2. This thing produces a million microbubbles back into the tank and more between the joints. I ended up using two of the bubble filters and managed to reduce the micro bubbles to a minimum.

3. This thing separates very easily when knocked and takes a bit of work to get positioned height-wise in the tank/sump.

4. The cup fills with water every couple of seconds and if I plug the small drainage tube it would overflow, I haven't seen anything like scum building up in the collection cup, just water. I can't raise this any futher in the tank and I am not sure I have this set up right.


Plus side:
1. It is very very quiet
2. It is compact and takes hardly any room in the tank. I have it in the main tank of my 10g. The power head I have in there is bigger.
3. It is inexpensive and if it works out it is a pretty good buy though it doesn't replace regular water changes.

Altogether I probably worked an hour at getting this thing working half decently. I woke up this morning to a full cup of foam in it. So it is producing foam which is a good thing. Now to see if it pulls any gunk out of the water. We will give it a week then re-assess the goods.

If any of you have this working and have a good pic of it in action I would appreciate a look at it to see if I have it set up correctly

 

[banditfl]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7054314#post7054314 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LornaS
Well after fiddling with this thing for abount anhour a few points.

1. The air intake tube was blocked and I had to take the pump apart to ensure that this little wee tube was inserted far enough to draw air into the pump. Finally got air moving through the chamber

2. This thing produces a million microbubbles back into the tank and more between the joints. I ended up using two of the bubble filters and managed to reduce the micro bubbles to a minimum.

3. This thing separates very easily when knocked and takes a bit of work to get positioned height-wise in the tank/sump.

4. The cup fills with water every couple of seconds and if I plug the small drainage tube it would overflow, I haven't seen anything like scum building up in the collection cup, just water. I can't raise this any futher in the tank and I am not sure I have this set up right.


Plus side:
1. It is very very quiet
2. It is compact and takes hardly any room in the tank. I have it in the main tank of my 10g. The power head I have in there is bigger.
3. It is inexpensive and if it works out it is a pretty good buy though it doesn't replace regular water changes.

Altogether I probably worked an hour at getting this thing working half decently. I woke up this morning to a full cup of foam in it. So it is producing foam which is a good thing. Now to see if it pulls any gunk out of the water. We will give it a week then re-assess the goods.

If any of you have this working and have a good pic of it in action I would appreciate a look at it to see if I have it set up correctly

I fiddled with mine for a while in a bucket using water change leftover until I got the setup I was OK with.
I originally installed it in my AC 300, but no room to make adjustments.
I also tried two pieces of the fiber material and when I did I had to raise the skimmer so the water level was about midway on the main body. I finally settled on the water level right at the bottom of the outflow grating. and the pump set on mid. Connected some 1/4" airline tubing to drain the cu to a bottle. I also installed 2 layers of poly fiber in front of the outflow of ac300 to break up some of the bubbles. the bubbles do seem to be reducing as it runs.


I also had trouble with it leaking at the joints. What I did was put a wrap of teflon tape around the joint and reassembled carfully. and no more leaks.