Skimmer bubbles/ Mushrooms?

[gillianandjoe]

I recently bought a 29 g that Intend to make a reef tank of sorts. I have probably 40 lbs of live rock in it, an aquaclear, two powerheads, PC's, and a seaclone skimmer. I've heard that seaclone stinks, but I figured I'd give it a shot. My problem is, the seaclone fills the tank with bubbles anytime I open the air valve. It is HOB, does anyone know of a fix?

On a separate note, does anyone have a couple of good sized mushrooms they are looking to part with? Nothing to trade, but cash.

 

[nanoreef16g]

I had a Seaclone for years and it would always bubble for awhile until it "broke in". It had to break in everytime I stopped and started it.

 

[gillianandjoe]

How long would it bubble before it would stop?

 

[kaptken]

I have used a couple seclones, the smaller size, for 8 years. in the sump. no problem there. perhaps you could put a small basket with some loose plastic media , like those plastic brillo pad type scrubbers they sell at the dollar store, in the basket to collect and slow down the bubbles in the outfall of the skimmer. like a baffle system. bubbles condense on the media and go up,. and water goes down thru the basket. like those black 4 x 4 pond baskets.

i do that in my sump, and keep a bag of purigen in the bottom of the basket too . or carbon , or phosphate zorber media.

 

[gillianandjoe]

Kaptken,

Are we talking about putting a basket in the tank under the return? If so, any idea on where to get something like that?

 

[gillianandjoe]

Kaptken,

Are we talking about putting a basket in the tank under the return? If so, any idea on where to get something like that?

 

[Shnabbles]

Seaclones are crap i never got much out of mine so i bumped up to a Aqua Remora C with a Mag 7 pump.. I get all kinds of good icky stuff now, and only bubbles when i feed the tank or stick my hands in, but thats to be expected.

 

[gillianandjoe]

I read a couple of things on another site about how to get the seaclone tuned in properly, haven't had much luck yet. I think I'll try again tomorrow. I can't find the receipt for it or I'd take it back to the 'Smart. So, I guess I'm stuck trying to make it work. When the air valve is open, the bubbles in the lift tube won't climb enough to get into the collection cup. I'm open to any ideas...

 

[kaptken]

Oh!! G&J , i almost forgot the most important part. I fine tune the air input by using a little plastic air valve on the intake tube. you can fine tune the bubble stream so that not much passes thru. the idea is to hav a fine mist of small bubbles in the seaclone, while maintaining the water flow rate. that way you can fine tune the skimate output from very wet to nearly dry.
try one of these little green air valve doo-hickys like this one, instead of the filter thing that comes with the skimmer. it does finer tuning and you can find them at any fish store for a buck or two.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=3690&N=2004+113403

thats what they look like.

mine put out crispy dry scum out the vent cap and do pretty good when you have them tuned in. and the cup skimate is thick dark stinky tea brown. a good low cost skimmer when tuned in.

I have one 8 year old original design and one of the modified design. the difference is they cut a couple inches off the central swirl tube and it works better . just like a DYI mod that has been on the net for a few years. something like this.http://www.reefcentral.com/diy/seaclone_modifications.htm

but, you probably have the new design. so you just need some air suction fine tuning with a plastic air line needle valve.

 

[wds21921]

G&J I used the Seaclones in a couple stores and to be honest you can do better.
If money is the issue try them out for a while, my main beef is they're very sensitive and can go completely out of whack when chems or water change is introduced.

The good side is they're pretty inexpensive so it's a matter of personal preference in some ways. You can get better results with a Remora for a little more money. It's as plug and play as you can get also.

 

[wds21921]

Ken's right about the fine tuning of the air also. The bubble size you'll be dealing with initially, are ridiculously too large.
I think that's part of the reason many of the early models with low to minimally powered air pumps were uber-sensitive to ANY changes in the water quality.
The smaller you can get the bubbles, the more waste will be attached. The small green valves Ken's talking about are very cheap and will make a good bit of difference in your output too by regulating the bubble size more consistently to a size that works well for you.

 

[gillianandjoe]

It works!

It works!

Thanks so much for your pointers/advice. I got an air valve, and that must have been the trick. I replaced the stock valve with the new, and had green slime coming out overnight. Oh, I also traded the skimmer on my FOWLR, for the seaclone, so now the seaclone is on the FOWLR, and the 29g has a redsea skimmer. Anyone have experience with these? It worked great on the FOWLR, and seems to be accumulating on the reef tank. Thanks, again!

 

[wds21921]

Is that the Red Sea Prizm G&J? If so I've got a mod for you that does work.

On the intake there is a long black neoprene tube that goes down to a diffuser of sorts. Basically it inserts into a tab of sorts. Remove that black tubing and replace it with the clear tubing you can get at any hardware store with the same ID (inside diameter). The difference will be the length of the new tubing.
If you notice on your collection cup you can raise it some before the o-ring seal no longer makes contact with the neck it's attached on. Here is where you have to make a decision. You can lengthen that neck using acrylic tubing or modding it with whatever material you prefer. Basically you want to raise it up at least 1" higher than is possible with the manufactures original build. Since that assembly (collection cup) also includes your intake tube, this is where the lengthening of the tubing will come in handy.
If you prefer, just raise the cup up to where it's still sealed currently without lengthening that large tube that the collection cup sits on. Use the new tubing to attach to the diffuser (which you will have to do). This easy mod will increase your collection rate and give you a much smellier skimmate. Basically it's the exact same principal as a Remora Aqua C skimmer.

One of the biggest problems with the Red Sea Prizms is the height of the collection cup. If you seat it all the way down as suggested by the manufacturer, you tend to battle for good quality skimmate with water intake. By raising the cup your collecting more of the bad stuff in essence and less water. Try it, you'll see .

 

[gillianandjoe]

I will give it a shot, thanks again for your help!