Do All Skimmers Work The Same?

[legionofdoon]

That BRS video is actually one of the more coherent explanations of skimmer sizing that I have seen. It’s a function of input, not gallons; just like ATS are sized based on daily cube-equivalents of food.

Like I tried telling meat it's about the input and output which you can control. He's just stuck being condescending and not willing to listen.

 

[theMeat]

How did I prove your point?

your skimmer level is not excessively high, yet you produce wet watered down skimmate

 

[theMeat]

Like I tried telling meat it's about the input and output which you can control. He's just stuck being condescending and not willing to listen.

Ca1ore is talking about input in terms of proteins and bioload. Not what valves he can open or close as you are. What you don’t get is that with a skimmer that is way oversized your pump and skimmer body is too big to be effective.

 

[legionofdoon]

It's not about the color, that can vary based on many factors. It's about producing a stable foam. What do you think my foam is made up of? It's wastes just not the same color as yours

 

[legionofdoon]

Ca1ore is talking about input in terms of proteins and bioload. Not what valves he can open or close as you are. What you don’t get is that with a skimmer that is way oversized your pump and skimmer body is too big to be effective.

If it is producing a foam head it is working.

 

[legionofdoon]

Op sorry for the thread jack, I'm done but my final answer is the 110 will be too small in the long run.

 

[theMeat]

Yeah op, sorry about the hijack. Hopefully you and anyone else who stumbles in here to gather info won’t listen to someone who defends their bad decision to sacrifice sump space, more heat, noise and cost, who is only able to collect minimal watered down skimmate. But instead listen to countless others, with much better results, with decades of experience
Btw, as you can see brs agrees that the 110 is slightly oversized for his needs. Read the q&a’s if you need to
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reef-octopus-classic-110-4-in-sump-protein-skimmer.html

 

[legionofdoon]

LoL

 

[Jonreefer]

I run it wet on purpose. Here is a picture from when I ran it dry. Thankfully I can control the input and output to get dry or wet skimmate.

yea sorry that is NOT dry skimming. if it was dry it would be MUCH darker. That is very wet and looks like its collecting very little and more water then anything. Just thought I would point that out but you will most likely just say everyone else is wrong.
this isnt mine but this is what a dryer skim looks like. very dark not a watery beer color

 

[Captain Quint]

I’m planning a build for a 40 gallon cube and a 20-26 gallon sump. For a skimmer, I’m thinking about going with a ReefOctupus Classic 150 but I am open to other suggestions. The question I have though is do all skimmers operate the same way? Is the difference between them a quality difference?

I have not used the ReefOctupus Classic 150 but I had an awesome older R.O. Extreme 150 which was awesome. I don't know if it is comparable to the one you mention.

Several great skimmers on the market.

 

[legionofdoon]

yea sorry that is NOT dry skimming. if it was dry it would be MUCH darker. That is very wet and looks like its collecting very little and more water then anything. Just thought I would point that out but you will most likely just say everyone else is wrong.
this isnt mine but this is what a dryer skim looks like. very dark not a watery beer color

That's cool.

 

[ca1ore]

Ca1ore is talking about input in terms of proteins and bioload.

Yes, I meant food input.

 

[ReefGeezer]

FWIW, I have an old recirculating Reef Octo rated for 150 gallons in my heavily loaded 90. It's old but still works too well. I've taken steps to make it less efficient i.e faster flow & running it "drier".

Given today's higher nutrient level requirements, I would think the 110 would be enough for your 40, even with a reasonably high bioload.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

I’m planning a build for a 40 gallon cube and a 20-26 gallon sump. For a skimmer, I’m thinking about going with a ReefOctupus Classic 150 but I am open to other suggestions. The question I have though is do all skimmers operate the same way? Is the difference between them a quality difference?

The theory in how a skimmer works is the same. Different types of skimmers go about adding air in different ways. The most common today a needle wheel skimmers. Ime the 150SSS is too large for a 40g even with a heavy bioload. I had a 40B for a long time and ran an older version of the RO 110NW then later in plans of an upgrade I got a slightly lager SCA 302 and the 5" neck was just the right size for my heavy bioload and plans for a larger tank. The 110SSS or 110NW Classic would be a better pick for you planned tank size.

