new Cone skimmer.

[RuGlu6]

hey guys what was the longest break in period that your skimmer had?

I bought a new skimmer and did not soak in vinegar, just washed it in worm water. It has been a few days but still very little skimming.
Water level inside and outside is apropriate (~8 inch outside and up to the collection cup inside), pump is ok, nice fine bubbles, air flow is there and nothing is plugged.

thx

[Maverick00]

depending on the skimmer it can "take" up to a week or two. The skimmers (minus the remora) ive owned seemed to work as they should within 72hrs

[RuGlu6]

two weeks, wow!

[lorenz0]

what skimmer is it?

[RuGlu6]

what skimmer is it?


I know poeple on here love pictures so here you go.

Air flow 700 l/h
rated for 500L to 800L (211 gal) Tank
Hailea HX-6530 Pump with Needlewheel Impeller
Water level:21-27cm
Size :220*310*570MM

It is the largest i could fit in to my sump. Its got rubber feet under the pump and under the skimmer body as well. Pump & Impeller design is strickingly similar to Eheim. Water level inside is very stable and besically always the same thanks to a water effluent design through that elevated elbow. Thanks to that skimmer is not sensitive to a sump water level variations.

http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/IMG_8077.jpg
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Nice frothy just the right size bubbles.
http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/IMG_8083.jpg
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/IMG_8081.jpg
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Water level control is very easy and precise. The red knob is on the other side of this.
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/IMG_7795.jpg
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/IMG_7792.jpg
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/pump.jpg
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/impeller.jpg
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Diffusor plate.
http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/defuserplate.jpg
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/IMG_7797.jpg
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/IMG_7805.jpg

[lorenz0]

nice skimmer. ya give it some time, aww wish i still had a cone

[RuGlu6]

Thanks, its already skimming :mrgreen:

[RuGlu6]

It has been 7 days and this skimmer is skimming better and better every day !
Easy to clean, quiet, constant air flow (needle wheel impeller), Thanks to people on here who pointed out that mesh impellers get ddirty, jammed with muck and pool less air, so i went with a needle wheel for more constant performance.
I love it.

[RuGlu6]

Decided to fix a needle wheel restart problem by edding a rubber band.
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/IMG_9584.jpg


It did not work, still have to blow in to air intake to start, not a big deal.
But what was achieved is that now there is absolutely no noise when pump is trying to restart ! I like this a lot.

Also as an experiment for this skimmer I placed a small square (2x2 feet) of plastic bird netting (http://www.groworganic.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/p/b/pbr001a_5.jpg), 05 inch eye size, made in to a roll, or what ever shape it wants to be inside the skimmer. The idea was to reduce turbulence because it seemed that there was rather powerful turbulence inside the skimmer.
It worked fantastic ! now there is less turbulence inside and the foam is better, more condense and frothy.
So what you see on pic #2 and # 3 at the top of this thread now all the bubbles are small and uniform, no turbulance.
Maybe this pump is a bit too powerfull for this skimmer but i consider this to be a benefit.

[viperfish]

What brand is it?

[Myka]

I've never had a skimmer take longer than overnight. I usually plug it in overnight with the cup off, then in the morning put the cup on and adjust. Works right away. Glad you got it going!

[RuGlu6]

I've never had a skimmer take longer than overnight. I usually plug it in overnight with the cup off, then in the morning put the cup on and adjust. Works right away. Glad you got it going!

Yeah, must have had a lot of these solvents still in there because it took good 3 days to start skimming at full capacity.
But now i am very happy with it.
A lot of air to water mixing ratio (700l/h), good stable foam, not sensitive to a sump water level variations (well unless i do a water change and drop it right down to a pump intake) and very very quiet, almost silent. I guess these rubber pads under the pump and under the skimmer itself is a very good idea.

[RuGlu6]

What brand is it?

2011-CP-S-150

[RuGlu6]

Just an update, great skimmer running quiet, lots of air, good skimmate every two days.

I didn't ever think I would say that but now I think is time for me to admit that my tank is over skimmed!
So now I decided to have only one skimmer running (the cone obviously) and HOB Deltec is going to the vinegar bath and then storage.

[RuGlu6]

Here is only two days worth of skimmate.
On top lid
http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/IMG_0452-1.jpg

Collection cup
http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/CopyofIMG_0450.jpg
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/IMG_0444-1.jpg
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/IMG_0446-1.jpg
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/IMG_0447-1.jpg
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/IMG_0443-1.jpg

[RuGlu6]

Finally (in Jan 2013) upgraded my cone skimmer with new high air flow (1400 L/h) water pump Babble Blaster 3000 (http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-supplies/CV-HY-3000S.html).
Had to cut a new hole for the intake fitting as it would not fit in to the old one.
Skimmer is ridiculously powerful and very stable with this new pump.
Looking back there was no need to go with pump that big, as I had to take measures to reduce turbulence. BB2000 would have been enough.
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/IMG_0858_zpsdb9a5b70.jpg
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with new pump installed

http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/IMG_0856_zpsf0e4c03b.jpg
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/IMG_0967_zpscb702381.jpg
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Two days of skimmimg with new pump.

http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/IMG_0964_zps04fc9405.jpg
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/IMG_0861_zpsbe2d7d4d.jpg
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/IMG_0974_zps47ba05b7.jpg
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Only 30 min after cleaning
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http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/IMG_0978_zps6a867189.jpg
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Only 30 min after cleaning


http://i381.photobucket.com/albums/oo251/RuGlu6/IMG_0980_zps99bf2dfe.jpg

As you can see compare to when skimmer was running on old OEM pump the skimmate now is denser and darker and also is stinks a lot more.
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[phi delt reefer]

awesome MOD!

is the skimmer any louder with the new pump?

[RuGlu6]

awesome MOD!

is the skimmer any louder with the new pump?

Very, very quiet. The pump has rubber feet. All i can hear is air but black cilinder (pic #4 hard to see on dark background) is my DIY silencer so quite happy with the mod.

Also the fact that this pump starts 100% of the time and in the correct direction is a big plus compare to many skimmer pumps that are just modified water pumps and not always start correctly.