BEST PROTEIN SKIMMER EVER!

[Anonymous]

Dzhuo, your right about the noise, when I first fired up my HSA the noise scared me, it suckes air so fast threw the 3/8" air intake it wistles.

I put a airfilter/muffler on the air intake, makes it silent.


Reef newbie what didnt you like about the berlin HOB? I have 2 red sea berlins, a hang on, and a XL, I really like them, the bubble size is a little large, but I was just going to use a kent venturi to fix that, I like the design and the contact time is pretty long.

SPC, the reason I LOVE waste collectors was allready posted, you cannot spill with them, it's impossible... Going to a skimmer without a waste collector would be a step backwards, I cant see any reason I would want to give up the waste collector, it even gets rid of the smell, it carbon filters the air leaving the collector..

I'm actually kinda suprised more skimmers dont have waste collectors by now, there really havent been any major advancements in skimmer technology sense the becket skimmers were introduced.

 

[SPC]

Posted by Mega:

I'm actually kinda suprised more skimmers dont have waste collectors by now,

-Well in my case I hope the skimmer manufacturers keep it as an option and do not include it in the package :wink: .
Steve

 

[Anonymous]

What possible reason could you have for not wanting one?

They remove the skimmer smell, and the automatically shut off the skimmer when full, and they ensure you wont ever spill skimmage

 

[Derek]

On the Aerofloater 830 I have a waste collector is a great option. Especially since it sat outside of the sump and has a ton of air moving through it. However the Euroreef F-3 I have sits in the sump and because of the design uses a lot less air. So the odor propblem isn't as big a factor. I always assume that if it over flows the collection cup it goes back into the sum, obviously not the best thing, but in 3 years of operation it hasn't come close. I dump the collection every week or so and it isn't a problem. Also for an in sump skimmer I would rather use real estate on the skimmer and not a waste collector.

Besides the Euroreef skimmers are so quiet. When I ran the Aerofloater I used a GRI520. When I switched back to the Euroreef the GRI seemed so loud I replaced it with an Ampmaster. I couldn't hear the GRI over the roar of the beckett driven skimmer.

Derek

 

[Anonymous]

I travel alot working for the military, that's one of the other reasons I really must have a waste collector

 

[Anonymous]

I've tried 2 skimmers, a berlin HOB and a Euroreef CS6-1 on my 55g. The berlin is a piece of junk compared to the cs6-1 in terms of the quality of the skimmate produced.

The cs6-1 is one of the best reef equipment I've made since getting addicted to this hobby

Another vote for the EUROREEF!!

so how did you analyze the skimmate? :wink:

fwiw-i used the original red sea berlin skimmer(w/the venturi in the skimmer base)-had much less waste water in the skimmate than all the pics i've seen here so far,thicker, and darker too...

i still can't figger out why folks use the amount of skimmate produced as a criteria for judging the skimmer :roll: it's what's IN the skimmate that counts-and water doesn't count :wink:

 

[SPC]

Posted by MegaDeth:

What possible reason could you have for not wanting one?

-Can't justify the expense.

They remove the skimmer smell, and the automatically shut off the skimmer when full, and they ensure you wont ever spill skimmage

-I have no smell with my milk jug, I have it where the tube fits tightly into the top of it.
As I said before, the skimmer needs cleaning out long before the milk jug is full.

I travel alot working for the military, that's one of the other reasons I really must have a waste collector

-I can understand this, in my situation I would have to be gone for at least a month before my milk jug would overflow and at the 2 week mark my skimmer would not be performing very well due to being dirty. Personally, if I were not able to clean my skimmer at least every 2 weeks, I wouldn't run a reef tank.
Steve

 

[Anonymous]

I clean mine every month or two, it really rarely needs cleaning, I did have to clean my old non becket style skimmers quite a bit more often, they didnt run nearly as high a water/air ratio.

The HSA stays really clean, the only place that I ever bother to clean is the very top section.

I'm gone for 2 weeks at a time, japan, hawaii, alaska, germany, not that I'm complaining...

 

[Anonymous]

I like the idea of the waste collector myself. The auto-shutoff could be a good thing. I dont know if this holds tru for in sump skimmers but on my CPR bakpak, I did some aquascaping and some fragging of a leater and the collection cup filled up in a day.

What I am saying is If I was away from my tank for a few days and say something caused the skimmer to go nuts at least it would shut itself down instead of overflowing.

Am I correct on that assumption? I am oredering a skimmer this wekeend and I am still debating between the Euroreef and the MyReef MR-1 with collection cup. Both of these skimmers are similar in price.

Euroreef - $299
MyReef - $ 225
Mag 12 - $89
Collction cup $40.
_________________
define economic stimulus

 

[SPC]

Posted by MegaDeth:

The HSA stays really clean, the only place that I ever bother to clean is the very top section.

