What makes a good protein skimmer?

[ScubaSkeets]

Hi folks!
I am running an SeaClone 100 Protein Skimmer. Alot of people do not like it, but I'm cheap and for $67 at PetSmart, when I was first shopping for protein skimmersI figured I'd give it a try. It took some time to break in, and then dial in, but as far as I know, it's running good now:

It seems like its pulling quite a bit of gunk out. However, I really don't know what I'm looking for.
So what makes a $67 protein skimmer inferior to a $4, 5, or $600 one? Is it a Kia/Ferrari thing where even though they both do the job, having a Ferrari would be so much nicer? (No offense to you Kia owners) Is it one of those thing that have to be seen to understand what I'm missing?

Thanks!

 

[SaltISlife]

I just got a seaclone 150.. works great. The inly mod i had to do was add a rubber band on the collection cup neck to act as an o ring. Without that It leaks water into itself from below the cup.. and past the neck and causes the bubbles building up in the tube to drop each time it leaks. And it keeps the skimmer from working properly.

Here is my 150, im emptying it daily. It gets full of tea colored stinky liquid every day. I paid only 55$ for it. I had chewys 30% auto ship thing which i canceled after i ordered it. And i had the 15$ off 50$ coulon you cab get online for chewy. Mine didnt need any break in period. Once i did the rubber band trick it worked immediatly

 

[Rmckoy]

Ca

I just got a seaclone 150.. works great. The inly mod i had to do was add a rubber band on the collection cup neck to act as an o ring. Without that It leaks water into itself from below the cup.. and past the neck and causes the bubbles building up in the tube to drop each time it leaks. And it keeps the skimmer from working properly.

Here is my 150, im emptying it daily. It gets full of tea colored stinky liquid every day. I paid only 55$ for it. I had chewys 30% auto ship thing which i canceled after i ordered it. And i had the 15$ off 50$ coulon you cab get online for chewy. Mine didnt need any break in period. Once i did the rubber band trick it worked immediatly

Can it be dialed down a little to create a darker , dryer skimmate ?

 

[theMeat]

Would consider doing mods to impeller to make more/smaller bubbles

 

[SaltISlife]

Ca

Can it be dialed down a little to create a darker , dryer skimmate ?

Why would you want that ? i was under the impression darker isnt necessarily better nore is dryer. i can turn the knob to make less bubbles which would probly do that. But i think its better having millions of micro bubble than not so many. When you dial it down it also create larger bubbles which makes the skimmer less efficient.

You want it to have millions of micro bubbles like in my video.

 

[SaltISlife]

Would consider doing mods to impeller to make more/smaller bubbles

I dont think it needs that. I have no large bubbles in my seaclone unless you dial it down. If you have it pretty open but not wide open it makes nothing but millions of micro bubbles

 

[theMeat]

Ppl typically want a darker chunkier skimmate (more concentrated)
Sea clone comes with maxi jet pump. If that pump has a standard impeller, and not a pinwheel or mesh like most other skimmers do, you will get a lot more/smaller bubbles if you do mods. Ppl do mods to coralife skimmers impeller for same reason

 

[SaltISlife]

Ill look into it. But i mean im getting alot of small bubbles. You saw my video right.

 

[theMeat]

Ill look into it. But i mean im getting alot of small bubbles. You saw my video right.

Now that you mentioned it I just did watch it.
A typical skimmer has more/smaller bubbles. Looks more like milk in the lower section, where yours looks like water with bubbles.
You also have water level in skimmer too hi.

 

[Rmckoy]

After watching the video
The water level is too high .
when you remove the lid , it shouldn’t be rolling over the top like that ?
And only bubbles with suspended organics?
To slow it down a little , you wouldn’t have to top off as often .
essentially you’re pumping water into the collection cup

 

[theMeat]

I dont think it needs that. I have no large bubbles in my seaclone unless you dial it down. If you have it pretty open but not wide open it makes nothing but millions of micro bubbles

Just wanna say that I’m not trying to bash your skimmer’s performance, only sharing experience because you asked. Watch a skimmer like reef octopus and many others for a few minutes and you’ll see what I mean

 

[theMeat]

 

[LegendaryCG]

Something I really like on the reef octopus s130 is they have a numbered gate value that clicks on each turn. Makes it super easy to dial in and know your setting. Being able to easily clean abs break down a skimmer and put it back together in functioning order is another thing that I look for. I got ones that need to be aligned just perfect or they don’t work and it’s so annoying to clean them because it takes 3x longer to get them working again then it took to clean

 

[SaltISlife]

Yea ill look into modifying the impeller and ill let you know how it performs. Im deff going to petco or petsmart though for a better airtube nozzle. The stick one (works) but it requires vigiliant turning to get it right. And its way loose the knob you turn so it makes for precise adjustments hard.

 

[Cory]

Whats makes a skimmer pull out more organics is a few things. Taller, wider, and more bubbles and more flow. Taller and wider skimmers allow air more time to attatch organics.Youll pay more for heavier acrylics to support this. More bubbles usually means a stronger pump that can shred quicker or suck more air through the venturi. More bubbles is more surface area. Lastly your looking at pump cost too. My skimmer uses a pan world 200ps. The pump alone is 450 canadian. My skimmer is a beckett driven. The cost came from the pump and the height of the skimmer.

 

[Rmckoy]

Something I really like on the reef octopus s130 is they have a numbered gate value that clicks on each turn. Makes it super easy to dial in and know your setting. Being able to easily clean abs break down a skimmer and put it back together in functioning order is another thing that I look for. I got ones that need to be aligned just perfect or they don’t work and it’s so annoying to clean them because it takes 3x longer to get them working again then it took to clean

I had a huge reef octopus external skimmer


It starred to leak and over tightening to seal cracked the bulkhead at the body of the skimmer .
I couldn’t find parts so retired it .
but I did keep the recirculating needle wheel pump

 

[Rmckoy]

Whats makes a skimmer pull out more organics is a few things. Taller, wider, and more bubbles and more flow. Taller and wider skimmers allow air more time to attatch organics.Youll pay more for heavier acrylics to support this. More bubbles usually means a stronger pump that can shred quicker or suck more air through the venturi. More bubbles is more surface area. Lastly your looking at pump cost too. My skimmer uses a pan world 200ps. The pump alone is 450 canadian. My skimmer is a beckett driven. The cost came from the pump and the height of the skimmer.

What skimmer do you use ?

mrc ?

 

[Cory]

What skimmer do you use ?

mrc ?

Bashsea twisted skimmer 6-30

 

[Rmckoy]

Bashsea twisted skimmer 6-30

the Mrc MR2 is the skimmer I have . When you mentioned Beckett I assumed the same style as mine .

the only issue I had was sealing the injector inside the Beckett ...

T tape around the top and bottom of the injector fixed it

 

[ReeferLou]

One feature that makes a premium over entry level skimmer is a drain tube on the collection cup. I had a sea clone for years and upgraded to an e-shoppes . The drain tube is handy as it is a real pain to remove the tight fitting cup. Note that the better skimmers have more powerful pumps and can overflow much quicker. I would not buy a skimmer without a drain tube now.