What is "THE" HOB Protein Skimmer

[Magickiwi]

So I started my setup with the eshopps PSK-100H and it is pulling tons of gross crud from my tank. I've got no issues with how much foam it's producing. My problem is micro-bubbles. I've done just about everything I can think of in terms of twisting the adjustment pipe on the return pipes but I am getting a constant stream of micro-bubbles from it. The tank has been going for roughly 2.5 weeks and everything I've read said that the skimmer would settle down within a couple days.

So if this continues much longer I will be looking for a new HOB Skimmer. I'd like opinions from people on which is THE HOB skimmer, the best one, quietest, least bubbles, etc.

[Coralgurl]

I've had 3 different HOB skimmers and did not find one that did not produce bubbles to some extent no matter how much adjusting I did. I just learned to live with them. Hopefully someone else has better experience!

[Magickiwi]

I've had 3 different HOB skimmers and did not find one that did not produce bubbles to some extent no matter how much adjusting I did. I just learned to live with them. Hopefully someone else has better experience!

That's not very encouraging news...

[Dearth]

I used the aqua C remora HOB never had an issue with micro bubbles

[mike31154]

I started with a DIY HOB skimmer that came with the used set up I purchased. It was an old school, wooden air diffuser, counter current unit, run by a small air pump & a small powerhead. Worked fine, very quiet. If quiet is what you're looking for, don't pooh pooh this old school technology, it does the job.

A year or so later, I purchased a second used tank from a local who was shutting his down. It came with a Remora C HOB skimmer. Supposed to be so much better than old school I had, so decided to give it a go. It turned out to be the noisiest thing in the house & the skimmate it produced was only ever a thin tea. My wooden air diffuser unit produced bona fide sludge, was quiet & used about half the electricity as the Remora. I finally cracked the intake on the Remora one day during cleaning & was happy to go back to the wooden technology!

I did a few modifications to the old skimmer, including a ball valve & slip union on the return line for improved control of water level & an air diffuser manifold so I could run two air diffusers. I've also built my own monster size wooden air diffusers out of basswood, but the last few ended up leaking due to my poor workmanship, so I'm back to store bought diffusers. I use a much larger air pump now as well & I think this helps the air diffusers last longer. I can get 6 months or better out of the diffusers, so that's not bad.

In the end, what makes a skimmer most efficient is smallest bubbles possible & maximum contact time between the bubbles & the water they are diffused into. Much of the newer technology with cones, diffuser plates etc. may help somewhat, but generally the improvement is negligible over old tech, especially when you consider what they charge for some of these things. I've seen few methods that create finer bubbles than a wooden air diffuser and with a long tube & small power head to circulate the water slowly to maximize contact time, the results are more than adequate.

https://tsl4pa.blu.livefilestore.com/y2pDMkf17oyLi_oJNLHaIVR9v6zKct3mJz0V1x2B0UtLiX_C1D G0r4BpKqIBWUk98iFpIBYSdQCVgjuMusjnNwMVFFitRl-sv6EDi9T42GcAMI/P1010815d.jpg?psid=1

https://tsl4pa.blu.livefilestore.com/y2p7rKdeNs2XggaUfcGYZLyrE7RwIHZ40MiyZ6zgc8yYnXOcif kXLmPbAyvz64a4Dlbtms4avuWN5sg1Y4fI_9u9TtdTytrh3VhV 4WZTBIX9ks/P1030317a.JPG?psid=1

Downside I guess, is you have to build it, unless you can find a used one somewhere. Mine is starting to have salt creep issues at some of the joints, so I'm going to have to start thinking about either repairing it, or building a new one from scratch... bigger, arrrr

[Magickiwi]

Yeah, it's a little like buying a house: I'd rather buy than build :)

The skim that comes out of the PSK-100H is the blackest, nasiest, barf-inducing junk I've ever come across in Aquaria. If it weren't for the micro-bubbles my water would look invisible.

Any other recommendations on skimmers?

[mike31154]

If it's doing such a great job producing nasty skimmate, I'd be inclined to give it a bit more time before throwing in the towel. How & where does the return line enter your display? If it's low in the water, raising it (if possible) might allow the micro bubbles to disperse to the surface before they mess up your visual enjoyment of the tank. Might also try splitting the return into multiple outlets with a tee to distribute the return flow a little. Or even a small box in the display to capture the return flow. This would contain the bubbles. It would need to have openings or be partially submersed to allow the water to escape.

[Magickiwi]

Well this is all I got back from Eshopps:

Hello,

Raise the skimmer by placing 1” pvc that is 10 inch long, under the black clip and across the two grey arms and let run for 72 hour, this will cut down on the overflow of the bubbles. Also, by raising the skimmer it will lower the water level in the skimmer body while the skimmer is getting use to the water conditioning.


So do I leave the spacer in there going forward or just the 72 hours? If the skimmer has been running almost three weeks isn't it yet used to the water conditioning? It's almost like they create a sentence and then just randomly replace words.

