Skimmer discussion thread

[krisfal]

The skimmer can be one of the most important investments we make for our tank(s). As a result I have noticed that when a thread is started on skimmers it is often inadvertently hi-jacked as others jump on looking for insight on their own skimmer selection or other skimmer questions and opinions.

Do you know if you search the equipment forum for "skimmer" you get approximately 360 hits, and for most of them you need to open the thread (title is very general) and read a couple of post only to find it has nothing to do with what you are looking for (I have been doing that for months!).

So I have decided to start this thread specifically for this purpose (I also asked a couple of people who have skimmer knowledge if they would like to participate in such a thread). I am hoping that this thread could become a good resource for those seeking information on skimmers. Anybody is welcome to jump in with whatever questions, insight, thoughts or opinions. As long as the topic is skimmers it will not be a hijack. I only ask that all debate and banter remain friendly There are many opinions in the world and everybody is entitled to one (or more).

 

[krisfal]

Okay, I would like to start with some basic questions I have. While I understand the basic concept of how the skimmer works, I have no ideas on what all the numbers mean, the only ones that make sense to me are the dimensions of the skimmer and the tank size rating.

So I see things like waterflow per hour and air flow per hour e.g Max Air 2250 L/hr, air to water ratio e.g. Performance-Air/Water: 396 g/h - 1057 g/h and then the good old scfh number. While I do not expect to understand it all at once I do not understand how these numbers correlate to my tank size or even if they do. I do know to be leary of the basic tank size rating but would like to understand better how I go about choosing a skimmer for my tank based on the numbers.

Thanks in advance for any insight you can offer.

 

[DonW]

Rating is pure opinion, some may be based on personal experience but other than that there is no real science to rating. Id probably say just do the research, find tanks and see what they are using. Ask questions concerning stock, feeding, waterchanges and look at photos. You may find you dont need as big or you may find you have more fish so need bigger.

Don

 

[Skimmy]

well, there are sooo many factors that make a skimmer either good or bad...
one of the biggest ones is air draw, so, deltec says that in order to have sps quality water, you must inject 300lph of air per every 100g of display tank.
i personally shoot for more like 500 lph air for every 100g of display tank for sps. i would say the next important things are bubble size, and dwell time, or time that waste/nutrients/proteins come into contact with the bubbles in the reaction chamber. and if bubbles are smaller instead of larger they will have more surface area to pick up said nutrients/waste. from here, there is now a massive amount of consideration of the design of the individual skimmer, ie; reaction chamber size, neck size, neck and reaction chamber shape, how you adjust the skimmer water and air levels...skimmers are like italian shoes, you get what you pay for...and it isnt until quite recently that real high performamce skimmers are being offered at cheaper prices because of chinese manufacturers, which while bad for germans, it is good for hobbyists.
next is the pump, one of ther most important things about a skimmer, is how is it generating the air and how is it introducing raw water into the skimmer body to process. most of the time, a single pump does both of these jobs, so on high end skimmers they will use a pump with very little watt draw, but yet massive amounts of air injection, and very little water processing, you want more air than water to pass through your skimmer pump. like for instance the popular sicce psk 2500 pump, for every 3 parts water the pump draws in 2 parts air, which is 67% efficency, also, you always see me bragging about the fact that it gets 1200 lph air draw while only consuming 23 watts. short of a red dragon pump, this is some of the most efficient air/water ratio for the watts available. and me personally, i am always trying to push off "green" skimmers to people, so any skimmers with this pump i usually like.
the cone is the latest thing that i think will change the design of alot of new skimmers coming out, everybody's building them because that design simply works better and is more efficient than non cone designs. you can acheive the same results as a normal cylinder skimmer that has 1000lph air injection with a cone skimmer that injects like 750lph of air, the reason is the lack of backpressure on the cone and gentle and long transition that the cone shape offers. in conjunction with a bubble plate to decrease turbulence, this has been one of the most efficient new designs on the market, hence the emergence of all the new cone skimmers about to come out.

 

[CarlaW]

How do you measure the air intake Mark, say on a skimmer like the one I have? Do you need a special meter?

 

[Curtswearing]

Do you know if you search the equipment forum for "skimmer" you get approximately 360 hits, and for most of them you need to open the thread (title is very general) and read a couple of post only to find it has nothing to do with what you are looking for (I have been doing that for months!).

Make sure you search here Skimmer Comparison Forum

and here too Protein Skimmer Research Forum

 

[DonW]

How do you measure the air intake Mark, say on a skimmer like the one I have? Do you need a special meter?

