MRC Club

[jjmatti]

Just cleaned out the neck of the skimmer tonight and noticed that the foam is not building up again. Thick frothy foam in the first few inches but nothing climbing up the other chambers.
After giving it a few hours I am starting to think I might have done something or maybe need to clean something else. Does the Beckett need to be cleaned and if so how often?? How do I know when it is dirty??


(The skimmer was not runnning the past two days because I was switching the substrate from crushed coral to sand)
Oter then that, nothing new...

 

[Benny Z]

would it be a good idea to get an 8" extension for my mr-2 dual beckett driven by a pcx-55? i believe this would essentially make the skimmer a mr-3 with dual becketts.

thanks,
ben

 

[Ereefic]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7474574#post7474574 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jjmatti
Just cleaned out the neck of the skimmer tonight and noticed that the foam is not building up again. Thick frothy foam in the first few inches but nothing climbing up the other chambers.
After giving it a few hours I am starting to think I might have done something or maybe need to clean something else. Does the Beckett need to be cleaned and if so how often?? How do I know when it is dirty??


(The skimmer was not runnning the past two days because I was switching the substrate from crushed coral to sand)
Oter then that, nothing new...

Your performance will drop off considerably when the becketts are dirty (algae, snail, etc. stuck in them). Take the beckett out and check it, sounds like that's your problem if you didn't mess with anything else.

 

[p4ck37p1mp]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7474574#post7474574 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jjmatti
Just cleaned out the neck of the skimmer tonight and noticed that the foam is not building up again. Thick frothy foam in the first few inches but nothing climbing up the other chambers.
After giving it a few hours I am starting to think I might have done something or maybe need to clean something else. Does the Beckett need to be cleaned and if so how often?? How do I know when it is dirty??


(The skimmer was not runnning the past two days because I was switching the substrate from crushed coral to sand)
Oter then that, nothing new...

The other thing I noticed after cleaning my cup and neck, if I close the gate vavle until it overflows into the cup it helps it get back to working faster, you essentially 'wash' the tap water out and get the neck covered in saltwater. Mine starts foaming much more quickly this way.

 

[sellout007]

Man, im bummin about this skimmer. I keep hearing all these great things from everyone, yet cant help but say that mine is falling REALLY short.

I cant get this skimmer to take anythign out of my tank for the life of me. Ive tried tuning it every way, and the most I can get out of it is a REALLY light green (see through) skimmate. It takes forever to fill up half of the waste collector.

I can try and get some darker liquid, but it takes 2 weeks to get even an inch.

I work at a LFS and see their tanks set up with LifeReef skimmers totally ROCKING!. Pulling out BLACK liquid every days without fail and im so tempted to ditch my MR2 and go for one of those.


Is it my tank? Is there nothing in it to clean? I find that hard to belive that my tank is so clean it cant skim anything.

 

[MdM31]

what kind of pump do you have on it and how is it set up? those are the two most important things to make the skimmer work right.

-Mike

 

[sellout007]

Pressure rated sequence pump rated at 1750gph and everything else is plumbed using 1.5" PVC the way it should. I bought a new pump just for this skimmer.

 

[steve68]

sellout007 how long has ur tank been set up?
also remember that if there is something in the air the skimmer might not work well.every mod that is in this thread works, i have tried them all, once u figure out wich one works best on ur skimmer u set it & for get it. LOL
i run my water level really high,the way i set up my air intake on the becketts i can controll both with a tad of a turn on a 1/2 inch gate valve,i run little air to get real fine bubbles for a dry skimate & more air for wetter skimate.
this might help u

 

[Bryan89]

sellout007:

Check the pump and becketts to make sure that they are clean. Also, if you have airflow meters use those to adjust the airflow to each Beckett. My skimmer ran best at about 35 SCFH per beckett on the Dwyer air flow meter; fine bubbles and lots of scum. You also need to clean the skimemr frequently (like every other day) for best performance.

I also made a mod to mine where I put 6" extension risers using 1" see thru PVC between the box and becketts. That way, I could run mush wetter skimate and it seemed to help. I ran my water level without air on at about 8" above the box. I will give you my risers if you wish, since you are so close to me.

My airflow meters are for sale, but I'll let you borrow them briefly if you want to allow you to setup your skimmer properly, as long as you give them back so I can sell them.

Bryan

 

[RGibson]

Bryan what kind of skimmer are you using now?

