Skimmer Q&A Thread

[Salty_Northerner]

report back if there are any issues. it will be fun to see it performing

For sure I will. Hopefully it'll be all good and since there's little to nothing about it online I'll be sure to post video on it working albeit good or bad

 

[indyjaco]

Working with a space of 8X11 for the skimmer, 105G tank, 30G sump

Thoughts on the following?

Bubble Magnus Elite 7
Regal 150SSS 6" space saver
Or ?

Trying to stay under $400, take advantage of current deals for something reliable and bonus point for quiet.

 

[Salty_Northerner]

report back if there are any issues. it will be fun to see it performing

Well the aquamaxx bullet 2 showed up this morning and what a nice unit. It fits the Waterbox 35.2 second chamber nicely. It's been running for half hour and it's silent, like no kidding, dead silent! I'll report back after it's been running for awhile.

 

[Icedog]

Is it common for skimmer cups to stain over time?

I have a Simplicity 120 DC skimmer that was installed about 2.5 years ago. I clean the cup every 3 days - just use water and a paper towel to wipe out all the gunk. But over time I've noticed that even though all the loose gunk is cleaned out, this brown tint remains on the acrylic cup. And this tint is getting darker and darker with each cleaning.

I called Simplicity about this - love the fact that you can actually talk to someone there! And the representative seemed to think this was odd - suggested I use something a bit more abrasive to clean it. I did try using the scouring side of a kitchen sponge - lightly, because I was afraid of scratching it. But that didn't work at all.

Is this staining normal wear and tear? Am I doing something wrong in my cleaning methods? Other than this, the skimmer works great!

 

[reeftivo]

Is it common for skimmer cups to stain over time?

I have a Simplicity 120 DC skimmer that was installed about 2.5 years ago. I clean the cup every 3 days - just use water and a paper towel to wipe out all the gunk. But over time I've noticed that even though all the loose gunk is cleaned out, this brown tint remains on the acrylic cup. And this tint is getting darker and darker with each cleaning.

I called Simplicity about this - love the fact that you can actually talk to someone there! And the representative seemed to think this was odd - suggested I use something a bit more abrasive to clean it. I did try using the scouring side of a kitchen sponge - lightly, because I was afraid of scratching it. But that didn't work at all.

Is this staining normal wear and tear? Am I doing something wrong in my cleaning methods? Other than this, the skimmer works great!

not uncommon

biggest culprit is usually ferric oxide and even some dry foods with spirulina. if it's bothering you then you can just soak it in some mild bleach solution and that should help a bit. won't affect performance!

 

[Icedog]

not uncommon

biggest culprit is usually ferric oxide and even some dry foods with spirulina. if it's bothering you then you can just soak it in some mild bleach solution and that should help a bit. won't affect performance!

Tks for the reply! I do use GFO, so that's probably causing the problem.

I'll try maybe a 20% bleach solution. Appreciate your help!

 

[reeftivo]

Well the aquamaxx bullet 2 showed up this morning and what a nice unit. It fits the Waterbox 35.2 second chamber nicely. It's been running for half hour and it's silent, like no kidding, dead silent! I'll report back after it's been running for awhile.

how's the progress? broken in yet and skimming good?

 

[Salty_Northerner]

I'd say its about 50% broken in. It diffidently holds a strong foam head even if I put my hand in the tank.

One thing though is I didn't know, nor is it advertised that the minimum water level in the tank can't be lower then 100mm from the rim of the tank or just shy of 5" from water level to rim.

In my Waterbox 35.2, the second chamber water level falls short of the min water height from the rim. It's about a 1/4" below BUT this is where the skimmer is forgiving. It has enough depth in setting the collection cup really low so it compensates for the lack of head pressure into the skimmer. It's really doing well and I'm happy with it now hands down. It leaves the Tunze 9004 DC skimmer in the dust for sure. The tunze skimmer wouldn't hold a nice foam head even just looking at it wrong lol.

