shred5
Premium Member
Well I do not know if it is the older style or newer style but the older style really never was that great, It is a really old design. They have come out with a newer design that works just ok. Problem with HOB skimmers is they do not perform as well as in-sump skimmers but some of them really are not bad.
The other issue with them is they usually do not have much adjustment. I have seen allot of the CPR skimmers over the years but never owned one. With most hob skimmers you can raise or lower the cup for adjustment. Occasionally they put a valve on the air input to help adjust air. Allot HOB skimmers are designed to work right with out of the box with very little adjustment.
With most skimmers the adjustment comes from restricting the water going out which raises or lowers the water in the skimmer. This is accomplished somewhat on some HOB skimmers by raising the cup. If you restrict the water going out of a HOB skimmer you could have a flood.
The other method is raising or lower the sump level which add or removes back pressure on the pump. Well there is no way to do this on a hob obviously.
DC skimmers you can adjust the speed of the pump. This is usually not too useful except in case where your skimmer might over flow because you added a food that causes overflows like Larry's fish eggs or maybe you used epoxy which changes surface tention. A good skimmer should be designed to run at full speed. Why not process as much water and air as possible.
Restricting air is another way to adjust a skimmer. This usually is not needed with good skimmers because they are designed right and to run fully open. But this can be a useful tool even so..
I know my post covers more than just HOB but it gives others an idea for what to do with either type of skimmer.
The other issue with them is they usually do not have much adjustment. I have seen allot of the CPR skimmers over the years but never owned one. With most hob skimmers you can raise or lower the cup for adjustment. Occasionally they put a valve on the air input to help adjust air. Allot HOB skimmers are designed to work right with out of the box with very little adjustment.
With most skimmers the adjustment comes from restricting the water going out which raises or lowers the water in the skimmer. This is accomplished somewhat on some HOB skimmers by raising the cup. If you restrict the water going out of a HOB skimmer you could have a flood.
The other method is raising or lower the sump level which add or removes back pressure on the pump. Well there is no way to do this on a hob obviously.
DC skimmers you can adjust the speed of the pump. This is usually not too useful except in case where your skimmer might over flow because you added a food that causes overflows like Larry's fish eggs or maybe you used epoxy which changes surface tention. A good skimmer should be designed to run at full speed. Why not process as much water and air as possible.
Restricting air is another way to adjust a skimmer. This usually is not needed with good skimmers because they are designed right and to run fully open. But this can be a useful tool even so..
I know my post covers more than just HOB but it gives others an idea for what to do with either type of skimmer.
