protien skimmers
- Thread starter smartin1019
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Freshwater pond? IMO, using a skimmer on a freshwater tank/pond won’t do much in the way of filtering. It would help aerate the water though.
smartin1019
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I had one many years ago and it did seem to help so I probably will give it a try., Thanks
Sounds good. That looks like a model that’s intended to be placed directly in the water.
smartin1019
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I looked a little on line and did not see that. ould you point me towards any info on hook up? thanks
smartin1019
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In that pic, the vinyl tube on the left is where the pump connects. So, could be used in tank/pond/sump or outside I think:
smartin1019
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I guess with a submersable pump I guess it could
smartin1019
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On the other side where the red valve is, partway up is an air line what would that side be connected to? Thanks
smartin1019
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This is the piece where the air line connects. I don't see what you mean by a venturi are they one and the same?
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wvned
Well-known member
A venturi is a restriction in a pipe that draws in the air.
If that is is just a tee then air must have been pumped in with pressure.
Becket skimmers use a venturi to mix air into the water, some skimmers used wooden things like an air stone and now we have needle wheel skimmer pumps with air inlets.
The point of the three methods is to make lots of tiny bubbles and mix them into the water before it enters the big chamber.
The Mazzei Venturi is "the original" venturi that got the entire venturi-driven protein skimmer industry going over 24 years ago. Many venturis came after the Mazzei, but this is the king of venturis and continues to be a superb performer.
The Mazzei Venturis are used on all the skimmers below and are an option for the skimmers above.
The Mazzei allows a larger volume of water to be pushed through the venturi and skimmer thus drawing in more air and hence more bubbles. A slight improvement is acheived by more water flow and increased bubble volume, and that's what skimming is all about!
But there are other devices that do the same thing.
If that is is just a tee then air must have been pumped in with pressure.
Becket skimmers use a venturi to mix air into the water, some skimmers used wooden things like an air stone and now we have needle wheel skimmer pumps with air inlets.
The point of the three methods is to make lots of tiny bubbles and mix them into the water before it enters the big chamber.
The Mazzei Venturi is "the original" venturi that got the entire venturi-driven protein skimmer industry going over 24 years ago. Many venturis came after the Mazzei, but this is the king of venturis and continues to be a superb performer.
The Mazzei Venturis are used on all the skimmers below and are an option for the skimmers above.
The Mazzei allows a larger volume of water to be pushed through the venturi and skimmer thus drawing in more air and hence more bubbles. A slight improvement is acheived by more water flow and increased bubble volume, and that's what skimming is all about!
But there are other devices that do the same thing.
smartin1019
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smartin1019
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Thanks I will try it without air and if no good will add air.
That’s not the right size skimmer for a pond, it’s appears quite small. Unless the pond is very small. Is it a fish pond?
Many, who have ponds with no fish just mechanical and UV as a filter, add fish then sure, a protein skimmer, but it looks small. Unless it’s just tiny water volume then sure, that will work.
You typically need a debris type basket and a large reaction tube to get any real value from foam fractionation ,(if you keeping fish in your pond) and a UV to keep the green in check.
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smartin1019
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Thanks I appreciate the input. I hooked it up and as you can see it works. But I think you are correct in that it is too small. I have aquired a much larger one that I may end up trying to use. your thoughts on a coulple of issues. A number of years ago I made a DIY skimmer my design was slightly flawed and while it worked, keeping the water level correct was a nightmare. After two seasons I stopped using it. with these skimmers I am a little confused on mine the water entered at the top and exited on the bottom. an airstone at the bottom supplied fine bubbles which traveled up through the water coming downward. I thought this was important for it to work. On these while the veturi supplies a good amount of air the bubbles are large and not going against the flow??
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It's so weird seeing that make foam but I did some reading and protein skimmers do in fact work on fresh water as you obviously knew and I didn't. Apparently more and finer bubbles are important for fresh water because of the low surface tension, so an old school venturi skimmer isn't really ideal for freshwater. Old school is venturi after the pump. New school is venturi before the pump, so a specialized impeller (needle wheel or pin wheel) shreds the bubbles finer after they are made by the venturi.
Your diy skimmer was a counter current design. If it had a wooden air stone it would make very fine bubbles compared to your current venturi.
Your diy skimmer was a counter current design. If it had a wooden air stone it would make very fine bubbles compared to your current venturi.
That makes sense. Weird, I didn’t know about them working for FW either.
