Skimmer Q&A Thread

[jfeva0049]

skimmy, in your opinion, do you think my euro 100 is under sized for my tank?

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tank is a 90 tall with around 30 gal sump/fuge

 

[Drae]

That is undersized honestly. You'd be better off with a ins 135 but for the price Jeff wants I wouldn't bother. Get an Aquamaxx cone 2 or em200 or a rlss r6 for your tank.

 

[jfeva0049]

That is undersized honestly. You'd be better off with a ins 135 but for the price Jeff wants I wouldn't bother. Get an Aquamaxx cone 2 or em200 or a rlss r6 for your tank.

see, thats my problem. my sump/fuge is already maxed out (only have around 10.5" x 9.5"). the ins-100 fits in the chamber, im not sure if i could go alot bigger,maybe an inch but no more. i really dont want to have to buy a new sump. so there lies the rub.....:headwalls:

i guess thats why i was looking at the sump saver models. and to be honest i would not want to spend $400-500 to get 10% more performance...i guess thats why i was wondering if those other models would be a significant upgrade.

 

[Drae]

Aquamaxx em200 would fit and perform. It'll also save you room. 299$ best bet.

 

[Drae]

Your skimmate should be coffee colored judging by how your tank looks ( seems like you have plenty nutrients). Your skimmer is not performing that great , seems really light and wet skimmate. Try to skim dry. Open your wedge pipe up a little and let your skimmer foam up.

 

[skimmy]

skimmy, in your opinion, do you think my euro 100 is under sized for my tank? tank is a 90 tall with around 30 gal sump/fuge

if it was me, i would ditch the fuge and do a pellet rx, bigger skimmer, GAC rx, and 100 micron mesh sock on sump imput.
or just keep your ball of chaeto(if it can live after all that other filtration)
trapped in a corner with some egg crate and gutter guard, and a little light.

as far as skimmers, for 120g total, i'd say the aquamaxx EM200 drae mentioned would be good, or the rlss 6 for $50 more and 200plh of air injection more would be even better.

but the main thing i notice is it seems you got no carbon on your set up, and i think a good carbon will do almost as good of a job as a good skimmer can do, so the obvious answer is to have both. even if its passively run in a media bag in front of a powerhead in your sump, but better in a GAC rx.

also, a 20 long makes a great sump and is dirt cheap, if you just wanna start fresh.

or even just moving your chaeto to the first chamber which looks like a wet dry box... that small bunch of chaeto will fit there. then you got room to play.

 

[jfeva0049]

Your skimmate should be coffee colored judging by how your tank looks ( seems like you have plenty nutrients). Your skimmer is not performing that great , seems really light and wet skimmate. Try to skim dry. Open your wedge pipe up a little and let your skimmer foam up.

yeah i was running it a lil wet in hopes that it would remove a lil more DOC's.

 

[jfeva0049]

if i went with the aquamaxx EM200 or the rlss 6, how much better performance do you think i would get? ( 20%,30% etc...) thanks.

 

[skimmy]

if i went with the aquamaxx EM200 or the rlss 6, how much better performance do you think i would get? ( 20%,30% etc...) thanks.

well, the aquamaxx em200 is a 720lph skimmer and the rlss is a 900lph skimmer, so compare that to the 420lph of air injection of your current skimmer.
so the aquamaxx is like 70% better, and the rlss is like 110% better.

 

[jfeva0049]

well, the aquamaxx em200 is a 720lph skimmer and the rlss is a 900lph skimmer, so compare that to the 420lph of air injection of your current skimmer.
so the aquamaxx is like 70% better, and the rlss is like 110% better.

do you have a rlss skimmer??

 

[skimmy]

no.
i got a few buddies with them, and they rave about the control, and how quiet the pump is. my reef is next to my bed so noise is a huge driving force in motivating my purchases. im going to order the smallest model for my 30g total system when i get paid next. prolly have to dumb it down a little...
also, its impressive to play with the controller. i wish it was just a dial to adjust the flow, instead of six settings, but still very nice to shuffle thru the settings, and the soft start too.. add a good solid feeling in the hands from good build quality, and imo, you have a winner.

 

[skimmy]

the other skimmer i have my eye on for a 120g build is the Oceans By Design airstone driven skimmer
2400lph of controllable airstone love w/ pellet rx built in.. and its not even a cone...

 

[Drae]

if i went with the aquamaxx EM200 or the rlss 6, how much better performance do you think i would get? ( 20%,30% etc...) thanks.

I have a am200 (older version) and my buddy has the rlss r8. Same exact build quality. His is a 8" diameter skimmer in a bigger system but I'll tell you this much, totally comparable funky funk. The rlss series DOES NOT perform that much better in terms of skimmate. At most, a skimmer will pull about 25 to 30% of dissolved organics. I trust sicce more because they've been proven already. I absolutely like rlss though but the pumps ARE NOT PROVEN YET. With that said I'd still purchase rlss in a half a heartbeat. Thumbs up for both. You wouldn't regret either or.

 

[jfeva0049]

Talked to the guy at RLSS, very cool dude. I think I will be getting a r6 when the time comes. Thx for all the info guys.

 

[Drae]

well, the aquamaxx em200 is a 720lph skimmer and the rlss is a 900lph skimmer, so compare that to the 420lph of air injection of your current skimmer.
so the aquamaxx is like 70% better, and the rlss is like 110% better.

Air draw isn't everything. Balance is the skimmer skeleton key. Certain cheap skimmers will pull when that sweet spot or just the right mod is found. I meshed a asm with some serious results but the mesh and skimmer had a sweet spot like a fresh Louisville slugger bat... I just had to find it.

 

[skimmy]

Air draw isn't everything. Balance is the skimmer skeleton key. Certain cheap skimmers will pull when that sweet spot or just the right mod is found. I meshed a asm with some serious results but the mesh and skimmer had a sweet spot like a fresh Louisville slugger bat... I just had to find it.

very true, air draw def. isnt everything.
but i feel like typically you get a lot more of "sweet spot" to dial in when theres more air... just my experience.
i almost think that whats more detrimental is if the pump still moves too much water after air injection, causing too much turbulence, and less dwell time.... which is common when using the same pump to inject air and process water both. But i think DC pumps will be better at this...and notice how when the RLSS kicks in, it doesnt really start sucking good air untill its moving enough water, which could also be modified by having an adjustable volute to adjust the size of the inlet, like RD pumps do. which imo, these DC pumps should have as well, to make more pressure in the volute/venturi at slower speeds, instead of them just missing the sweet spot.

 

[mavgi]

Maggie, pm me the changes you made to the Venturi if you can. Your knowledge and experience has been missed.

I did test it with mesh mod (current run it with mesh mode) as for the venturi it's need to be a wider hole also the position need to be change . The main problem it's the Volute design diameter and depth... I told to Eddie from RLSS that if he will do some test and change those he will increase the pump performance. as far as i know they work on that and hope they will make those changes... ATB use same pump but change the volute i believe the pin wheel to but never verify that. As for me I will play with it when I will have more free time ... just change the tank and all system as soon as everything stable i will play with it.

What makes the RLSS a better skimmer than the 5000 XP?

The body design of the RLSS is better... the pump more... the bubble blaster pump not design well as far as pin wheel and this pump rattle and not spin smooth (noise to) and because of that the performance of the skimming not so good. I also mention in the past that one of the best Skimmer design was the Bubble King super marine 250 and I am pretty sure that it's the best performer skimmer from BK product .RLSS got same design , the dc pump also good but not best if they will change the design it will be one of the best skimmer with best value as for money invest

Mavgi nice to see you back again.
I heard the 10000 pumps had some issues, how are yours running. How long have you had them for.

Kevin,

I got the Dc 5000 and Dc 10000 (waiting for the new DC 12000 next month..) , As a return pump I run the Dc 10000 and it's good pump as a skimmer the Dc 5000 pull more 5 LPM . right now i run the Dc 10000 with mesh mode and pull more air and getting very nice and steady skimming result . I hope to play more with it when I get more time. To everyone it's important to know (specially to PPL that don't like to play or modify pumps) that the DC5000 pump will perform very well with the original pin wheel after one month when the skimmer break in (and I test it) But this pump can perform away better and I hope that RLSS company will make the right change and will give excellent skimmer in very good price to the hobbyist .

Thanks
Michael

 

[jfeva0049]

ok can someone please tell me how I would know if my skimmer is undersized or is not up to par? is there some specific things that will indicate this? high nitrate, high phos??? thanks for the info.

 

[moondoggy4]

^^^^ If you are dumping the skimmer cup three times a day, or usually more than twice a week, hence you cannot go on vacation.

 

[cnseekatz]

Are there any protein skimmers that can be set up without a sump, and that are NOT hang-on? Basically, I'm looking for something self-contained, and remote. Does such a thing exist?