Swabbie Abuse!

[AVAST Marine Verified Sponsor]

Went to clean the Swabbie on my skimmer for the first time in at least 2 months today. It was such a mess I just had to take some pics. I waited so long because I've been trying to push the Swabbie to see what will break it. The cup was almost completely filled with solid skimmate, the consistency of muddy clay. It weighed about 20 lbs. There was a tiny channel that ran down to the drain in the bottom which goes to a superlocker. What's amazing is that despite this filthy cup, the neck was clean and the skimmer has been producing steadily the entire time. I empty the 5 gal superlocker about every 3 days.

Had a few crazy foam days last week which is what prompted the cleaning:

14" dia. cup with 8" neck. You can see the ring of mud that formed above where the blade wipes the top of the cup:

Hard to tell that there is a wiper blade under there:

I had to use a piece of wood to scoop out the entire cup. 20lbs of reef poop:

 

[Reef lvr]

Ewe..lol.. thats awesome!

 

[Paul_N]

WOW! talk about operating under extreme conditions. Looks like a bucket of tar.

 

[Reef Pets]

WOW! Outstanding performance! What model skimmer is it?

 

[lurchw00t]

How does all that taste? :xd:

 

[sportzfish]

All too familiar with that routine!!!

 

[Sea MunnKey]

This one's gotta Top it all ... extreme skimmage. Bamm :xd:!!!

Paul

 

[nixer]

thats awesome! sick, but awesome.
you just sold me on the swabbie.

anyone know which one i need for an xp3000 and an swc 160

 

[cmcneil]

What did you do bring that cup to the zoo and get a gorilla to poop in it lol.it looks like the swabbie can handle some serious abuse.you wouldn't happen to make one that fits a 6" OD cup with a 2.5" ID neck would you?

 

[btkrausen]

Thats amazing, I so want one.

So is the swabbie blade tilted a bit so when it turns, it brings all the solid stuff to the top to dumb over into the collection cup? I wonder what swabbie would I need for my Reef Octopus 3000 Super Space Saver Internal Skimmer?

 

[soccerbag]

Darn. I'm sold. That is crazy!

 

[ctenophore]

WOW! Outstanding performance! What model skimmer is it?

It's a custom one we built. 22" diameter, 80" tall, hammerhead pinwheel driven.

thats awesome! sick, but awesome.
you just sold me on the swabbie.

anyone know which one i need for an xp3000 and an swc 160

I think the XP-3000 has a strange cup diameter. It may be 8" but definitely worth measuring. The SWC 160 should be 6" diameter.

What did you do bring that cup to the zoo and get a gorilla to poop in it lol.it looks like the swabbie can handle some serious abuse.you wouldn't happen to make one that fits a 6" OD cup with a 2.5" ID neck would you?

Yes we just started making a smaller blade that fits necks 1.75" to 3". Also 5" diameter cups. These can be ordered normally on the site.

Thats amazing, I so want one.

So is the swabbie blade tilted a bit so when it turns, it brings all the solid stuff to the top to dumb over into the collection cup? I wonder what swabbie would I need for my Reef Octopus 3000 Super Space Saver Internal Skimmer?

There really isn't much of anything solid that accumulates when run every 4-6 hours. Maybe a few bits of dirt but they are swept up by the foam head when the wiper turns. No need to tilt the blade. Re: SSS 3000, I didn't see any size info on this model. Can you measure the collection cup diameter?

 

[FiReBReTHa]

I had to use a piece of wood to scoop out the entire cup. 20lbs of reef poop:

 

[btkrausen]

There really isn't much of anything solid that accumulates when run every 4-6 hours. Maybe a few bits of dirt but they are swept up by the foam head when the wiper turns. No need to tilt the blade. Re: SSS 3000, I didn't see any size info on this model. Can you measure the collection cup diameter?

I measured it a week ago, and I believe it was around 4.75, but just a bit less I believe. I can double check again. Would be a great tool for my setup, as I clean my collection cup out probably twice a week.

 

[nixer]

I think the XP-3000 has a strange cup diameter. It may be 8" but definitely worth measuring. The SWC 160 should be 6" diameter.

yes its strange
cup is 8.5" inside and 8 5/8" outside
the neck is just under 4 3/8" inside

 

[btkrausen]

The 4.75" measurement I gave was the inside diameter of the neck. The collection cup as a whole is big, I'll get you measurements asap.

 

[skinz78]

Oh wow that is NAAAASSSSTAYYYYY, maybe I need one of these instead of a skimmer upgrade?

 

[Blueshorts]

Impressive, this would be good proof to the people that don't think skimmers do anything!