is this a good one , someone told me about it
- Thread starter kirtis
- Start date
Nope, get a decent skimmer with the following features.
Either:
1) Venturi driven
2) HSA (high speed aspiration) Like venturi but with a higher induction point = more air.
Tripple pass skimmer like the one you showed dont work IMO, i feel that the turbulence affects bubble size and therefore efficiency. Smaller bubbles = larger surface area = more protien contact = more nutrient extraction.
Needle wheel skimmers are great, they use a wheel to cut the bubbles up finely and mix the air and water very effectively. I would highly recommend one of these. (turbofloater, Deltec, Aquamedic)
The other consideration is contact time. This is mainly determined by the size of the fraxination chamber (the bubbly bit in the middle). Longer chamber = greater reaction time between bubbles and protiens = greater absorbtion of protiens = better nutrient exportation. Many skimmers try to use different strategys to increase this time, like the one you mentioned uses a triple pass method, so effectively if you streched out the skimmer it would be much longer than its current size. But IMO it doesn't work as mentioned before, and you would be much better off with a skimmer that was taller.
The other method for increasing bubble contact time is to have a skimmer that utilizes a circulaton pump in addition to the pump that drives it, and when used in conjunction with a needle wheel you have a very efficent skimmer. This is because the bubbles may go round many times in the fraxination chamber before they reach the collection cup. Longer chamber = greater reaction time between bubbles and protiens = greater absorbtion of protiens = better nutrient exportation.
Below is a link for the skimmer im planning on getting, check it out. It will be too large for you but the turbofloater range may be just up your street. Its the Turbofloater Shorty 2
http://www.aqua-medic.de/cgi-bin/php/display_product.php3?cat_id=9&lang=en&pos=6#
Infact heres one i personally chose for you. Turbofloater 750!!
http://www.aqua-medic.de/cgi-bin/php/display_product.php3?cat_id=9&lang=en&pos=2#
Heres a link to the web page so you can have a browse.
http://www.aqua-medic.de
Origionally i was going to use a Deltec, but recently i have decided to have a refugeum 70% the total size of the aquarium. And i beleve in this particular setup it would have been too much of a beast and stripped the water completely. Have a look i think you will agree this is the daddy, maybe good for a FOWLR, but i want my reef to be a bit more natural and self sufficient.
http://www.reefkeeper.co.uk/pages/deltecap703%20skimmer.htm
The price tag was also another consideration but the Aquamedic skimmers still going to burn a £500 hole in my pocket, still its £300 cheaper than the deltec. Please take my advice and save yourself the $100 or so that you would waste on that placky Red Sea piece of poo. I have only got one of those to work properly, and i had to bastardise it by drilling a hole in it and adding an air stone. Not to mention they are noisy and useless, i dont mind something being noisy if it has purpose.
Happy reefing.
P.S. you guys are really into your HSA's so maybe one of my State Side bredren could recommend one of those, i personally prefer the needle wheels because of re-circulation. Where as the HSA's effectively only have one pass with the air.
[ November 13, 2001: Message edited by: Mouse ]
[ November 13, 2001: Message edited by: Mouse ]</p>
Either:
1) Venturi driven
2) HSA (high speed aspiration) Like venturi but with a higher induction point = more air.
Tripple pass skimmer like the one you showed dont work IMO, i feel that the turbulence affects bubble size and therefore efficiency. Smaller bubbles = larger surface area = more protien contact = more nutrient extraction.
Needle wheel skimmers are great, they use a wheel to cut the bubbles up finely and mix the air and water very effectively. I would highly recommend one of these. (turbofloater, Deltec, Aquamedic)
The other consideration is contact time. This is mainly determined by the size of the fraxination chamber (the bubbly bit in the middle). Longer chamber = greater reaction time between bubbles and protiens = greater absorbtion of protiens = better nutrient exportation. Many skimmers try to use different strategys to increase this time, like the one you mentioned uses a triple pass method, so effectively if you streched out the skimmer it would be much longer than its current size. But IMO it doesn't work as mentioned before, and you would be much better off with a skimmer that was taller.
The other method for increasing bubble contact time is to have a skimmer that utilizes a circulaton pump in addition to the pump that drives it, and when used in conjunction with a needle wheel you have a very efficent skimmer. This is because the bubbles may go round many times in the fraxination chamber before they reach the collection cup. Longer chamber = greater reaction time between bubbles and protiens = greater absorbtion of protiens = better nutrient exportation.
Below is a link for the skimmer im planning on getting, check it out. It will be too large for you but the turbofloater range may be just up your street. Its the Turbofloater Shorty 2
http://www.aqua-medic.de/cgi-bin/php/display_product.php3?cat_id=9&lang=en&pos=6#
Infact heres one i personally chose for you. Turbofloater 750!!
http://www.aqua-medic.de/cgi-bin/php/display_product.php3?cat_id=9&lang=en&pos=2#
Heres a link to the web page so you can have a browse.
http://www.aqua-medic.de
Origionally i was going to use a Deltec, but recently i have decided to have a refugeum 70% the total size of the aquarium. And i beleve in this particular setup it would have been too much of a beast and stripped the water completely. Have a look i think you will agree this is the daddy, maybe good for a FOWLR, but i want my reef to be a bit more natural and self sufficient.
http://www.reefkeeper.co.uk/pages/deltecap703%20skimmer.htm
The price tag was also another consideration but the Aquamedic skimmers still going to burn a £500 hole in my pocket, still its £300 cheaper than the deltec. Please take my advice and save yourself the $100 or so that you would waste on that placky Red Sea piece of poo. I have only got one of those to work properly, and i had to bastardise it by drilling a hole in it and adding an air stone. Not to mention they are noisy and useless, i dont mind something being noisy if it has purpose.
Happy reefing.
P.S. you guys are really into your HSA's so maybe one of my State Side bredren could recommend one of those, i personally prefer the needle wheels because of re-circulation. Where as the HSA's effectively only have one pass with the air.
[ November 13, 2001: Message edited by: Mouse ]
[ November 13, 2001: Message edited by: Mouse ]</p>
the prisms just dont foam much. they say they'll work up to what is is 90gal, I think thats a joke. I wouldnt put it on anything bigger than a 55g. I know your trying to meet a price point and some of these skimmers can be quite expensive. If you can squeeze a little more for a budget, I think you'll be a lot happier (although there's nothing terribly wrong with the prism, they are alot easier to get it functioning properly conpared with the venturi or airstone ones).
Sponsor Reefs
We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.
Click here to sponsor $10:
