What makes a good protein skimmer?

[theMeat]

I got a coral box skimmer for a really good deal used . My old skimmer just had a ac pump this coral box has a dc pump with float switch I think the dc pump in a skimmer is awsome and more easy to tune . I don’t think you should have to mod the heck out of a skimmer to make it work good . With a good skimmer it’s just plug and dial in

Had some cheap butt and /or old school skimmers that I had fun tinkering, modding. Cool to see the different effects different things have. Helped me learn a bunch about skimmers. And enough to know a nice well designed that you don’t have to do anything but dial in is best

 

[Cory]

it’s in a awkward place to get a good picture of .

The bashsea skimmer looks to be the same? Unscrew it and the beckett comes out for cleaning. What was the concern again? Mine cant be cleaned easily but the beckett can. Beckets work really good. Mine is pulling 1 gallon of dark skimmate a week.

 

[stanlalee]

My first skimmer was a seaclone and even then (about 06-07') people spoke poorly of the seaclone but mine pulled out nasty black stinky skimate with good production on my then sumpless 30g. I think it's all about how the skimmer matches up to the tank.

 

[SaltISlife]

As mentioned darker more concentrated skimmate is the goal for most. Don’t know the size of your tank but keep an eye on salinity because you’re taking out saltwater and probably topping off with fresh

135 gallons. Itd take 4-5 gallons of water to even see a drop in salinity by 1 or 2 points.

Darker means nothing. In fact once bubbles form and get coated in filth. They can no longer hold anymore organics than they already captured. Skimming dry is actually less efficient then skimming wet, it may be dark and dirty looking and takes more time to fill a cup up. But its actually less efficient.

 

[SaltISlife]

I don't have a $50 skimmer. I didn't have to "mod" my skimmer when I bought it new. And I don't "have" to empty my skimmer every day. Chew all you want big boy!

Yea a rubber band was so hard of a mod to do, took me all of 30 min to figure out.. . While you and many others wrote bad reviews and cried like babies on forums for 10 years about how terrible they are.

Makes me wonder how people get on in this world without problem solving skills..

Btw my 135 gallon tank with 100+ corals Has been running fine for years without a sump or skimmer. I dont even need one. I just felt like buying one because i could And i was bored. I also dont have a sump to get a better unit.

Now forgive me.. i must rest. The massive amounts of brain power it took to come up with the idea of using a rubber band to HEAVILY modify my 50$ skimmer. Has completetly drained every ounce of energy i have.

 

[Scdell]

Yea a rubber band was so hard of a mod to do, took me all of 30 min to figure out.. . While you and many others wrote bad reviews and cried like babies on forums for 10 years about how terrible they are.

Makes me wonder how people get on in this world without problem solving skills..

Btw my 135 gallon tank with 100+ corals Has been running fine for years without a sump or skimmer. I dont even need one. I just felt like buying one because i could And i was bored. I also dont have a sump to get a better unit.

Now forgive me.. i must rest. The massive amounts of brain power it took to come up with the idea of using a rubber band to HEAVILY modify my 50$ skimmer. Has completetly drained every ounce of energy i have.

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.

This second quote tells everyone what you are all about. And hard headed as well!
Enjoy your problem solving skills and quit hijacking threads. If you were that good at problem solving you'd be able to figure out why your skimmer is working wrong. Rest up!

 

[theMeat]

135 gallons. Itd take 4-5 gallons of water to even see a drop in salinity by 1 or 2 points.

Darker means nothing. In fact once bubbles form and get coated in filth. They can no longer hold anymore organics than they already captured. Skimming dry is actually less efficient then skimming wet, it may be dark and dirty looking and takes more time to fill a cup up. But its actually less efficient.

Maybe you’re right and everyone is wrong. Maybe you have a beautiful tank with lotsa corals that are thriving. Maybe you should talk to your mom about letting you have a sump

 

[Scdell]

Darker means nothing. In fact once bubbles form and get coated in filth. They can no longer hold anymore organics than they already captured. Skimming dry is actually less efficient then skimming wet, it may be dark and dirty looking and takes more time to fill a cup up. But its actually less efficient.

I'll bet you my semi dry baby diarrhea skimmate stinks worse than you're bud light skimmate.
Loser has to drink the others. Game?

 

[Rmckoy]

The bashsea skimmer looks to be the same? Unscrew it and the beckett comes out for cleaning. What was the concern again? Mine cant be cleaned easily but the beckett can. Beckets work really good. Mine is pulling 1 gallon of dark skimmate a week.

The only concern was the initial setup .
I bought it used .
the injector inside the Beckett was broken and couldn’t raise the water level without spraying water out the air inlet .

after ordering a new injector I installed it as per instructions and it still leaked water around the o ring and out the air inlet .

adding Teflon tape around the top and bottom of the injector making it a tighter fit into the housings they sit in .
It’s only been taken apart once for cleaning since .

Same thing . Mine pulls a ton of dark skimmate .
The Mrc has a float ball in the bottom connection cup and when full it cuts air off and the skimmer doesn’t work no more .

 

[Rmckoy]

The only concern was the initial setup .
I bought it used .
the injector inside the Beckett was broken and couldn’t raise the water level without spraying water out the air inlet .

after ordering a new injector I installed it as per instructions and it still leaked water around the o ring and out the air inlet .

adding Teflon tape around the top and bottom of the injector making it a tighter fit into the housings they sit in .
It’s only been taken apart once for cleaning since .

Same thing . Mine pulls a ton of dark skimmate .
The Mrc has a float ball in the bottom connection cup and when full it cuts air off and the skimmer doesn’t work no more .

 

[Cory]

The only concern was the initial setup .
I bought it used .
the injector inside the Beckett was broken and couldn’t raise the water level without spraying water out the air inlet .

after ordering a new injector I installed it as per instructions and it still leaked water around the o ring and out the air inlet .

adding Teflon tape around the top and bottom of the injector making it a tighter fit into the housings they sit in .
It’s only been taken apart once for cleaning since .

Same thing . Mine pulls a ton of dark skimmate .
The Mrc has a float ball in the bottom connection cup and when full it cuts air off and the skimmer doesn’t work no more .

Yeah that sounds like a pain. So far ive cleaned mine 7 times since ive had it because ulva macroalgae keeps getting clogged in the beckett injector. But ive fixed that now with a strainer on the suction.

 

[Rmckoy]

Yeah that sounds like a pain. So far ive cleaned mine 7 times since ive had it because ulva macroalgae keeps getting clogged in the beckett injector. But ive fixed that now with a strainer on the suction.

I’ve never had problems with algae .
The pump for the skimmer is in the 2nd compartment of my sump .
The cotton filter over the air inlet gets plugged with dust etc ( I blame the cats and dog )