ridetheducati
20 and Over Club
And for the rest of the story...
You can only lead the horse to water...
RE: Best Skimmer
- Thread starter Randy1
- Start date
And for the rest of the story...
You can only lead the horse to water...
ridetheducati
20 and Over Club
Thinking out loud...
Thinking out loud...
Christine made a statement that prompted me to write this. I would like to thank her waking me; I may have been sleep at the keyboard for months.
"...what they don't know, they don't know."
There should be something said for those of us who continue to post in skimmer threads, knowing full well how the thread will end. Do we love confrontation or are we glutton for punishment. Excuse the Dr. Phil moment. I have been posting on RC for 7 years and it is amazing how the lighting and skimmer threads have not really changed. I no longer visit or read the lighting threads too hostile; I may need to take a page from the other skimmer folks or self proclaimed gurus, whom I will not mention and overlook the skimmer threads. No harm, no foul. Lately, it is the same passionate individuals (fanboys) posting in skimmer threads. Watch out "Tang Police" here comes "Proteus Skimologists". In the end, I am not sure that the original poster is learning anything, well maybe a little. I hate to pull politics into this, but lines have been drawn so deep its like the blue states versus red states.
Signed, desperately in need of therapy and a breath of fresh air.
Thinking out loud...
Christine made a statement that prompted me to write this. I would like to thank her waking me; I may have been sleep at the keyboard for months.
"...what they don't know, they don't know."
There should be something said for those of us who continue to post in skimmer threads, knowing full well how the thread will end. Do we love confrontation or are we glutton for punishment. Excuse the Dr. Phil moment. I have been posting on RC for 7 years and it is amazing how the lighting and skimmer threads have not really changed. I no longer visit or read the lighting threads too hostile; I may need to take a page from the other skimmer folks or self proclaimed gurus, whom I will not mention and overlook the skimmer threads. No harm, no foul. Lately, it is the same passionate individuals (fanboys) posting in skimmer threads. Watch out "Tang Police" here comes "Proteus Skimologists". In the end, I am not sure that the original poster is learning anything, well maybe a little. I hate to pull politics into this, but lines have been drawn so deep its like the blue states versus red states.
Signed, desperately in need of therapy and a breath of fresh air.
pjf
Premium Member
Gravity Feed versus Pump Feed
Gravity Feed versus Pump Feed
I understand that the majority of recirculating skimmers are pump fed. Some aquarists with recirculating skimmers have posted better results with pump feeding than with gravity feeding. In fact, Euro-Reef recommends pump feeding its skimmers. Yet at least 3 people in this thread have experienced much better results from gravity feeding their skimmers.
When purchasing a recirculating skimmer, how can one tell if it will give superior results when gravity fed? How can one tell if it will give superior results when pump fed? Is it the skimmer or the plumbing that determines gravity feeding success?
Thanks!
Gravity Feed versus Pump Feed
I understand that the majority of recirculating skimmers are pump fed. Some aquarists with recirculating skimmers have posted better results with pump feeding than with gravity feeding. In fact, Euro-Reef recommends pump feeding its skimmers. Yet at least 3 people in this thread have experienced much better results from gravity feeding their skimmers.
When purchasing a recirculating skimmer, how can one tell if it will give superior results when gravity fed? How can one tell if it will give superior results when pump fed? Is it the skimmer or the plumbing that determines gravity feeding success?
Thanks!
The idea behind gravity fed is that you are skimming water from the top of the tank where all the proteins and waste accumulate. This is typically done with low turn over rate through the sump so as to keep turbulence to a minimum.
Obviously if your sump turnover rate is very high, you will generate a great deal of turbulence and skimming won't be that efficient anyway.
Obviously if your sump turnover rate is very high, you will generate a great deal of turbulence and skimming won't be that efficient anyway.
poppin_fresh
New member
I believe the reason most manufacturers recommend the feed pump is for the sake of consistency. They know exactly how many GPH the feed pump flows and its very predictable. An overflow on the other hand is completely random and it causes all kinds of turbulence in the skimmer body. Many people say that this actually hurts performance.
I'm not a skimmer expert, my comments are based on my observations. I'm just a guy who had two different skimmers on two different tanks and switched them from pump to direct feed. Upon doing so both of them more than doubled their normal skimmate production and continue to do so.
