What does a Bubble plate really do?

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Oh, that reactor is 2" larger on every dimension then the DJ88 model, it holds over 50 POUNDS of media!
 
Thanks! I made a few modifications to the plans besides the dimensions. I put the recirculation pump under the reactor, added a pH probe to the top, and made my own venturi. The venturi as I put it together will actually pull water into the reactor without a feed pump!

Here are a few pictures of the venturi:
SHAN3260.jpg


SHAN3282.jpg


SHAN3266.jpg


Pretty cool huh? ;)
 
Okay, here is the scoop, I have a MRC MR-2 skimmer, and I would like to replace it with a skimmer that draws fewer then the 180W that this one does. Don't get me wrong, the skimmer does a great job, it is just a bit expensive to run. I am trying to find a replacement skimmer, I am looking at skimmers in the $350-$500 range
Thanks!

have you ever calculated your cost to run that skimmer? because it will take many many months actually into years to get your investment back....

at my electricity rate of $.075 per KWH your skimmer would cost a total of 32cents a day or $9.72 a month running 24hrs a day. so even if the new skimmer ran on air (no electricity at all) at 10 bucks a month savings it will take 50 months to pay off your new investment...
Just a little FYI
and ofcourse just my 2cents....
 
How is the WM cone better than the ATB and SWC? There all fairly close in design. The air in the WM is injected higher than the others giving it less dwell time. It also has the smallest neck out of the three comparable sizes. How tall is it? The atb's 22" and the swc's 24". Were really talking about three different skimmers here. If you compare the medium size atb with all these others were discussing it really depends on the pump it uses. One sicce on either or is going to give you the same results imo. And all three using one sicce will skim a fairly large tank pry a 250g or less. Now if you want the next step up you have two sicce's and i look at it as mid level and could pry handle a 350-450g tank. Now if you want the king pump for cone's you will use the airstar or laguna pump. Now your talkin a 450+ g tank. But the wm cone looks nice, but its not the "best" just the least expensive for now : ) I mean there almost all the same skimmer using the sicce.

well, imo, the WM skimmers physically are better built than anything i've personally seen come out of honya shenizen,(SWC, octopus), i realize that JNS is making these probably right down the street from honya, but their QC and build is just better, from all the octo's, aqua euro's, euro reef's i've seen come from honya, versus thew WM's i've held in my hand and set up, WM just makes a little better product.
the WM bubble ring is better than the bubble plate for the SWC cone, the locking neck for the collection cup, the superior modification of the sicce psk 2500. i dont think it's an issue at all that the neck is 4.4" for 1200lph, look at the sicce psk 2500on the cnc marine hob, it had 3.5 oval and it did nicely.
and i would have thought that more air and less water out of the same sicce psk 2500 would mean more dwell time for process water coming in, as it's moving slower... mabye im wrong??
 
The build quality of the original octo's and swc/msx extreme's were meant to be 1/8" cast acrylic to keep the prices low. The swc cone is 1/4" cast acrylic. I doubt if the WM is. This would be the reason they are not at a cheap price, that and the whole cone mold thing. The BP for the wm is in no way superior......how? Your actually going to get some micro's escape with how its built. The wm's neck diameter is fine....for one sicce : ) The swc can handle two sicce's or an askoll pulling 75-80scfh. The modded sicce for the WM is nothing special and guarantee it doesn't pull any more air than the swc modded sicce. And there modded sicce is unproven so far. So give me some actual real #'s.

Only thing that is better or just a nicer feature is the twist lock. That however isn't going to affect performance.
 
well, imo, the WM skimmers physically are better built than anything i've personally seen come out of honya shenizen,(SWC, octopus), i realize that JNS is making these probably right down the street from honya, but their QC and build is just better, from all the octo's, aqua euro's, euro reef's i've seen come from honya, versus thew WM's i've held in my hand and set up, WM just makes a little better product.
the WM bubble ring is better than the bubble plate for the SWC cone, the locking neck for the collection cup, the superior modification of the sicce psk 2500. i dont think it's an issue at all that the neck is 4.4" for 1200lph, look at the sicce psk 2500on the cnc marine hob, it had 3.5 oval and it did nicely.
and i would have thought that more air and less water out of the same sicce psk 2500 would mean more dwell time for process water coming in, as it's moving slower... mabye im wrong??