 

[sellout007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7544127#post7544127 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by steve68
sellout007 how long has ur tank been set up?
also remember that if there is something in the air the skimmer might not work well.every mod that is in this thread works, i have tried them all, once u figure out wich one works best on ur skimmer u set it & for get it. LOL
i run my water level really high,the way i set up my air intake on the becketts i can controll both with a tad of a turn on a 1/2 inch gate valve,i run little air to get real fine bubbles for a dry skimate & more air for wetter skimate.
this might help u

Tank has been setup in the new house since January. So about 6 months. I just added a 3-4" DSB about 2 months ago. I dont think anything in the air has to do with the skimmer not performing correctly, at least in this situation. It never pulls out good gunk. But I have experienced what you are talking about. Certain foods cooked with certain spices, cleaning products, etc etc.

I have actually been to your page before. I have the newer style beckett, I have it raised up with the PVC extensions. And I just dont get good foam production. I have tried everything. I have only opened the air valve 1 or 2 turns and I dont get good foam production. Or foam production that continues to rise. Ive tried skimming with my air valve open almost all the way, and everything in between. Still cant get good foam production at all.

The beckett is clean, and the pump is brand new. This is why I want to hook up another skimmer and see how it works on my tank. If I get nothing from that skimmer too, then I know myt ank is just clean.

 

[Bryan89]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7545499#post7545499 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RGibson
Bryan what kind of skimmer are you using now?

I just bought a Deltec 902 with the self cleaning head.

 

[sellout007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7544637#post7544637 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bryan89
sellout007:

Check the pump and becketts to make sure that they are clean. Also, if you have airflow meters use those to adjust the airflow to each Beckett. My skimmer ran best at about 35 SCFH per beckett on the Dwyer air flow meter; fine bubbles and lots of scum. You also need to clean the skimemr frequently (like every other day) for best performance.

I also made a mod to mine where I put 6" extension risers using 1" see thru PVC between the box and becketts. That way, I could run mush wetter skimate and it seemed to help. I ran my water level without air on at about 8" above the box. I will give you my risers if you wish, since you are so close to me.

My airflow meters are for sale, but I'll let you borrow them briefly if you want to allow you to setup your skimmer properly, as long as you give them back so I can sell them.

Bryan

Hey Bryan,

The pump is brand new, so im pretty sure its clean. And the Becketts are cleaned out as well, I figured it might be because of that as well. I clean the skimmer out every day as well.

I am only running one beckett for now, I have an older style one, but its shotty so I havent put it on yet. I have the bekcett injector raised up above the box about 8". Ive run my water lvl every which way, no good.

Thanks for the offer on the stuff, I might take you up on that. O)


A buddy told me a trick to see if the skimmer is working properly is to take an egg and take a teaspon of the yolk and drop it straight into the top of the skimmer and wait to see what it does. Since your adding 100% protien it should start skimming like crazy. I think im going to try that.

 

[Bryan89]

Based on what you said above, I would suspect it is your beckett that is bad or the 1700 gph pump through one beckett, which is simply too much pump for a single beckett IME. I could let you borrow my two becketts for a day or two to see if it helps your skimmer, until mine is sold.

Also, you should put a bunch of pipe tape on the ends of the beckett to provide a good positive seal on the upper and lower portion of hte beckett to prevent a flow bypass.

 

[bkv1997]

I was about to say the same thing on 1700 GPH through one beckett....

Andy recommended a blue line 55 for my MR2 with 2 beketts and it skimms like crazy. Can you try cutting back the flow a bit?

 

[sellout007]

Here are a few pictures of the setup. This is the best I can get for foam production, the problem is it never stays like this. Or if it does, it never fills up the cup. The foam just sits on the top of the skimmer and it takes FOREVER! to fill it up.

This is the color of my skimmate. This is over a weeks worth, probably closer to 2 weeks. Its even lighter in real life.

 

[sellout007]

Oh and that is with my air valve almost completely open. I do have stuff in there to silence it so im guessing that cuts down on the air.

 

[bkv1997]

The bubbles in the neck of that first shot look a little large to me.. Try raising your water level a bit...

Brandon

 

[sellout007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7545761#post7545761 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bryan89
Based on what you said above, I would suspect it is your beckett that is bad or the 1700 gph pump through one beckett, which is simply too much pump for a single beckett IME. I could let you borrow my two becketts for a day or two to see if it helps your skimmer, until mine is sold.

Also, you should put a bunch of pipe tape on the ends of the beckett to provide a good positive seal on the upper and lower portion of hte beckett to prevent a flow bypass.

Why would it be to much? Im just curious and tyring to understand. I can try adding a ballvalve or the other beckett to see if it helps. But if it doesnt im just going to be even more annoyed. *lol*

And how is the beckett bad? It better not be bad! I just got it a few months ago!!! GRRRR.

 

[sellout007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7545812#post7545812 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bkv1997
The bubbles in the neck of that first shot look a little large to me.. Try raising your water level a bit...

Brandon

Thats what I thought as well. So raising the waterlvl with the gatevalve does what? Wouldnt I need to decrease the air intake to make the bubbles smaller?