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Hmmmm...... interesting concept. I wonder, though, whether airline hoses leading from majority (if not all) of the holes in the skimmer lid back to the inlet to the scrubber would impede airflow out of the skimmer, thereby suppressing rise and expansion of bubbles in the chamber and somewhat defeating the purpose of the skimmer. Also, I suspect that additional tubes all hanging off of the lid would make it a PITA to handle the lid (take it off, set it aside) when pulling off the collection cup to clean it and the neck of the skimmer.
Taking suggestion from one of the earlier BRS videos, I set up two Apex-controlled 24V solenoid valves to regulate flow, one to permit flow through the scrubber and other to prevent flow directly into skimmer when pH falls to 8.09 or below (and reverse operation when it rises back to 8.10 or above). See below. So at least I'm not wasting media by running flow through it 24/7, and by affirmatively closing the solenoid in front of the scrubber when pH rises, I prevent "passive" flow through the scrubber due to aspiration when air otherwise flows most significantly through the other line (path of least resistance) when the non-scrubbed solenoid is opened. (By the way, note that I've got the solenoids suspended by those metal straps away from the wood mounting beam; they get HOT!)
I use co2 scrubber for years. I was never able to revive it...
How often are you changing out media?
From some cursory research we strongly suspect that methane and sulfur compounds reduce the surface attraction of the bubbles
If this works I wonder if there will be a market for replacement "Lids" that have a fitting pre-added so as to not mess with the skimmer or better something that is a hybrid where you have the normal lid and normal holes and then have a cap over top that will let air out but also let air be taken in and the "mixture" can be adjusted to find the optimum skim-mate production and re-circulation potential.Hmmmm...... interesting concept. I wonder, though, whether airline hoses leading from majority (if not all) of the holes in the skimmer lid back to the inlet to the scrubber would impede airflow out of the skimmer, thereby suppressing rise and expansion of bubbles in the chamber and somewhat defeating the purpose of the skimmer. Also, I suspect that additional tubes all hanging off of the lid would make it a PITA to handle the lid (take it off, set it aside) when pulling off the collection cup to clean it and the neck of the skimmer.
If this works I wonder if there will be a market for replacement "Lids" that have a fitting pre-added so as to not mess with the skimmer or better something that is a hybrid where you have the normal lid and normal holes and then have a cap over top that will let air out but also let air be taken in and the "mixture" can be adjusted to find the optimum skim-mate production and re-circulation potential.
Hi, Roger with Tunze here, so I was sent here by a customer I spoke to at RAP NY. Some years back, a competitor of ours did something we were intrigued by as it simplified skimmer design and reduced cost, they essentially used the skimmer cup as a silencer and took the air from the skimmer cup. We bought one and tested it and found it performed poorly. We had a hunch that the decomposing skimmate created gasses or possibly just the high humidity of the skim mate and popping bubbles was affecting skimming. We tested this by A) taking one of our skimmers and rigging it to draw from the cup and B) taking the competitors skimmer and rigging it to a conventional silencer to take in fresh air. The results were fairly convincing that this is a bad idea. We still don't know why, but by our testing, taking air from the skimmer cup seems to impede skimmer performance. From some cursory research we strongly suspect that methane and sulfur compounds reduce the surface attraction of the bubbles, these large molecules do not lend themselves in the same way to being charged by the ionic soup of saltwater and picking up organic matter as just plain O2 and N2. FWIW, said competitor likely noted the same as they no longer do it this way and we know of no manufacturer who takes air from the skimmer cup though we kept this study a secret as we had no interest in helping someone else improve their products. I would be very interested to know if anyone who has done this has seen less overall skimming as a result.
Hi, Roger with Tunze here, so I was sent here by a customer I spoke to at RAP NY. Some years back, a competitor of ours did something we were intrigued by as it simplified skimmer design and reduced cost, they essentially used the skimmer cup as a silencer and took the air from the skimmer cup. We bought one and tested it and found it performed poorly. We had a hunch that the decomposing skimmate created gasses or possibly just the high humidity of the skim mate and popping bubbles was affecting skimming. We tested this by A) taking one of our skimmers and rigging it to draw from the cup and B) taking the competitors skimmer and rigging it to a conventional silencer to take in fresh air. The results were fairly convincing that this is a bad idea. We still don't know why, but by our testing, taking air from the skimmer cup seems to impede skimmer performance. From some cursory research we strongly suspect that methane and sulfur compounds reduce the surface attraction of the bubbles, these large molecules do not lend themselves in the same way to being charged by the ionic soup of saltwater and picking up organic matter as just plain O2 and N2. FWIW, said competitor likely noted the same as they no longer do it this way and we know of no manufacturer who takes air from the skimmer cup though we kept this study a secret as we had no interest in helping someone else improve their products. I would be very interested to know if anyone who has done this has seen less overall skimming as a result.