And FWIW, your comparing two completely different skimmer sizes. This WM is more like the atb small so i'm sure it'll compare the same as far as performance. The swc cone is larger than an atb medium and a bit smaller than the atb large. So in no way does the wm have the capabilities as the larger swc. Not dogging it, as its a nice little build, but its not even comparable.
 
WM is getting 1200 lph on a pw sicce, please correct me if im wrong, but that's more than the swc pw is getting. they are only advertising 950lph, but after break in, and at the correct sump level, it goes up to 1200lph.
and you can hardly compare the 2 pump swc to a 1 pump WM, wait until the larger WM cone models come out, they as well will have a large model with modified askoll, 2 sicce pump model? i dunno, but im fairly certain there will be a small, med and large to compare
look at the pics of the WM bubble ring and tell me that doesnt look superior to the swc plate...yes, it is designed to allow some of the water pressure to travel down the middle, but i scincerely doubt you will see any micro's coming out the exit of this skimmer, in fact i think it will decrease the possibility of micros escaping, because the skimmer outlet is on the side, where the bubble ring is taking pressure away from, not the middle where the water pressure travels down with mabye a few bubbles, if any. and im betting what little air does escape down the middle, probably goes back up the middle, if any air makes it down there at all.
honestly, im just glad were having this discussion at all, that there are multiple cone skimmers from us to choose from, and that it has obviously effected the whole skimmer market. im very glad for this.
kudos to both companies, WM and SWC for making these...
and even ATB isnt the innovator of this cone design, so any whining that these are knock off's is just silly, really...
 
I like them all, but until i actually see the wm sicce pulling 1200lph as a pw i'll be skeptical. I serioiusly doubt they have a sicce that will pull 43scfh hooked up on a pw. I've done anyhthing and everything to them and can get 37scfh as a recirc hooked up and 32-35scfh hooked up as in sump. I can pull 42scfh unrestricted, but that doesn't mean a whole lot.
 
WM is a real stand up kinda company...if they say they can do it, i believe them. for years, every product i have used from them, weather it be chemicals, medias, or now equipment, has all been top knotch...

"started out at 950LPH which is what I expected, and after "breaking in" I'm up to 1200LPH from a PW.
Aren't the competitors pulling like 750LPH from their Sicces?
Our PW is custom molded by us and that's good and we use a REAL venturi not just a reducer.
I'm literally at 1200LPH @ 21W... that's more efficient than a Red Dragon @ 2000LPH @ 45W."
 
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Yep, Jon's a good guy but its still tough to believe. And fwiw, as soon as it comes out and IF, and thats a big IF, it works, all the other sicce driven skimmers will have the new venturi........we both know that s how it works.
 
Luke, thanks for the compliment on the tank! It has been a joy to watch it grow.

As for the skimmer, I know that the power consumption will take years to recoup, but that is only one of a series of changes that I am going to make to the sump. I will replace the rubbermaid tub with a 30 gallon tank, or maybe a 50 breeder, to reduce water volume a bit. I am also going to raise the sump closer to the ceiling in the basement, and will replace the return pump to a model that also draws fewer watts. And finally, I am going to sell my current skimmer to help pay for the new one! ;)

Oh, and I too enjoy the discussion in this thread. I want to learn about how the skimmers work, rather then just accepting it.
 
Yep, Jon's a good guy but its still tough to believe. And fwiw, as soon as it comes out and IF, and thats a big IF, it works, all the other sicce driven skimmers will have the new venturi........we both know that s how it works.

yep...lol
we wouldnt be having this conversation if things wernt so "monkey see monkey do" in this industry... honestly, it's good, it always forces products to evolve...most people are equipment junkies...they will get the best they can for the least amount of money, they dont care where from...that in turn drives the cheaper equipment companies to offer the same features as top tier german companies:idea: bad for germans...good for hobbyists:)
 
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