-I see. My AquaC skimmer gets alot of build up in the riser tube for some reason, just the design I suppose.
Steve

 

[Anonymous]

Rob, same holds true, but I've found larger skimmers to be less sensitive to those type of changes.

Keep in mind, the euroreef cant use a auto collector that way, it wont shut down the skimmer, they are also limited to be sitting in the sump I believe, not positive on that part though..

 

[Anonymous]

Vitz said:

i still can't figger out why folks use the amount of skimmate produced as a criteria for judging the skimmer it's what's IN the skimmate that counts-and water doesn't count

I see no need to anylize the crap that my skimmer pulls from the water. My nose detects that it smells putred, so it must be the bad stuff that you don't want left in the tank. I cleaned my collection cup one day, put it back, rinsed the sink out, 5 minute later my wife came in the room and said phew, what the hell is that smell. I was proud!

Louey

 

[SPC]

Posted by Louey:

put it back, rinsed the sink out, 5 minute later my wife came in the room and said phew, what the hell is that smell.

8O

Steve

 

[golfish]

I take it that means they dont work with a waste collector?

having ran a skimmer that uses one, I would never go back to without. It's so nice, shuts down the whole skimmer when full. It would be like giving up my cruise control on my car, rarely use it, but it's damn nice to have.

No, they will work with a watse collector (not auot shut off tho) but the cups are not drilled for a collector. ER recommends cleaning the collection cup once a week for better skimming. Using a collection cup is not needed and will just get in the way of routin maint. If you or somebody else wanted to drill the collection cup to add a waste collector then by all means, knock yourself out.

You really don't need an auto shut off on an in-sump skimmer like the ER's. If its taken care of proper it can't overflow, if it does the stuff overflowing isn't going to be skimmate. If the skimmers cup isnt' cleaned it probably wont collect enough skimmate to overflow.

Without a doubt, the ER's are the best skimmers out there. Just talk to the people who have used all the good ones. Most of them choose ER's over anything else. The only draw back is the in-sump use.

Maybe "best" isn't the right word to use here...How about effecient.

 

[Anonymous]

Do they really work with a waste collector? IE do they shut off when the collector is full?

Having never ran one I wasnt sure

 

[golfish]

No, I've used a skimmer that was drilled for a waste cup. I can't see how the ER's would shut down when the waste cup filled.
Again, that's not an issue. The skimmer will probably shut down from lack of proper maint before the collection cup gets full of nasty skimmate.

 

[Anonymous]

It is an issue to me anyway, my skimmer doesnt need weekly maint (thank god!)

On the becket skimmers, when the waste collector fills up, it shuts down the skimmer...

One more reason I will stay away from a euroreef!

 

[Anonymous]

Just get a high end skimmer! Euroreef, lifereef, aquac.

The only drawback that I know of about the euroreefs is that they use a pump or impeller or something that you can only get from them. And they can't be mounted externally. My Lifereef can be mounted either way, which is nice considering that you never what you may want to change in the future.

I would at least look at all of the skimmers mentioned above before you make a purchase. I was completely sold on the Euroreefs before I found out about the Lifereefs. I'm not knocking the ER's, I'm sure they are fine skimmers, I only know about what I purchased and I have had no regrets.

Folks can get rather passionate about that that they have laid out several hundred dollars for, ay? :wink:

HTH

Louey

 

[golfish]

It is an issue to me anyway, my skimmer doesnt need weekly maint (thank god!)

On the becket skimmers, when the waste collector fills up, it shuts down the skimmer...

One more reason I will stay away from a euroreef!

I guess its a matter of what we feel works best for are setups. For me its much easier to use the ER's then any of the other skimmers I have had. I can remove my skimmer pump in 5 seconds, the cup in 5 seconds. I had the skimmer out of the box and in the sump skimming in 10 minutes. It never needs adjusting. The only maint on these skimmers is cleaning the collection cup once a week. It takes just 2-3 minutes. Maybe you like the smell of skimmate, I know my wife doesn't. I cleaned my collection cups once a week regardless of the skimmer.

Sure, we have to clean the skimmer bodys and pumps just like any other skimmer, this is where the ER has another advantage over the other skimmers I have used. Its much easier to terr down then the others.


After considering all the pros and cons of all the skimmers the ER has worked out to be the best for me. I'm sure the Beckets heads are very good. I've even talked to Andy about building me a MR2.5 to try out and see which skimmer really IS the most effecient. Oh wait, we already know the ER is the more effecient, I mean which one is the best

 

[Anonymous]

golfish said:

Its much easier to terr down then the others.

So you have to tear it down once in a while, huh?

My Lifereef skimmer has been sitting in the sump since the day I got it, about 9-12 months (can't remember exactly). The only thing I have ever done is empty the cup, and occasionally adjust the gate valve for wetter or dryer foam.

Louey