Help setting up Kent Marine Nautilus Turbo Eductor

[Tecnomage]

I've got a quick question for someone who's used my skimmer before.

I've got a Kent Marine Nautilus Turbo Eductor Protein Skimmer with my tank off criagslist. I can't find a manual or anything online about it. Most reviews are really old and a lot of posts say they're not that good. I can't seem to get the nice sludge I've seen on other people's posts it either runs really wet or not at all.

Any advice? How deep should it sit in the water, how tall should I keep the output to get the best skimming? I moved it to our new sump and now it's in deeper water and making a gurgling noise.

Thanks in advance,
Jim

 

[Skimmy]

well, that is a pretty crappy skimmer...

seriously, i would get another skimmer...
hell, even the $69 odysea skimmer is better than the kent skimmer.
Odyssea Protein Skimmer

but a great skimmer that would kick it's butt for cheap would be the $195 SWC 150 bmk,
best sub-$200 skimmer on the market right now.
SWC150 BMK

 

[Skimmy]

FWIW, you should build a stand for the kent skimmer so that the pump is barely covered with water...
the skimmer body and neck design of the kent are just horrible though, you are totally limited,
and i wouldnt even bother with modding the skimmer because the neck is so small it cant handle an increase in power.

 

[mfinn]

Most reviews are really old and a lot of posts say they're not that good.

you should believe them.

 

[Tecnomage]

Thanks Skimmy and Finn. I had already planned on upgrading the skimmer anyway I guess this just accelerates the time table.

Skimmy, I saw the SWC 150, but I figured if I'm going to spend 200 I might as well spend 275 and go with the SWC 160 cone. From your posts and others I was reading it's a lot better then the 150. Do you think that's still the best option for the price range?

Thanks,
Jim

 

[Skimmy]

well, if you got the cash, go for the 160 cone...

the 160 cone and the 150 are basically the same skimmer, except one is a cylinder, and one is a cone...
the cone turns out about 20-25% more skimmate than the cylinder, but they are both excellent skimmers.
the deciding factor for me maybe would be tank size. the cone is rated to about 150g and the 150 bmk to about 100g

 

[Tecnomage]

Thanks. It's a 90 gallon display tank with 120lbs of live rock and a 40gallon sump that contains about 30gallons of water. So subtracting the rock and sand it's probably right on 100gallons of total water. I'm thinking I'd better go for the cone, just in case.

I got the tank off craigslist and it's been established for years but I'm trying to fix a huge algae issue that came with the tank . So far I've added the 40 gallon sump and a carbon/GFO rector from BRS. I guess a new skimmer got bumped up the list.

Thanks,
Jim

 

[klwheat]

If you're still looking at new skimmers, I'd also recommend the Reef Octopus XP1000SSS. Fits easily in my skimmer and rocks!

 

[mfinn]

. I'm thinking I'd better go for the cone, just in case.

You would be happy with the cone knowing you have one of the better skimmers at a great price.

 

[Skimmy]

If you're still looking at new skimmers, I'd also recommend the Reef Octopus XP1000SSS. Fits easily in my skimmer and rocks!

actually, the SWC 160 cone gets 700-900 lph air injection depending upon impeller, and the octo sro1000sss gets about 400lph, and they cost the same, so I would personally steer you to the 160 cone for a 90g/100g total gallons.
plus the atmann pump is pretty silent, the BB's tend to make some noise.

 

[Frankie]

I've got a quick question for someone who's used my skimmer before.

I've got a Kent Marine Nautilus Turbo Eductor Protein Skimmer with my tank off criagslist. I can't find a manual or anything online about it. Most reviews are really old and a lot of posts say they're not that good. I can't seem to get the nice sludge I've seen on other people's posts it either runs really wet or not at all.

Any advice? How deep should it sit in the water, how tall should I keep the output to get the best skimming? I moved it to our new sump and now it's in deeper water and making a gurgling noise.