The nice thing is that if you buy a recircing skimmer you can try direct feeding it with only a little work. Simply use some vinyl tubing to connect from the overflow output to skimmer input. As long as the overflow rate is similar to the skimmers rating you should have no problems. You can bleed off a little with a "t" if needed, but slower flow is better. Dont restrict it, you dont want the display to overflow! If you dont like it, or dont see any performance gains... undo it and hook the feed pump back up!
I'm not a skimmer expert, my comments are based on my observations. I'm just a guy who had two different skimmers on two different tanks and switched them from pump to direct feed. Upon doing so both of them more than doubled their normal skimmate production and continue to do so.
The nice thing is that if you buy a recircing skimmer you can try direct feeding it with only a little work. Simply use some vinyl tubing to connect from the overflow output to skimmer input. As long as the overflow rate is similar to the skimmers rating you should have no problems. You can bleed off a little with a "t" if needed, but slower flow is better. Dont restrict it, you dont want the display to overflow! If you dont like it, or dont see any performance gains... undo it and hook the feed pump back up!
poppin_fresh
New member
My guess would be that they aren't matching their sump speeds to the rating of the skimmer. Too fast and the skimmer constantly overflows, too slow and... well, I dont believe there is such a thing as too slow. Unfortunately, most hobbyists completely refuse to accept the fact that a sump speed of 2-4x is more than sufficient. Not just for the skimmer, but the refugium also.
You need to plumb it so that the air that is carried down the overflow drains doesn't make it into the skimmer feed. The large air bubbles are very disruptive. You just want water feeding the overflow. The reason some people feed with a pump is they dont want to bother with, or they dont have the room for the plumbing setup from the drain.
pjf
Premium Member
There was a post in another thread where an owner of a recirculating skimmer went back to using a feed pump. He claimed that the direct feed did not work for him but gave no details. Other posts have said that more recirculating skimmers have a feed pump than not. Euro-Reef recommends a feed pump.<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9179535#post9179535 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dkh0331
Hmm. What is the basis for this statement? And asking in a friendly way.
To someone considering a recirculating skimmer, like me, this indicates that something was wrong either in the skimmer choice or the gravity feed plumbing. Am I correct in assuming from what I have read here that failure has nothing to do with the skimmer but is due to either bubbles in the gravity feed or too fast a gravity feed flow?
reefpimp#1
New member
interesting, I havent been on in awhile and am now looking at getting a skimmer for my 150 that I hope to upgrade to a 300 in the future. I would like a skimmer that will work now and possibly be able to be used on a 300 in the future with out another skimmer upgrade. I am looking at the aquamedic turboflotor 5000 baby which is 48"s tall run by a OR3500. I dont know enough about skimmers to know if this is a good one or not but I'm trying to listen in and get some ideas from you guys. I;m willing to spend the money for a quality skimmer. the one i mentioned is used and is for $400.
Sorry for the hijack RANDY1, hope you dont mind just trying to steak some info without having to start another dreaded skimmer thread.
Sorry for the hijack RANDY1, hope you dont mind just trying to steak some info without having to start another dreaded skimmer thread.
eyeguy
New member
Returning to RC after a very long hiatus and at the risk of being flamed, I 've been reading skimmer posts for days. All I can seem to find is "brand loyal" posts or threads about particlur skimmer brands. Forgetting brands for the moment, how can I logically go about comparing the becket recirculating skimmers to the needle recirulationg wheel skimmers? I am in the market for a new high quality skimmer. I have no space limitations and price is not a huge factor, though like anyone, I want to spend as little as I have to for quality workmanship and customer service, not just paying for a name. When it is all said and done, what I really want is a skimmer that produces fine bubbles, has a long contact time, is direct feed. Energy efficiency would be a bonus also. Any comments, or simply redirecting me to an appropriate thread would be great.
Thanks.
Thanks.
eyeguy, An ASM, Euroreef, H&S, Deltec, Bubbleking (lots o cash), AquaC, Precision Marine, Octopus, Trigger Systems, Orca Systems, D&D marine, Tunze, and I am sure many many others make excellent skimmers. I would put Tunze, ER, Deltec, H&S and Bubbleking at the top of the above skimmer producers, but all produce quality products. The big things are: what size tank are you skimming, heavy or light load, and noise level that you want (since money and room do not seem to be limiting factors).
