Skimmer tuning

[wchill]

I just set up my first skimmer in 50 gal LRWFO. seems to wortking OK but not sure on how much of the gree/brown stuff should be collection in the cup. My first day I emptied two cups out. The airated foiam was condensed pretty tight in the tube and filled thew tube entirely. I have since tyurned the air down alittle and now it churns near ther bottom of the tube with n ot as much waste being collected. Where di I want the foam and how much wastes should I be collecting.

 

[Krish]

Let us know what type of skimmer you are using, as different types require different methods for adjusting. If your cup is filling up quickly with "pee" looking skimmate that is somewhat transparent then you are, what we would call it, skimming wet. Too wet is an indication sometimes that you are just pumping in more water into the collection cup than what is really necessary. If your cup doesn't fill up as quickly, but is more of a paste type consistancy and darker in color, then you are skimming "dry". Pros and cons to both and all depends on what type of skimmate you are shooting for. I like it kinda in between where it is still sort of "liquidy" but dark in color. Two cups a day seems kinda wet to me which I'd shoot for it to be a bit dryer, but it could also all depend on the type of skimmer you are using and what your bio-load is like though. Let us know on the which skimmer it is though and also, if possible maybe a picture of your collection cup with the skimmate in it. By looking at the color and consistency, we would know what to suggest.

 

[wchill]

I have a Seaclone 100 Venturi type. I pulled two cvupfuuls of waste out the first day of running. Inner tube stayed full of foam to the top. Turned down air jet a little and now is setting near bottom of tube but working it's way up from time to time. It is depositing waste but a lot smaller amount than yesterday.

 

[wchill]

This is not the best photo but it does show the very liquid, pea green colored skimate at the bottom of the collectoin cup and the amount of foam in the cup

 

[wchill]

oops, now for the photo

 

[Krish]

Hmm...Not familiar at all with Seaclone's. Maybe Mark (skimmy) would have some info for you on it. Looking at your skimmate though, it looks be a bit on the wet side which would mean more water is making it into the cup than totally necessary. Still not bad though as you are still removing some of the nasty stuff out of your tank along with it. I guess you will have to wait to see if he chimes in or anyone familiar with the Seaclone skimmer.

Oh...BTW, I moved your thread to the skimmer section for you.

 

[wchill]

Very good, thanks for your help

Hmm...Not familiar at all with Seaclone's. Maybe Mark (skimmy) would have some info for you on it. Looking at your skimmate though, it looks be a bit on the wet side which would mean more water is making it into the cup than totally necessary. Still not bad though as you are still removing some of the nasty stuff out of your tank along with it. I guess you will have to wait to see if he chimes in or anyone familiar with the Seaclone skimmer.

Oh...BTW, I moved your thread to the skimmer section for you.

 

[dhnguyen]

I'm sorry to say this but what you have on your hands isn't a very good skimmer at all. In fact it is one of the worse skimmers out there.
I would think about getting a better skimmer before you get frustrated with it (and the hobby).

There are ways to mod it to make it perform better but IMO/IME it isn't really worth the effort.

 

[tike]

^ +1. Skimmie will completely destroy this skimmer! Sorry to say that but we in the hobby refer to it as the Seaclown!

 

[wchill]

OK, So you're saying I just flushed $150 down the toilet? Do you thinbk I could return it with the explanation that industry experts advised me it is gargbage? Is it totally useless or can I get some benefit from it. If so How. Thanks for your input

I'm sorry to say this but what you have on your hands isn't a very good skimmer at all. In fact it is one of the worse skimmers out there.
I would think about getting a better skimmer before you get frustrated with it (and the hobby).

There are ways to mod it to make it perform better but IMO/IME it isn't really worth the effort.

 

[wchill]

OK, So you're saying I just flushed $150 down the toilet? Do you think I could return it with the explanation that industry experts advised me it is garbage? Is it totally useless or can I get some benefit from it? If so How. Thanks for your input

 

[dhnguyen]

I'm afraid so. You could try to return it but I wouldn't hold much hope on that.