Thanks in advance,
Jim

Hello Jim,
most people see skimmers like this one as crap, more then likely because they have not ran one themselves to compare to the ones being pushed today, but being you have it and are getting some kind of sludge out of it, I feel I can help you with your dilemma since I have ran one of those before

Your skimmer would run much better with a pump upgrade. I modified the one I had back then with a Mag7 and the thing worked like a charm. Then I modified it again and added a gate valve to control the water level in it and it worked even better. basically the pump was too small for the skimmers abilities.
If you have the ability to do these two things i bet you will be happy with the performance of this skimmer. The over all design is not very different from all the other skimmers being made today. The difference is really the over all size of the skimmers body. It is very narrow compared to todays new crappy skimmers ( not very impressed with any of the above mentioned skimmers to be honest after getting my hands on both of them)

Try upgrading the pump and see if things get better.
Make sure the educator is on properly. if the short end is facing the skimmer then it is on wrong. Also you can drill out the air inlet a bit until it is almost paper thin and replace the air line tube with a larger one in diameter. This will help the skimmer to pull more air in.
Good luck! i'll keep an eye out for updates from you on this one

 

[mfinn]

Hello Jim,
most people see skimmers like this one as crap, more then likely because they have not ran one themselves to compare to the ones being pushed today, but being you have it and are getting some kind of sludge out of it, I feel I can help you with your dilemma since I have ran one of those before

Your skimmer would run much better with a pump upgrade. I modified the one I had back then with a Mag7 and the thing worked like a charm. Then I modified it again and added a gate valve to control the water level in it and it worked even better. basically the pump was too small for the skimmers abilities.
If you have the ability to do these two things i bet you will be happy with the performance of this skimmer. The over all design is not very different from all the other skimmers being made today. The difference is really the over all size of the skimmers body. It is very narrow compared to todays new crappy skimmers ( not very impressed with any of the above mentioned skimmers to be honest after getting my hands on both of them)

Try upgrading the pump and see if things get better.
Make sure the educator is on properly. if the short end is facing the skimmer then it is on wrong. Also you can drill out the air inlet a bit until it is almost paper thin and replace the air line tube with a larger one in diameter. This will help the skimmer to pull more air in.
Good luck! i'll keep an eye out for updates from you on this one

Being pushed?
Sorry I have no agenda here.
And I have tried using one of these skimmers, and I have tried using several different pumps and I did drill out the air inlet.
What I found was I spent more money and wasted more time on a skimmer that still didn't work very well for any amount of money.

 

[Tecnomage]

Thanks Frankie and Finn.

Frankie, I think even modifying the skimmer is a short term fix, I already broke part of it and had to weld-on it back together. I got a bit frustrated while I was trying to get it positioned in the sump. I think Finn is right though I'm not very good with stuff like drilling and making stuff, I get a bit frustrated so to save my sanity it's better if I just get something I don't have to mod. If I had a spare pump it might be a different story

 

[Skimmy]

Hello Jim,
most people see skimmers like this one as crap, more then likely because they have not ran one themselves to compare to the ones being pushed today, but being you have it and are getting some kind of sludge out of it, I feel I can help you with your dilemma since I have ran one of those before

Your skimmer would run much better with a pump upgrade. I modified the one I had back then with a Mag7 and the thing worked like a charm. Then I modified it again and added a gate valve to control the water level in it and it worked even better. basically the pump was too small for the skimmers abilities.
If you have the ability to do these two things i bet you will be happy with the performance of this skimmer. The over all design is not very different from all the other skimmers being made today. The difference is really the over all size of the skimmers body. It is very narrow compared to todays new crappy skimmers ( not very impressed with any of the above mentioned skimmers to be honest after getting my hands on both of them)

Try upgrading the pump and see if things get better.
Make sure the educator is on properly. if the short end is facing the skimmer then it is on wrong. Also you can drill out the air inlet a bit until it is almost paper thin and replace the air line tube with a larger one in diameter. This will help the skimmer to pull more air in.
Good luck! i'll keep an eye out for updates from you on this one

sorry frankie, not trying to argue, but that skimmer is crap... I've owned one before, and as I mentioned, it's not even worth spending any extra money on that thing.. why?
because the neck diameter CANNOT handle more than like 250lph of air injection, and the pump inlet and skimmer outlet system are horrible,
over all it's just a jankey design that should be completely avoided.

so, if you cough up for a decent pinwheel pump, and a gate valve, you've spent well over $100-$125,
and IMO, even the $140 eshopps is a better skimmer:
ES-PSK-150 Premium Aquatics - ES-PSK-150 Aquarium Supplies

and before you pass such poor judgment on the SWC 150 bmk/160 cone im "pushing", I would suggest you use one first,
you would love them if you actually liek the kent nautilus.
...plus they are dead silent and built like a tank for the money you spend on them,
and I have never heard of anyone complaining about them after buying.

