Seaclone Skimmers

[Fairytail]

I purchased a seaclone, then about a month later purchased a remora after realizing it just wasn't gonna skim. It would go between pulling out cups of water quickly, to not doing a single thing.

But what I"m wondering is, WHY don't seaclone skim good? At least not for me? I'v seen two others in two differant shops skimming like crazy, pulling out a ton of junk and foam and whatnot. Mine just seemed to bubble and shoot bubbles into my tank nonstop unless I had the airflow adjusted just right.

I'm just curiose, I'm in love with my remora but still can't figure out the stupid seaclone!


Also has anybody had any experince with the fission nano skimmer?

 

[bertoni]

Protein skimmers are a dark art, IMO, and there's very little objective data on them. I haven't seen the SeaClone up close, so I can't really say much on them, but bubble quantity and size and contact length seem to be important issues in skimmer design. The SeaClone probably lacks in both areas.

 

[Amphiprion]

I agree.

 

[sdsheeks]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6928874#post6928874 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bertoni
Protein skimmers are a dark art, IMO, and there's very little objective data on them. I haven't seen the SeaClone up close, so I can't really say much on them, but bubble quantity and size and contact length seem to be important issues in skimmer design. The SeaClone probably lacks in both areas.

I've had a seaclone before and it worked just fine. Sometimes it would skim a lot and other times just a little. I figured it would only skim when there was something to skim....

Dave

 

[CaptainCoral]

They don't draw enough air. A venturi needs good water pressure to create enough air pressure to make enough small bubbles. A maxijet1200 (at295gph ,with poor head pressure applications) just isn't enough force to generate enough air through a venturi. I have yet to see a skimmer with only one maxijet (however utilized) skim well.

 

[nait002]

Mine skims really well. I have mine in my sump. The only thing I did was drilled a hole in the top of the cup and ran a 2" wooden air stone down the main chamber as far as it would go down. I'm getting 3/4 cup of skim per 24 hrs and its fairly dark. I also take off the cup once a week and clean all the gunk off of it. I'm not going to say its a great skimmer but it's what I got for now.

 

[Mike.B]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6929444#post6929444 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nait002
Mine skims really well. I have mine in my sump. The only thing I did was drilled a hole in the top of the cup and ran a 2" wooden air stone down the main chamber as far as it would go down. I'm getting 3/4 cup of skim per 24 hrs and its fairly dark. I also take off the cup once a week and clean all the gunk off of it. I'm not going to say its a great skimmer but it's what I got for now.

Hey thats a good idea, damn a seaclown mod that may actually make it skim better. I got so many old airpumps from freshwater when undergravel filters were used...haha

 

[nait002]

I really couldn't believe the difference a air stone could make. I know there are other mods but this works just fine for me. In the next couple months or so I'll be getting an ASM but this works for now.

 

[sdsheeks]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6937203#post6937203 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nait002
I really couldn't believe the difference a air stone could make. I know there are other mods but this works just fine for me. In the next couple months or so I'll be getting an ASM but this works for now.

Could you please post some pics of this mod?

Dave

 

[nait002]

A pic of the air pump and the hose going into the top of the collection cup. I drilled a hole the same size as the hose right in the center of the cover.

If you look into the chamber you can see the wooden air stone as low as I could get it.

A pic of the wooden air stone.

Another pic of the stone inside the chamber.

 

[nait002]

This is about 8-9 hours worth of skim. Not bad for a $65.00 skimmer and a wood stone. Also I removed the sponge that goes on the intake. All it did was get clogged up all the time.

 

[Thorium]

Hi
Could you please post a skematic of the exact modification as well as drill bit size and revolution speed of drill bit when making the hole. Also, do you know the volume of additional air you are inserting into the skimmer, with the air pump each minute? What diameter air line tubing are you using? Looks Good!!

 

[nait002]

LOL, 1/4" drill bit, 1400 rpm drill, 833 cc/m, standard size airline tubing,

 

[sdsheeks]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6940341#post6940341 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nait002
LOL, 1/4" drill bit, 1400 rpm drill, 833 cc/m, standard size airline tubing,

Please post the relative pressure outside when you did the drilling as well as the temp of the plastic at the time. Also, how many rotations of the drill did it take to poke through? Also, could you please measure the length of the tubing in nm please?



Dave

 

[jeffb3t]

If you bring the airstone all the way to the bottom, you will have more contact time with the bubbles in the water. The plastic straw like piece from an old undergravel filter works real well in getting the air stone down father. A larger air pump will also help in producing more bubbles.

 

[Mike.B]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6939871#post6939871 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Thorium
Hi
Could you please post a skematic of the exact modification as well as drill bit size and revolution speed of drill bit when making the hole. Also, do you know the volume of additional air you are inserting into the skimmer, with the air pump each minute? What diameter air line tubing are you using? Looks Good!!

LMAO, what the **** its matter? Its plastic crap, just grab a drill and approx size drill bit and just slowly make your way through. Its not rocket science man!

Can I actually turn the air the skimmer sucks in off so that its quieter and has increased flow and still get more out put with 2 pumps hooked the airstone or would I need both to be effective?

 

[nait002]

When I turn up my flow the bubbles seem to just wash out. the lower the force the more bubbles I have rise up the cup.