 

[ReeferReefer]

I am on the side of not oversizing your skimmer. The biggest issue I see with an oversized skimmer is maintaining a head of foam in the wider skimmer, when you have a lower bioload than intended. Yes you can just adjust it but I have found that when you do that, it tends to skim wet (when compared to a properly sized skimmer in the same system). Some more high end skimmers are easier to adjust and all but remove this problem though so obviously there are a lot of factors to consider. In general though, I would not oversize my skimmer just for the sake of oversizing it.

 

[PhreeByrd]

pi**ing match, yeah, that's what I'd call it.
There is no difference between skimming dry and skimming wet other than the amount of water included in the skimmate. The overall protein mass will not change.

For the OP, there are still several options for skimmer 'technology', but far and away, needle-wheel skimmers are the most prevalent type on the market. I've used needle wheel, downdraft, and venturi skimmers, and they all do the same thing in somewhat different ways. Skimmers are not rocket science, and they are all vastly overpriced for what they are. I suggest focusing on ease of maintenance, fit, cost of replacement parts, size, and other such practical issues. As for sizing, unless you go absolutely nuts with oversizing, you will not have problems by oversizing the skimmer. You may be paying too much, or taking up more space than necessary in your sump, or paying more for electricity, but those are your choices to make, not mine.

By far, the most important considerations when choosing and setting up an in-sump skimmer are water height and skimmate collection. Make sure you can set the skimmer in the manufacturer-specified depth of water. And I will never empty another skimmer cup, ever, for anything. I won't even consider a skimmer that doesn't include a simple means for continuous emptying of the cup.

 

[theMeat]

pi**ing match, yeah, that's what I'd call it.
There is no difference between skimming dry and skimming wet other than the amount of water included in the skimmate. The overall protein mass will not change.

For the OP, there are still several options for skimmer 'technology', but far and away, needle-wheel skimmers are the most prevalent type on the market. I've used needle wheel, downdraft, and venturi skimmers, and they all do the same thing in somewhat different ways. Skimmers are not rocket science, and they are all vastly overpriced for what they are. I suggest focusing on ease of maintenance, fit, cost of replacement parts, size, and other such practical issues. As for sizing, unless you go absolutely nuts with oversizing, you will not have problems by oversizing the skimmer. You may be paying too much, or taking up more space than necessary in your sump, or paying more for electricity, but those are your choices to make, not mine.

By far, the most important considerations when choosing and setting up an in-sump skimmer are water height and skimmate collection. Make sure you can set the skimmer in the manufacturer-specified depth of water. And I will never empty another skimmer cup, ever, for anything. I won't even consider a skimmer that doesn't include a simple means for continuous emptying of the cup.

You make some good points. Some worth a visit.
The difference between wet and dry skimmate is concentration. If can’t pull anything but watered down skimmate you either have some issues, like sump water level, or your skimmer is too big

Any needle wheel skimmer i know of is also a Venturi skimmer. It just has a needle wheel impeller instead of a standard paddle wheel so bubbles get chopped up smaller

When it comes to size, that has been discussed already. If you don’t get it, oh well. But let’s not forget you’re also adding unnecessary heat. If you are planning on upgrading to a bigger tank down the road, then roughing it out and buying a less effective way oversized skimmer for your current needs until you upgrade makes financial sense. But that is all

Would think that the most important thing when buying a skimmer is how much skimmate it can produce. Never cleaning skimmer cup is pretty gross, and having it overflow into a container outside the sump even more so. Having skimmate laden water flood onto your floor, which can happen, have seen it many times. Or even worse, having it continue to overflow to the point where return pump runs dry.

 

[PhreeByrd]

Would think that the most important thing when buying a skimmer is how much skimmate it can produce. Never cleaning skimmer cup is pretty gross, and having it overflow into a container outside the sump even more so. Having skimmate laden water flood onto your floor, which can happen, have seen it many times. Or even worse, having it continue to overflow to the point where return pump runs dry.

I agree, for sure. But I didn't say anything about never cleaning the skimmer. I commented on emptying the skimmer cup. I clean it when necessary, but there is no way I'm going to empty the basted thing all the time. My skimmate collector turns off the skimmer when it gets too full. No worries about overflowing anything, and I only empty the collection bucket about once a month. And there is no way my sump could run dry enough to bother the return pump. It's virtually impossible.

 

[ca1ore]

Switch enabled skimmate container and neck cleaner makes maintenance on my big skimmer quite painless. Not entirely painless, but mostly.

 

[theMeat]

Neck cleaner is a good thing