 

[Frankie]

Sorry to offend so many on this topic but yes, I see it being pushed constantly here and elsewhere. And that is a fact. If I wanted to waste time I could go dig up plenty of PUSHING of this particular skimmer.
I wasn't going to give a review on SWC but ok here it is:
It is todays version of the kent skimmer. Just more crap being sold to reefers. I have gotten very intimate with this skimmer over the past few months after it was sold to a friend of mine and member here, Rhodes. The build of the body is ok (so there is room for fixing it), the pump does not work, (impeller shaft is worn out after a few weeks of use) the iar intake valve broke off and I had to fix that, the output control works worse then the kent skimmers up and down (cannot get the thing dialed in for nothing) and it hardly produces bubbles. The air intake is way to small for the skimmers body. No worries though, it can be an awesome skimmer with a bit of hacking up.

That's my take on this skimmer, if you doubt my knowledge on skimmers please do a bit of reading on my experiences before thinking I do not know anything on them.
But, for the money you could not build the body cheaper so it may be worth it for the DIY guy to by one.

Just trying to help a fellow reefer work with what he has and actually answering the question in his first post without slamming his product. The kent skimmer he has could be modified to work better. Not that I would recommend it to someone looking to buy a new skimmer. but it can work better if the user has the desire and parts to work with.

Frank

 

[Skimmy]

first of all, your not even talking about the same skimmer....
your talking about a SWC mini S skimmer that is powered by a sicce pump...
and FWIW, I sold that skimmer to rhodes and it's under warranty still,
I have told him repeatedly that I would help him out however I could, and even replace the pump if he desired... Also, skimmer pumps fail all the time, the most important thing is how the manufacturer or dealer deals with it...

the mini s is actually a good skimmer design, despite it's shortcomings, and for you to call it the modern kent skimmer is just about the stupidest thing i've ever heard.
Any skimmer if not employed properly isnt going to perform correctly, and I suspect that is part of whats going on here. 100's of other mini S users cant be wrong....
Is it possible there is an issue with the pump, of course it is, which is why I'm still happy to help rhodes in any way he wishes...
Also, they are a 3 year old design that has been dropped in favor of a more modern design. and I agree, the mini S skimmer needs a good gate valve for finer control, and the sicce psk2500 pump is a bit finneky, but under normal conditions, it's a good, productive skimmer, and their closeout price is a steal @$279.

now, the skimmers I keep "pushing" are the SWC 150 bmk, and the SWC 160 cone,
I dont even have these skimmers to sell myself, yet, I still keep pushing them...
WHY??? because they are freakin awesome...
Yes, they have a valve for finer control, no there is no finneky sicce pump on them,
they are dead silent, tiny footprint, and excellent design features(reaction chamber/neck/cone size/bubble plate), and the atmann pumps have been solid performers for well over a couple years now. mine personally has been running a year straight, and still no noise or loss of power.
So, if your going to get involved with this conversation and you have to air your bad feelings, maybe you should make sure your talking about the same skimmer that we are in the thread next time, Thanks...

SWC mini S skimmer: does this look like a jankey kent nautilus to you??

SWC 160 cone;

 

[jrgilles]

I've got a 160 Cone and love it. Once dialed in, it does a fantastic job. Been running a year, no issues and tons and tons of microbubbles. Does a great job skimming my tank imo. Very well built and a great price

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Krish]

My 2 cents...Really probably only worth 2 cents . Once the skimmer does what you need it to, then you are good to go even if it is a Seaclone ! I ran an AquaC EV-120 on a 75gal and a 38 gal as well as a AquaC Nano skimmer on a 24 gal Aquapod and although there are tons of skimmers out there today that would put those 2 skimmers to shame literally, it did the job in keeping my tank clean as a whistle with no nuicance algae, no detectable nitrates etc. All of my tank inhabitants did really well. I do however keep a pretty clean tank anyways with good husbandry, never over stocking, over feeding etc, but for my application, me upgrading to a much better skimmer probably wouldn't benefit me much at all seeing the skimmers I had did the job perfectly fine so something to keep in mind. It's when you have a skimmer that is not pulling it's weight or not sufficient enough it could call for maybe an upgrade, but those same AquaC skimmers for example that people don't even really consider buying much anymore (and may be referred to as junk by some) are the same skimmers that these same people ran to the stores to buy when they came out and praised (especially the EV series that Marc over at Melev's reef has almost on every sump he showcases on his website)! They did the job back then as they will today under the same conditions. It's just that we have more efficient and probably better design skimmers these days that may require a little less to give you a lot more than the older versions why people call the old ones junk. Same as metal halides for eg. People are switching to LED's more and more everyday saying they are better. Soon metal halides will be called junk when metal halides were the perfect lighting to grow anything you wanted in your tank successfully for years and still would if you continued using them for another few decades. I say if it works for you and does the job, then no need to toss out or change anything.

Just a different perspective of looking at things.