I'll post a video probably tomorrow of it working so you can see how well it's running.
Oh and did I mention how quiet it is? It's next to dead silent tbh and am actually pleased on the build quality and performance for once!

 

[reeftivo]

I'd say its about 50% broken in. It diffidently holds a strong foam head even if I put my hand in the tank.

One thing though is I didn't know, nor is it advertised that the minimum water level in the tank can't be lower then 100mm from the rim of the tank or just shy of 5" from water level to rim.

In my Waterbox 35.2, the second chamber water level falls short of the min water height from the rim. It's about a 1/4" below BUT this is where the skimmer is forgiving. It has enough depth in setting the collection cup really low so it compensates for the lack of head pressure into the skimmer. It's really doing well and I'm happy with it now hands down. It leaves the Tunze 9004 DC skimmer in the dust for sure. The tunze skimmer wouldn't hold a nice foam head even just looking at it wrong lol.

I'll post a video probably tomorrow of it working so you can see how well it's running.
Oh and did I mention how quiet it is? It's next to dead silent tbh and am actually pleased on the build quality and performance for once!

sounds good

i thought you may have some issues with that lower water level in that chamber.

glad to hear it is settling in nicely. looking forward to more updates.

happy reefing!

 

[hobie61]

For sure I will. Hopefully it'll be all good and since there's little to nothing about it online I'll be sure to post video on it working albeit good or bad

Which protein skimmer did you decide? I'm also looking to replace my tunze 9004. Just doesnt seem to do much, and keep adding stuff to the tank. Not content. Also looking at the Aquamax 1.5 or bullet3, and/or the reef octopus 1000. i have a custom 35 AIO and may go larger. Thanks for reviewing and post.

 

[Salty_Northerner]

Which protein skimmer did you decide? I'm also looking to replace my tunze 9004. Just doesnt seem to do much, and keep adding stuff to the tank. Not content. Also looking at the Aquamax 1.5 or bullet3, and/or the reef octopus 1000. i have a custom 35 AIO and may go larger. Thanks for reviewing and post.

No problem, glad to help. I went with the aquamaxx bullet 2. I'd preferred the bullet 3 but the width of the water fall lip is 4.5" across and the chamber wouldn't hold it so why I went with the bullet 2 being 3.5" across. I'd probably have gone with the 1.5 but it's big and not visually appealing to say the least but is also more money. Anyways IMHO and spending time with the tunze 9004 DC playing with the pumps plug to have counter current to draw surface water through the combline to surface skim and also create a stronger flow didn't do anything beneficial in skimming. They are a bugger to clean. And the bullet is a dream, just lift the divider up and take the whole assembly to the sink for cleaning is a breeze. The thumb screw the holds the collection cup and tube hardly needs to be tightened to set the water line. Like basically turn the screw till it makes contact and that's all is needed to hold the height. I do however really wish aquamaxx had a DC version to go along with the adjustable cup/tube for extra tuning but so far I think they nailed it right out of the box as is. I will however try a small ball valve on the end of the beefy silicone air line to see how well I can tweak the air to water mixture as an experiment.

If you don't mind the size of the 1.5 go for it. It's got the sicca 1.0 shark pump and bottle style diffuser. The bullet 3 has the same diffuser and pump but it's up to you. But for the bullet 2 using a different diffuser and shark .5 pump just WORKS amazing and I don't regret buying it at all. Another thing is I'm able to hold the skimmers prime when I turn it off when adding bacteria. It can stay off for 4 hours and set the timer to come back on line and it's able to just carry on skimming without the need to be primed which is great.

 

[Salty_Northerner]

May sound loud but very sensitive mic on the S23 ultra

Collection cup was dumped this morning as well.

 

[Salty_Northerner]

Also just a tidbit of info. BRS is the ppl a person would contact for warranty. I went to the aquamaxx web site and under warranty it had BRS's contact info. I thought a had a loud pump and reached out to them and the next day they replied wanting a short video and post address and said I'd be taken care of. Turned out to be my MP10 dry side making the noise so I do appreciate BRS for the quick reply and solution if I needed warranty even though I bought it from reef supplies here in Canada.

 

[hobie61]

No problem, glad to help. I went with the aquamaxx bullet 2. I'd preferred the bullet 3 but the width of the water fall lip is 4.5" across and the chamber wouldn't hold it so why I went with the bullet 2 being 3.5" across. I'd probably have gone with the 1.5 but it's big and not visually appealing to say the least but is also more money. Anyways IMHO and spending time with the tunze 9004 DC playing with the pumps plug to have counter current to draw surface water through the combline to surface skim and also create a stronger flow didn't do anything beneficial in skimming. They are a bugger to clean. And the bullet is a dream, just lift the divider up and take the whole assembly to the sink for cleaning is a breeze. The thumb screw the holds the collection cup and tube hardly needs to be tightened to set the water line. Like basically turn the screw till it makes contact and that's all is needed to hold the height. I do however really wish aquamaxx had a DC version to go along with the adjustable cup/tube for extra tuning but so far I think they nailed it right out of the box as is. I will however try a small ball valve on the end of the beefy silicone air line to see how well I can tweak the air to water mixture as an experiment.

If you don't mind the size of the 1.5 go for it. It's got the sicca 1.0 shark pump and bottle style diffuser. The bullet 3 has the same diffuser and pump but it's up to you. But for the bullet 2 using a different diffuser and shark .5 pump just WORKS amazing and I don't regret buying it at all. Another thing is I'm able to hold the skimmers prime when I turn it off when adding bacteria. It can stay off for 4 hours and set the timer to come back on line and it's able to just carry on skimming without the need to be primed which is great.

Thanks much for the great info and feature point outs. Much appreciated. Kinda difficult to find the necessary space dimensions for these things. Looks like the bullets may take up more space behind the tank than desired, so may try the 1.5. Should have thought more about this when things were on sale last week.

Enjoy the snows. Thanks again for your inputs.

 

[Pavo]

anyone have a older model mini bk, (not sure if some other models have it), with small askoll motor block what have anti lime bypass? I would like to see back where is drilled trough epoxy so i know right spot and angle where is safe to drill trough, if anyone can help me
did anyone here try that already?, im lost, need help with coordinates : ))

 

[reeftivo]

Sold mine a while ago with the speedy pump. Have you looked at some pics of the old askoll versions?

lots of variations with the different pumps though. I think the feed is off the top/back of the 160/180

this one shows the feed to the back. not sure which model.

VS08 on the side

here's one on a 160 with the V12 set up. plummed off the BB plate adapter then into the back-top.

 

[reeftivo]

looks like a simple drill and glue on the nipples for the line.

i think there is a company that sells kits to mod these but i'm sure they are pricy.

i would use drip irrigation stuff. maybe a compression fitting or two of the attached below right in the pic and tap or glue them with weldon 16. then just push on some RO tubing.

 

[bdesign]

Anyone use an Aquamaxx WS-1?

This is all the bubbling I’m getting.
It’s held up 4” from the bottom



It’s only been in 24 hours

Any suggestions?

 

[Shooter6]

Anyone use an Aquamaxx WS-1?

This is all the bubbling I’m getting.
It’s held up 4” from the bottom



It’s only been in 24 hours

Any suggestions?

If it's only 24 hrs, just let it run, otherwise take it apart and check the air intake to be sure nothing is clogging it. I do not know that skimmer, is there a silencer on the air intake?

 

[Pavo]

looks like a simple drill and glue on the nipples for the line.

i think there is a company that sells kits to mod these but i'm sure they are pricy.

i would use drip irrigation stuff. maybe a compression fitting or two of the attached below right in the pic and tap or glue them with weldon 16. then just push on some RO tubing.

Connectors are not problem at all, i would even machine mine if something non usuall is needed, on last picture where is show connection on pvc part of housing you could even use straight 1/4 and glue pvc to pvc.
i saw all that pictures but i need one from back, idealy without hose so i angle for drilling is visible
-i need to know right position so i do not drill trough and not damage any motor part