Skimmer Q&A Thread

GoNoles said:
Sorry about the sideways pic
Click to expand...

are you running fresh carbon either passively or in a reactor (reactors better, but both work)?

live sand isn't as live as they advertise. the bacterial die off always made my skimmers bug out for a while. yours is lasting longer than expected though so hang in there. Run the carbon and if you can, connect a hose to the drain on the cup and run with the cup attached. let the drain run into a jug or bowl and dump and replace. May need to mark the sump level with some tape or something so you can keep the level up as you replace whats skimmed out with the new water.

this takes a while but when i've done this, my skimmers have always settled down.

Is you system new?
 
reeftivo said:
are you running fresh carbon either passively or in a reactor (reactors better, but both work)?

live sand isn't as live as they advertise. the bacterial die off always made my skimmers bug out for a while. yours is lasting longer than expected though so hang in there. Run the carbon and if you can, connect a hose to the drain on the cup and run with the cup attached. let the drain run into a jug or bowl and dump and replace. May need to mark the sump level with some tape or something so you can keep the level up as you replace whats skimmed out with the new water.

this takes a while but when i've done this, my skimmers have always settled down.

Is you system new?
Click to expand...

Totally new startup. New water, new skimmer, sand, etc. Waiting on Refugium Startup Pack from Algae Barn (they are a little backordered right now, apparently) to start the cycle. I have not, as yet, started running carbon so that is what I will try.
Thank you very much!
 
Akula 160 skimmer arrived last light. already wet and breaking in. Will do full review after it's had time to settle in. Nice skimmer. surprised at how heavy it is. i think the lid alone weighs at least a pound. super beefy & nice cnc work on pvc.
 
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Very nice you got it. Might be a while before I order one. The weather has me so far behind on my new build and it is costing me allot more than i thought with 2 builds going on at the same time.

Told you it was well built. These things should be flying off the shelf. I always thought my RLSS was the best skimmer for the money but their is no doubt these are and they are far better built than RLSS skimmers. They are built like a high end skimmer, perform pretty close to the top skimmers if not better than some but priced like a middle of the road skimmer. They use a very reliable pump and parts are easy to get for it and low priced.

i usually buy different skimmers for each build so I can help people with their skimmers. But these skimmers are so good I see no reason to do a different skimmer unless someone offered me A BK cheap but that will not happen.
I think if they got a good us distributor they could change the market.
 
I like how the BB box is tapered inside and the lid has a dome taper as well. I could be wrong but i doubt this thing pulls 500 lph. I'll have to get a meter on it soon. I have it running at 8.6 inches (22cm) like they recommend and wow what a difference in performance from where i started at which was 7 inches. they weren't kidding with that depth recommendation. this morning it was starting up the neck with a nice dense, pillowy foam head (similar to my ATB nano one and the BK mini 160).

thanks for the recommendation. i think this may be a keeper ;-)

oh btw, build quality IS on par with bubble king with the exception of some polishing on the edges of the top of neck and the cnc'd BK logos.
 
Do you have a picture of your skimmer. Sounds like it might be different than mine.
I was looking online and they look different too..
 
it looks just like the pics of yours i've seen.

I didn't get pics yet because i was lazy and figured after it breaks in I will do a review and break it down temporarily for a light cleaning and pics.

the lid has a solid cnc'd taper in the lid where the foam pushes into and diverts downwards. Also, the bubble box on the pump has a rounded taper inside on the top portion.

another feature that i noticed is the venturi which is completely rounded out inside and the air injects directly into the flow entering. most other venturi's have the air injected between the outer edge and inner machined collar. not sure if your's is like that.
 
shred5 said:
Do you have a picture of your skimmer. Sounds like it might be different than mine.
I was looking online and they look different too..
Click to expand...

got busy here at work. now that i think of it, the pump is slightly different.
it has a frosted translucent volute (can see impeller) and a white volute cover plate with a white rear plate. not sure if your venturi and BB box is different since i couldn't see that in your pics. It's still a psk600 block though.

I'll get some pics up soon
 
reeftivo said:
got busy here at work. now that i think of it, the pump is slightly different.
it has a frosted translucent volute (can see impeller) and a white volute cover plate with a white rear plate. not sure if your venturi and BB box is different since i couldn't see that in your pics. It's still a psk600 block though.

I'll get some pics up soon
Click to expand...


Yea I saw some newer picture and it looked different. It did not look like it had the knob or they changed it for the fine tune adjustment on the output but it may possible have been old pictures.

My question is it an improvement or did they cheapen it some?
 
as far as i can tell it is the same as yours except for the pump. same adjustment knob, same clear riser up to the knob. I'll get some pictures tonight. It's breaking in nicely and very quiet. Nothing cheap about this skimmer ;-).
 
reeftivo said:
as far as i can tell it is the same as yours except for the pump. same adjustment knob, same clear riser up to the knob. I'll get some pictures tonight. It's breaking in nicely and very quiet. Nothing cheap about this skimmer ;-).
Click to expand...


Cool that is what I want to hear.
 
Akula pump.you can see the clear volute with white cover and the white back plate
20180405_165428.jpg

Fine tune gate valve knob
20180405_165415.jpg
 
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I have a SWC 300 skimmer and the pump failed so I put on a Jebao DC 12000 with a needle wheel.
My questions is since the original pump was sized for 1500 GPH what effect will putting 2x the water flow thru the skimmer?

The Jebao at setting 5 should have around 2700 GPH but this may be reduced because of the needle wheel?

Is it better to have slower flow so the bubbles have time to grab onto the bad and skim out?

What does having to much flow do to the performance of the skimmer?
 
Jwey said:
I have a SWC 300 skimmer and the pump failed so I put on a Jebao DC 12000 with a needle wheel.
My questions is since the original pump was sized for 1500 GPH what effect will putting 2x the water flow thru the skimmer?

The Jebao at setting 5 should have around 2700 GPH but this may be reduced because of the needle wheel?

Is it better to have slower flow so the bubbles have time to grab onto the bad and skim out?

What does having to much flow do to the performance of the skimmer?
Click to expand...

Well depends.. Too much flow and you could shoot water out the top if the exit can not handle it.. The biggest issue is you will probably load the sump with micro bubbles and have way to much turbulence in the skimmer body. I wouldn't do it.
 
I am able to control the flow and keep it at the neck.
There is very little micro bubbles coming out of the skimmer into the sump.
The Jebao has been running for months but I am not getting a good dark skimate.

My question was related to the flow rate thru the skimmer and how it effects the capturing/skimming performance.
 
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Jwey said:
I am able to control the flow and keep it at the neck.
There is very little micro bubbles coming out of the skimmer into the sump.
The Jebao has been running for months but I am not getting a good dark skimate.

My question was related to the flow rate thru the skimmer and how it effects the capturing/skimming performance.
Click to expand...


Air and water need to be balanced. With more flow you get more turbulence like I said which makes it harder to produce a stable head. Also you are loosing bubbles out the drain.. The other issue is you need the air to be about the same. If you are pushing less air the skimmate may not make it up the neck.. You need a pump that is close in gph and air lp/h as the original pump...
 
I am looking for a skimmer for a new 225 gallon reef (total water volume 275). I do not need the most flashy or latest on the market. I want something proven and reliable. The stand will be 36" tall so something around 24" tall would be best. I could spend up to $800 on it, but a proven $400 skimmer would work for me. Please let me know if you need any other information. Thank you!
 
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