It's not totally useless but for the amount of work needed to modify it to work better you'd be better off saving and buying a better skimmer.
A couple quick mods that can be done

1. Replace that plastic knob air adjuster with a better one from a hardware store.
2. Mod the Maxijet 1200 impeller with mesh.

But even with everything you do the thing will still be very difficult to control and will have a tendency to overflow.

 

[vinny2261]

Looks like it is working to me. As mentioned that is probably one of the lower level skimmers. I believe the box rates it for a 100 gallon tank. LOL Usually it takes a couple of days for most skimmers to start to properly skim. I do not know why maybe just to get a coat of "stuff" on the plastic. Most of the problems associated with the "poor" performance of this brand of skimmer is it needs constant cleaning to stay functioning at its best. The venturi clogs with salt creep and requires cleaning frequently. Also after cleaning the skimmer I have heard that running the plastic under warm water before returning it to the tank. I have used one before, but I think I eventually threw it in a box because it was inconsistent in operations as mentioned above. Seems like the price was also about $50.00 too much. Maybe put a shout out in the used equipment section for something a little better. Good luck

 

[wchill]

Thanks for the info. Well, before I send it to the trash I will try your suggestions. Sounds like the issue is the amount of air needed to get the skimmate to the top also raises too much foam so I need to be able to do finer air adjustments with a more adjustable air cock? One question though........how does mesh on the impellar work? How is it installed?

 

[wchill]

I am getting pleanty of pea green skimmate. Have collected about two cups in two days. However, I am told it should me in more of a sludg form and not so watery??

Looks like it is working to me. As mentioned that is probably one of the lower level skimmers. I believe the box rates it for a 100 gallon tank. LOL Usually it takes a couple of days for most skimmers to start to properly skim. I do not know why maybe just to get a coat of "stuff" on the plastic. Most of the problems associated with the "poor" performance of this brand of skimmer is it needs constant cleaning to stay functioning at its best. The venturi clogs with salt creep and requires cleaning frequently. Also after cleaning the skimmer I have heard that running the plastic under warm water before returning it to the tank. I have used one before, but I think I eventually threw it in a box because it was inconsistent in operations as mentioned above. Seems like the price was also about $50.00 too much. Maybe put a shout out in the used equipment section for something a little better. Good luck

 

[vinny2261]

The mod mesh makes more bubbles. The bubbles lift the dirt up and out of the tank to the skimmer collection cup. Usually you like to have your foam dryer so you do not have the excess liquid in the cup. The higher end skimmers you Can adjust the level of the water inside the skimmer with a valve on the " out " flow of the skimmer. Others you lower or raise the collection cup to get the desired results. As you can see by looking at your skimmer there is not a lot of adjusting available to you. The above mentioned modifications should give you some better results, but you are still extremely limited to adjustments for tunning it in.

 

[wchill]

Where and how to I install this mesh?

The mod mesh makes more bubbles. The bubbles lift the dirt up and out of the tank to the skimmer collection cup. Usually you like to have your foam dryer so you do not have the excess liquid in the cup. The higher end skimmers you Can adjust the level of the water inside the skimmer with a valve on the " out " flow of the skimmer. Others you lower or raise the collection cup to get the desired results. As you can see by looking at your skimmer there is not a lot of adjusting available to you. The above mentioned modifications should give you some better results, but you are still extremely limited to adjustments for tunning it in.

 

[fulkerl]

do a search on mesh mod, alot of info here on this. You can start here at this link: http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f12/maxi-jet-skimmer-mods-mesh-venturi-28372/ nice pic of what is needed

 

[wchill]

thanks

do a search on mesh mod, alot of info here on this. You can start here at this link: http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f12/maxi-jet-skimmer-mods-mesh-venturi-28372/ nice pic of what is needed

 

[Krish]

I started to post that the Seaclone isn't a popular brand by far when I made my first post, but deleted it. I didn't want to knock your skimmer. Honestly not sure if the skimmer is worth messing with all that much to make it better because the money spent could be better spent towards a better skimmer, but maxijets are cheap so it might be worth a try seeing you already have the skimmer. Good luck with it! Hope it works out. IMO, any skimmate is better than no skimmate so the fact that it is pulling out some junk means it is helping some.