You can get a rough measurment with a dwyer air flow gauge/meter.

Don

 

[CarlaW]

where do you take the measure at?

 

[DonW]

where do you take the measure at?

The air inlet to the beckett in your case.

Don

 

[CarlaW]

Okey dokey, got a link to that air guage?

 

[krisfal]

well, there are sooo many factors that make a skimmer either good or bad...
one of the biggest ones is air draw, so, deltec says that in order to have sps quality water, you must inject 300lph of air per every 100g of display tank.
i personally shoot for more like 500 lph air for every 100g of display tank for sps. i would say the next important things are bubble size, and dwell time, or time that waste/nutrients/proteins come into contact with the bubbles in the reaction chamber. and if bubbles are smaller instead of larger they will have more surface area to pick up said nutrients/waste. from here, there is now a massive amount of consideration of the design of the individual skimmer, ie; reaction chamber size, neck size, neck and reaction chamber shape, how you adjust the skimmer water and air levels...skimmers are like italian shoes, you get what you pay for...and it isnt until quite recently that real high performamce skimmers are being offered at cheaper prices because of chinese manufacturers, which while bad for germans, it is good for hobbyists.
next is the pump, one of ther most important things about a skimmer, is how is it generating the air and how is it introducing raw water into the skimmer body to process. most of the time, a single pump does both of these jobs, so on high end skimmers they will use a pump with very little watt draw, but yet massive amounts of air injection, and very little water processing, you want more air than water to pass through your skimmer pump. like for instance the popular sicce psk 2500 pump, for every 3 parts water the pump draws in 2 parts air, which is 67% efficency, also, you always see me bragging about the fact that it gets 1200 lph air draw while only consuming 23 watts. short of a red dragon pump, this is some of the most efficient air/water ratio for the watts available. and me personally, i am always trying to push off "green" skimmers to people, so any skimmers with this pump i usually like.
the cone is the latest thing that i think will change the design of alot of new skimmers coming out, everybody's building them because that design simply works better and is more efficient than non cone designs. you can acheive the same results as a normal cylinder skimmer that has 1000lph air injection with a cone skimmer that injects like 750lph of air, the reason is the lack of backpressure on the cone and gentle and long transition that the cone shape offers. in conjunction with a bubble plate to decrease turbulence, this has been one of the most efficient new designs on the market, hence the emergence of all the new cone skimmers about to come out.

Very, very helpful, thank you!!

 

[krisfal]

Make sure you search here Skimmer Comparison Forum

I was looking for that skimmer comparison thread yesterday, could not remember where I had found it. Definitely some good stuff, but the newest post are from mid 2007, technology seems to be changing recently which is part of the reason I wanted to start a new thread.

 

[CarlaW]

The technology is going to continue to change, you are going to constantly have to update this thread to keep up with it, or just keep starting new threads.

 

[CarlaW]

Don't get me wrong, but the technology is gonna be hard to keep up with. This thread is a good idea.

 

[Maxx]

SkimmerWhisperer,
Can you show me a diagram or photo of a cone skimmer? I know what a cone is, but I'[m not sure where the cone fits into the design? Is the body of the skimmer a cone?

Nick

 

[Curtswearing]

SkimmerWhisperer,
Can you show me a diagram or photo of a cone skimmer? I know what a cone is, but I'[m not sure where the cone fits into the design? Is the body of the skimmer a cone?

Nick

Nick,

Instead of the reaction chamber going straight up, they start angling in right above the bubble plate. Here's a good picture http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?p=409243#post409243

 

[Maxx]

NM, found a pic....makes sense

Nick

 

[Maxx]

Posted same time you did Curt...

Nick

 

[Skimmy]

SkimmerWhisperer,
Can you show me a diagram or photo of a cone skimmer? I know what a cone is, but I'[m not sure where the cone fits into the design? Is the body of the skimmer a cone?
Nick

i posted this here elsewhere, but it belongs here as well.
here's a cone, or cones as it may be...

and my fav new smaller cone:

and as luke mentioned in another thread, alot of other skimmer companies are planning their versions of cone skimmers as well,
BK, ATI, ER, as well as the SWC cone skimmers, and this new pictured WM k1 cone. ATB as well now offers a cone with a sicce 2500, KZ has it's new cnc machined injector for their beckett style cone they released almost 2 years ago now too. yep, you will have plenty of cones to choose from

 

[Maxx]

OMG...tell me the girl in the pic is really really really short!!!!

What is it about the WM cone skimmer that you like so much?

Nick