I'm looking at the Deltec MCE600 as a replacement. Anyone ever tried one of these?

[Proteus]

I had a deltec Mce 600. Best hob skimmer IMO.

It did have a small amount of micro bubble but easily fixed with a sponge on the diffuser.

The Mce also house a compartment for Gfo or carbon.

[Magickiwi]

I'd probably run purigen in that chamber. I have a carbon and Gfo reactor in my system already. Does anyone in Canada carry that brand and model? J&L's product line stops at the 500.

[Jakegr]

I really didn't like the Deltec MC600... loud, the collection cup was hard to clean, and expensive.

[misty s]

I have the mce300, i find it still produces a few bubbles after running it about a year and a half. It produces thick gross skimmate, and is pretty quiet. It seems to act up a bit whenI feed but goes back to normal an hour or so after.

[Proteus]

I really didn't like the Deltec MC600... loud, the collection cup was hard to clean, and expensive.

I have heard this before and will guess yours had the black pump. Deltec switched to there own pump (white) and mine was quiet

[intarsiabox]

I have an Aquamaxx HOB-1 that skims great, is very quiet and doesn't produce micro bubbles but I do get a trickle of a little larger bubbles that seeps out of the top of the discharge and go directly to the surface without getting dispersed into the tank. Now it did not start out with no micro bubbles, and most HOB's won't at first. They all have a break in period, mine was about a month before the micro bubbles were completely gone. You should probably give yours some more time and give it a couple of full cleans including the pump with some vinegar. I have not owned the eshopps skimmer myself but they are supposed to be a really good skimmer and it sounds like yours skims very well, don't give up on it just yet.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I have to admit that I am extremely impressed with the amount and darkness/thickness of the stinky skimmate my new-to-me Bubble Magus NAC5E Hang-On-Back Protein Skimmer is producing. It's on a heavily stocked, heavily fed RSM 34g and its pulling out crud like crazy. Really happy with it. Thanks MCC.

Anthony

[Magickiwi]

I have an Aquamaxx HOB-1 that skims great, is very quiet and doesn't produce micro bubbles but I do get a trickle of a little larger bubbles that seeps out of the top of the discharge and go directly to the surface without getting dispersed into the tank. Now it did not start out with no micro bubbles, and most HOB's won't at first. They all have a break in period, mine was about a month before the micro bubbles were completely gone. You should probably give yours some more time and give it a couple of full cleans including the pump with some vinegar. I have not owned the eshopps skimmer myself but they are supposed to be a really good skimmer and it sounds like yours skims very well, don't give up on it just yet.

So what should I be doing with the skimmer to help it settle down? You mention scrubbing with vinegar but I thought the skimmers used the slime coat that collects in it. I've even been wondering if I clean the skim cup too well because it seems to bubble more after I wash the cup.

As I said the included instructions give you bup-kiss in terms of direction or help.

[pinkreef]

eshopps 100gal hob is my favourite
easy to adjust - others are so finicky

[Magickiwi]

eshopps 100gal hob is my favourite
easy to adjust - others are so finicky

How do you adjust? Just turning the pipe on top of the outlet or is there other adjustments to the skimmer?

[pinkreef]

yes, just turning the pipe on top of the outlet
i have two collection cups and just swap them out
i had a hard time with my last brand before eshopps with it
running too wet or too dry, i used to unplug it and clean out
the cup then plug it back in
pita :wink:

[hillegom]

When cleaning the skimmer cup, I do not touch the portion of the cup that gets wet from the tank water. The oils from my hand seem to have a temporary, negative effect on the operation of the skimmer.

[pinkreef]

I turn down the bubbles, remove the cup and lid and take it to the sink
wash in warm water and nothing else except a sponge
rinse thoroughly and set back up onto the skimmer
adjust the bubbles back up and thats it. if you have microbubbles they
supply the black foam piece to go on the end of the output. (i dont use
it because i have no microbubbles) if you use some additives or epoxy
in your tank you will have microbubbles until you wc it out.

[intarsiabox]

So what should I be doing with the skimmer to help it settle down? You mention scrubbing with vinegar but I thought the skimmers used the slime coat that collects in it. I've even been wondering if I clean the skim cup too well because it seems to bubble more after I wash the cup.

As I said the included instructions give you bup-kiss in terms of direction or help.

The plastic that the skimmers are made of usually have a coating on them that eventually wears off and is not harmful, the vinegar wash gets rid of it faster and speeds up the skimmers break in time. This doesn't have to be done often just at start up and then occasionally after that. I personally find that a clean collection cup works much better than a slimy one as the bubbles can grab onto the plastic when clean. My Aqua C Remora would stop skimming altogether after a couple of days until the cup was cleaned again. All my HOB skimmers stopped producing micro bubbles within a 4 week period and after a complete tear down and cleaning. If you find it skimming too aggressively just raise the cup up a bit until you are happy with the results.