Skimmer article/study

[Palmer]

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010/1/aafeature

This has probably already been posted as it is from 2010 but I thought it was interesting.

[badAZZlars]

Wow that is a highly technical read, reminded me of university.

Makes me happy that I only spent $300 on my bubble magus 180cs instead of spending over $1000 on a comparable bubble king.

It also confirmed to me the importance of regular water changes as none of the skimmers were able to remove more than 35% of the organics from the water.

[Palmer]

If you liked that one there is another article in the same publication in the following March issue that breaks down skimmate to look at what it is comprised of. That one was pretty neat too.

I agree water changes seem to be the main necessity. It's funny because I find protein skimmers to be one of the fun toys of going to the salt aspect of the hobby but in some ways when looking at articles like this it makes me believe that they capture a big slice of the hobby investment because aquarists like to buy shiny toys that have pumps and make bubbles. lol....

[Madreefer]

Originally Posted by badAZZlars

Makes me happy that I only spent $300 on my bubble magus 180cs instead of spending over $1000 on a comparable bubble king.

Well it kinda ****es me off knowing that I spent $1000 more than I should have. Twice!

[ALang]

Thank Goodness!
I saved for months and bought a Bubble Magnus NAC-7 and call myself lucky that I didn't spend even more!!
For years I ran my 130 gallon heavily stocked tank with my Remora Pro!
But I did do frequent water changes, though.
Lenny.

[mike31154]

My eyes glazed over after the first couple of sentences with all the formulae & math. I usually skip right to the summary/conclusion of stuff like that. I'm still using an old school counter current wooden air diffuser skimmer that came with my used system when I initially got into the hobby. Did a couple of minor mods to make it work a tad better & easier to adjust, build my own monster wooden air diffusers out of Basswood & Gorilla Glue. The skimmer is very quiet, low power consumption and works fine, pulls some good dry gunk out of the system. Looking at the funky scrapings I take out of it from time to time, I can't imagine running a system without one, even if the article says the best you can get is 35% of the organics. Tried a Remora C HOB with mag 3 pump for a few months and hated that thing. Noisiest piece of gear ever to come near my system and never produced anything other than a mild tea. Unable to get the type of goo as with my old skimmer, so I was real happy to switch back. Both of these skimmers came with used tanks that I purchased, so in a way they didn't cost anything. I ended up giving the Remora away after cracking the inlet tube.

[sphelps]

There's not much to a skimmer so yeah most models are pretty comparable in performance, this should not be news to most people. The difference between less and more expensive models is quality, consistency, reliability and efficiency. For instance a cheaper skimmer may require constant adjustment and maintenance to keep it working properly, it may also be louder and use more power. Reliability has also come into play many times in the past, I purchased the ATI when it came out thinking it was the bomb, worked great, was quiet, efficient and half the price of the competition yet it only lasted a few months before the pumps started acting up. Not saying that even the most expensive skimmers don't have the occasional issue but having a reliable company and warranty behind it helps a lot.

So as always purchase a skimmer in your budget but you still do get what you pay for.

[Palmer]

Originally Posted by sphelps

There's not much to a skimmer so yeah most models are pretty comparable in performance, this should not be news to most people. The difference between less and more expensive models is quality, consistency, reliability and efficiency. For instance a cheaper skimmer may require constant adjustment and maintenance to keep it working properly, it may also be louder and use more power. Reliability has also come into play many times in the past, I purchased the ATI when it came out thinking it was the bomb, worked great, was quiet, efficient and half the price of the competition yet it only lasted a few months before the pumps started acting up. Not saying that even the most expensive skimmers don't have the occasional issue but having a reliable company and warranty behind it helps a lot.

So as always purchase a skimmer in your budget but you still do get what you pay for.

That is a good point. I do not think they looked at quality of construction etc. Although that is all still based on the premise that it is good to have one and if it is then all the stuff you mentioned I also think are important factors. I think oxygenation is another benefit (although you could just set up a waterfall or powerhead to do this) and it does still pull stuff out of the water whether it is as much as we like or not. I dont plan on going skimmerless....

P

[Money pit]

I ran a skimmer less tank for many years, now days I'm running a euro reef. Some of the benefits I've seen , are cheaper on salt.. I was doing 50% water changes. Using these numbers from the article 100% organics minus 35% assuming optimal skinner efficiency = 65% minus 15% of that for weekly water change = 55% organics left in the tank. Compared to 50% , doing water changes alone,assuming organics are evenly distributed. Not much difference, but the salt saving will add up over time. As an indirect benefit,I was sump less on the old tank and had a problem with scum build up on the top of the water, so to add the skimmer I had to put in a sump. The overflow took care of the scum problem. If you look at the water clarity issue, doing only water changes once a week. There's a weeks worth of organic build up yellowing the water, with a skimmer you're removing 35% of that on a steady day to day basis , giving you clearer water and better light penetration. As for the price, I always argued with those who swore by Bubble King as the best skimmer. My point was 2 of my Euro Reefs would out skim your Bubble King and still cost less.

[Palmer]

I see your point money pit but as I read the article it differentiates between what a skimmer can remove and the organics that are not possible for a skimmer to remove. I may be wrong in this but I believe the 35 % refers to the part of the whole that it can remove. When talking water changes I assume all organics in the water can be removed. So the percentages would be apples to oranges... I think