The ALMIGHTY skimmer?

[TheMan]

I've heard remora, euro-reef, and tunze are the cream of the crop as far as skimmer's are concerned. My question is why won't a regular seaclone work fine? Has any1 actually had any problem's because they didn't have a skimmer sucking EVERY single ounce of waste from there aquarium?

 

[Len]

A seaclone works, but just doesn't work well. I don't know of any skimmer that is effective enough to suck out "everything." Bullet skimmers are arguabl the most powerful, and you will still find signficant DOC levels in the tankwater when they're employed.

The Seaclone's design doesn't allow for long contact times or sufficient air volume to bind "wastes." The more nitrogeous/organic products you leave behind in the tank, the more you'll encounter problems with nuisance algae and invert health.

 

[MarkS]

My question is why won't a regular seaclone work fine?

Because the SeaClone is so poorly designed that it does not pull anything from the tank. It does make a pretty tornado effect in it's tube though. Although I would not spend that kind of money for that.

Has any1 actually had any problem's because they didn't have a skimmer sucking EVERY single ounce of waste from there aquarium?

From my own personal experience, yes. Now, that being said, you can go skimmerless. The question is, if you are going skimmerless, why buy the SeaClone? Part of going skimmerless is saving money on the skimmer. If you are going to buy a skimmer, at least buy one that pulls more than clear water from your tank.

Mark

 

[mooner]

The Seaclone does not pull "just clear water". It does skim protien but, as Len stated, it does it at a rate slower than one would expect of a skimmer in that price range. Most all advice you are going to get here about the Seaclone is to get something else and I agree.

There are mods you can do to a Seaclone that make it a decent skimmer but nobody should knowingly purchase a product that needs mods when there are others out there that don't need altering. These mods will increase the air surface area by around 200% and will significantly slow the "tornado" effect to increase contact time. I have the Seaclone 100 and did the mods on it and it works fine (full cup of dark green skimmate a day). Cut the hell out of my hand trying to reach that inner throat tube though!

Now, having said that, if I had it to do over again....Euro-reef all the way. You are not gonna get a Euro-reef for $100 but they are worth the money you will pay IMHO. If I was limited to the $100-$200 budget...Aqua C Remora seems to be in high favor around here but I advise you get the accompanying Maxi-Jet pump not the Rio.

Don't take my word for it, rather do a Google search and search RDO for "Seaclone". Not much praise for that product.

 

[liquid]

SeaClones suck because of their *poor* design principles. You want a long contact time with the bubbles, minimal turbulence in the reaction chamber, and very fine bubbles. The SeaClone has *none* of these features. PR Escobal wrote a great book on skimmer design and aquariuim equipment design:

Aquatic Systems Engineering : Devices and How They Function
by Pedro Ramon Escobal, Martin A., Jr. Moe
Publisher: Dimension Engineering Pr; ISBN: 1888381108; (October 2000), 272 pages, 2nd edition

You'd be better served looking at a different skimmer if the SeaClone is what you're presently looking at.

Shane