Skimmer Thread
- Thread starter jackson6745
- Start date
- Location
- Washington Heights, NY
Like Pierce, Im interested in seeing Russ's new skimmer when he get its. I've only seen really large bermuda's but they seem like they kinda got an aquac thing going on.alrha said:
The beckett head is a specific (different) type of a venturi, it has 4 holes and a specific design, needs to be placed in an enclosed chamber, and both draws air in and fractions it (creates bubbles). Becketts also are usually placed high above the mixing chamber adding to the head pressure required to operate them. But a venturi can just have one hole going directly into it to draw air (like the deltecs, euroreefs).
AquaC's, which also use a separate pump, has a chamber thing going on where the water is injected thru one port and air thru another. Attached to the air inlet is a spary injector that creates bubbles. So while it needs pressure, it doesn't need as much as a beckett. I think the bermudas are kinda similar (not exactly) but I haven't seen them yet.
Last edited:
- Location
- NY
cali_reef said:
^^^^^^ That's what I was referring to.
It can be confusing. Thanks for the clarification.
Albert, we're just finalizing the order as we speak. If you're not in a rush (do your research) and can wait till ours comes in, then you can see one operating first hand. The first one we get will be going on our fish system at Jim's. The next one will go on the system at my place.
I'll keep you updated.
Russ
26 pages, and just now we start to actually discuss skimmer types :lol:
ok, some things i want to clear up / understand better include:
1) Recirculation / Low-Flow / etc - these both are with the intention of allowing the water to remain in the skimmer longer and be cleaned better before exiting? why is that any better than introducing new (dirtier) water to the skimmer to be cleaned? It seems like we are spending more time to get say another 10 parts of organics out of the already skimmed water rather than introducing fresh water into the skimmer loaded with organics that can remove say 50 parts of organic (i realize this is not a scientific term, just meant to give an idea). And in reality, the entire sump, or entire system is recirculating anyway. so why would it be different if 2xtank volume goes through it in an hour or if 10x goes through in an hour, in essence each gallon of water will still have spend the same amount of time in the skimmer at the end of an hour, only it got cleaned of organics 10 times rather than twice.
2) beckett - these require high pressure pumps, is it because the chamber is more pressurized (restricted drain) and a non-pressure pump would not be able to keep up with the required gph?
3) needlewheel - can a needlewheel pump be used on a skimmer that already has a venturi? and would it add efficiency to the skimmer? (for ex, the bermuda pump requires only a regular pump, would a nw pump overdrive it? or just mess it up?)
ok, some things i want to clear up / understand better include:
1) Recirculation / Low-Flow / etc - these both are with the intention of allowing the water to remain in the skimmer longer and be cleaned better before exiting? why is that any better than introducing new (dirtier) water to the skimmer to be cleaned? It seems like we are spending more time to get say another 10 parts of organics out of the already skimmed water rather than introducing fresh water into the skimmer loaded with organics that can remove say 50 parts of organic (i realize this is not a scientific term, just meant to give an idea). And in reality, the entire sump, or entire system is recirculating anyway. so why would it be different if 2xtank volume goes through it in an hour or if 10x goes through in an hour, in essence each gallon of water will still have spend the same amount of time in the skimmer at the end of an hour, only it got cleaned of organics 10 times rather than twice.
2) beckett - these require high pressure pumps, is it because the chamber is more pressurized (restricted drain) and a non-pressure pump would not be able to keep up with the required gph?
3) needlewheel - can a needlewheel pump be used on a skimmer that already has a venturi? and would it add efficiency to the skimmer? (for ex, the bermuda pump requires only a regular pump, would a nw pump overdrive it? or just mess it up?)
old school venturi sure draws air through water pressure at high velocity. This form of method i think draws to many big bubbles which mean a lost of surface area.
ETSS and Aqua C uses downdraft and spray injection which allows bubbles to be form bombarding the surface of a water column.
Bubbleking, deltec, H&S, DAS etc.... uses a venturi but unlike the classic venturi mentioned above, this venturi is utilize air intake with compensation of water. The pump sucks in the same amount of water but instead this venturi restricts the water intake and allows to venturi to compensate air for the lost of water. This air is chopped up with a needle wheel which form tiny bubbles unlike a mazzi venturi.
Becketts are modified venturis that utilizes water pressure like the classic venturi(mazzi) but it has air intakes from all the way around. This allows fine air with the need of great pressure.
ETSS and Aqua C uses downdraft and spray injection which allows bubbles to be form bombarding the surface of a water column.
Bubbleking, deltec, H&S, DAS etc.... uses a venturi but unlike the classic venturi mentioned above, this venturi is utilize air intake with compensation of water. The pump sucks in the same amount of water but instead this venturi restricts the water intake and allows to venturi to compensate air for the lost of water. This air is chopped up with a needle wheel which form tiny bubbles unlike a mazzi venturi.
Becketts are modified venturis that utilizes water pressure like the classic venturi(mazzi) but it has air intakes from all the way around. This allows fine air with the need of great pressure.
twinreef said:
That is the reason I did it too:lol2:
I sold the Barr and have my Bk skimming the FOWLR with about 350 gallons of water and the 150gallon reef tank is awaiting a H&S needle wheel skimmer. My third tank (approx 140 gallon but yet to be set up) will be reef and skim by a Deltec AP701.
Having the FOWLR connected to my reef was a bad idea, I can't get the NO3 to below 50ppm, even with weekly 35-70 gallon water changes. The Barr with the sequence 6000 were too big for just one of my tanks, it sucks too much power. I do miss the skimming power it provided
.twinreef said:
Do I think the BK is worth the money? well, I don't think any of the imported skimmers are worth the big $$$ but we are limited in possibilities. It makes it a little better if you can get one with some discount or a used one like I did.
The DAS is a copy of the deltec but with cheaper material(not like the plastic on Deltec is expensive enough to justify the cost to begin with) and really crappy craftsmanship. I think I like the deltec stuff better but the price is just too high, that is why I am thinking of getting a H&S next.
Last edited:
- Location
- Washington Heights, NY
Twinreef,
What pump are you running? I have a sk5220 and when my hammerhead is only going thru the skimmer its using 248W.
What pump are you running? I have a sk5220 and when my hammerhead is only going thru the skimmer its using 248W.
I stumbled onto this link in RC yesterday. I'm in the market for a new skimmer and the Barr skimmers have caught my attention. It's for a 250+ gal system I'm in the process of setting up. There will be an upgrade in system volume some years down the road so I am oversizing things a bit.
What are thoughts on the SK1620? (haven't had a chance to read the whole thread. I'm on pg 29 )
Also, cost to run is important. My wife is on my a$$ about elec bill. Is there a comparative recirc skimmer in both cost and performance?? If I understand correctly, recirc's are cheaper to run right? Or am I incorrect about that? Thanks guys.
-Scott
What are thoughts on the SK1620? (haven't had a chance to read the whole thread. I'm on pg 29
)Also, cost to run is important. My wife is on my a$$ about elec bill. Is there a comparative recirc skimmer in both cost and performance?? If I understand correctly, recirc's are cheaper to run right? Or am I incorrect about that? Thanks guys.
-Scott
Last edited:
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
- Location
- NY
SlamaJama said:
BK skimmer = $2500
skimmate = $2500 (cost of skimmer :duh: )
Red Dragon pump = $700
ghetto sump = priceless
:hug:
swimmer
Last edited:
- Location
- Brooklyn, NY
with alittle price tag switching..i got the sump for $4.99
Sponsor Reefs
We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.
Click here to sponsor $10:
