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  1. Z

    Any ideas for a dcent DIY Skimmer

    The amount of air a venturi pulls in is dependent on the water flow and venturi design. The 802 does not have much of a venturi, so does not have much draw. A good skimmer has a much better venturi, so can still draw air in when it is deeper. The more draw a venturi has, the more back-pressure...
  2. Z

    Kalkwasser Rip Off

    Keep in mind that there are plenty of things you can eat, that are undesirable in a reef tank. Sometimes the Mrs. Wages has iron in it- I've read reports of the magnetic stirrer bars picking up particles. Mrs. Wages definitely leaves behind more undissolveable material in my experience-...
  3. Z

    Breaking in a new skimmer

    Hey Charlie- Glad it is kicking in already. When I added two brand new frag tanks to my setup, my skimmer shut down for days. That brand-new acrylic takes a while to get a bio-coat on it I suspect. I suspect that performance will slowly increase over the next few weeks. Zeph
  4. Z

    Air bubbles inside a Saltwater tank.

    Another point- Crashing waves will cause the bubbles to move all the time, they don’t get trapped and stagnant. That is rarely the case in a tank, unless you have very heavy water flow. I have a Cap frag in a frag tank that was near the overflow from the tank above. It collected bubbles on...
  5. Z

    Skimmer riser modifications

    You might try these: http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/4369/cid/1228 Not pictured is the Polyweld ones- They have a solid plastic bottom, and stiff sides. You could drill the bottom and insert the drilled stand pipe, with the water flowing out the sides of the...
  6. Z

    Skimming conversation

    Good pints Colin- I agree that a balance between contact time and water flow is important. Quick note- if the Beckett skimmers available in your area are "very noisy" then they are not well made. A well designed Beckett is not silent, but is certainly no louder than the pump that runs it...
  7. Z

    Skimming conversation

    Here is a chart I made a while ago- I hooked up a Becket in an air-tight chamber, with a 3/8" ball valve on it and ran it in to a Bucket. Powered by a Sequence 3600, which is why it maxed out at about 625 gph. I need to repeat the test with a bigger pump. I used a ball valve to cut down the...
  8. Z

    Skimming conversation

    The size of the reaction chamber, air intake, and the # of seconds that the water says in the skimmer are all critical to the amount of foam a skimmer can generate. I'd like to see skimmers rated in # of seconds that it takes for 1 gallon of water to pass though the system (average) and the...
  9. Z

    Sneak Peak of new tank!

    Can you post a source for those bulbs? I use MR-16 track lights all over my house, and have always wanted to use them on a tank, but the yellow light has stopped me. Thanks- Zeph
  10. Z

    Heaters

    I've had good luck with the Via Aqua titanium ones. I've got two 250 watt ones on my main system, a 300 in the water change sump, and a 50 for the little tank. The 250s have been running for about two years, and have not moved a 1/2 degree yet. Not issues what-so-ever. Zeph
  11. Z

    scratches

    I've done several tanks now- Not much fun at all. I start with a 1/4 sheet palm sander, and 220 wet/dry paper. I dry sand the entire inside until it is a uniform haze. Any scratches still visible will not come out in later steps, so get them now. Avoid the corners, as your buffer in later...
  12. Z

    Mangrove Plants vs. Protein Skimmer

    One thing to consider, even if the Mangroves are growing as fast as possible they cannot appreciably change their "intake" in the case of a tank emergency. For example if you have a coral or clam spawning event, the protein skimmer is right there aerating the water and pulling scum out, where...
  13. Z

    How far can an external pump suck from?

    If you put a Tee at the top of the tank, with one side capped off, you can remove the cap to reprime the pump when needed. You only need to reprime when the water level in the tank drops below the input, letting air in to the pump feed line (say on a water change). It won't break prime...
  14. Z

    What camera do you use for snorkelling

    There are often inexpensive housings available for the point-n-shoots- I could have gotten one for $130 for my Olympus 2MP camera. Now that I only have the D70, it is $1k or more. I've thought of getting a Coolpix or something and a housing and using it only for snorkeling (and emergency...
  15. Z

    My 160G Bowfront Tank Design

    Looks great- How wide is the frame on it? I'm thinking that I would go a little wider on the frame, and a little wider on the center brace. Also Greg's point on the teeth sounds valid- Maybe skip a few teeth (6") in the middle so the top has a stronger bond there. Zeph
  16. Z

    o2manyfish - Skimmer Comparison

    Dave- I use the air flow meters from Dwyer- I send you a link to them, they are accurate enough for this use I think. I think the current range you would need is in the 0.1A to 5 amps. You are correct that a 200Amp current meter may not have the resolution needed, unless it auto-ranges and...
  17. Z

    o2manyfish - Skimmer Comparison

    Hey Mike- That idea would work, but I was hoping that a "dry weight" of the skimmate could be taken, as a wet weight only measures how much water is in it, which is a function of how the skimmer is adjusted. That would require even more work though, and a scale accurate to the gram (fraction...
  18. Z

    Let's Talk About ~Equipment Maintenance~

    The type of external pump matters too- I had a LG4 (magnetically driven) that would calcify up pretty fast- 6 months was too long to wait to clean it. I replaced it with a shaft-drive Sequence, and have not had issues since. The sequence impellor runs cooler, so the calcium does not precipitate...
  19. Z

    o2manyfish - Skimmer Comparison

    I'd like to see air flow, water flow and current draw for each skimmer. Power consumption is more important to some people than others. The problem with a single-elimination tournament is that the second best skimmer might get paired with the best skimmer in the first run, and be out of the...
  20. Z

    October meeting

    Thanks Charlie- Good seeing you again too. We had a few new members that I did not get to chat with. Hope they come back again. :) Zeph
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