Forget Needlewheels

[greenmonkey51]

Forget all those needlewheels, I'll take a beckett

Thats after 1 day of skimming, on a lightly stocked and fed 125g. I took those pics last night and the collector is full again. The collector is almost 1 gallon.

 

[bergzy]

i am still a beckett fan but due to the high electrical cost of running one here in southern california...i have downsized my pressure rated pump and now use a modified venturi.

i miss my beckett skimmers as i feel that they are still the most effective skimmers for waste removal...but not the most electrically energy efficient.

 

[greenmonkey51]

Ya, that is the one downside. Although electricity is cheap enough here. I estimate is costs about 3$-6$ more a month than a needlewheel I would need.

 

[manderx]

Although electricity is cheap enough here

for now....


looks like a circulation pump (snapper/dart?) rather than a pressure pump (they put the big outlet on it for a reason). you'd do *far* better with a real pressure pump.

 

[kdblove_99]

Agree about Electricity cost.

 

[greenmonkey51]

Yes, its a dart, by the time the beckett puts on the head height it does, I'm still getting the optimal flow I need through it.

 

[tkeracer619]

What is the actuall watt usage on the pump? Air draw?

For instance I have a dual recirc skimmer. 2x 65w Needle wheel + 70w Mag7 Feed. So I am burning 200 watts while you with a dart only have around 160 max. I would like to see real numbers though, do you have a kill-a-watt?

I would also hard pipe the dart with larger piping untill closer to the beckett.

 

[manderx]

I'm still getting the optimal flow I need through it.

becketts work on pressure, not flow. dart shuts down at only 12', which is about 1/2 the pressure you want.

there are not nearly as many bubbles in the body as i would expect.

 

[Jim_S]

The great thing about this hobby is that there are so many different way to accomplish a common goal

I have never, and probably will never run a beckett. But it doesn't mean they're no good.

Enjoy your skimmer.

Cheers,

Jim

 

[greenmonkey51]

I don't have any measuring devices. I would say its probably pulling 150wts which isn't bad. I have no clue as to the air flow. I'd rather spend the money on stuff for the tank than a air meter. I'm not gonna get hung up on arbitrary numbers. How a tank looks is a better measure.