Yet another skimmer question....

[Dtilton]

I've been looking at protein skimmers for my 58 gal RR FOWLR tank that I've bought and am getting ready to set up with a 30 sump. Read tons and tons of info on here and on RC and I can't seem to figure this out. I like the Aqua C skimmers because of the external tank you can buy to hold the muck. That way once a week-or longer-emptying could be in my future! But I've read mixed reviews for the EV-120. Then I looked at the EuroReefs and they seem comparable, but I can't tell if they have an external muck tank. I guess if I can't find one, then they don't. If I were to get a EuroReef, sized correctly for my tank, with FOWLR and medium bio load with the 30 gal sump about half full, how often would I be emptying the muck cup? This is a huge deciding factor for me because my wife will help while I'm away traveling, but she won't empty the cup, so I need one that will hold a week's supply. She'll test and monitor and feed and everything else, but won't touch the muck.... Thanks!! -Dan

 

[jovreef]

Well if your major decision lies on how often the cup will have to be changed then just drill a hole at the bottom of the cup & add a drain tube, it will drain into a larger container and wah la no problems

thats a VERY simple DIY project, even I can do this one with no problems.

 

[RichConley]

Well if your major decision lies on how often the cup will have to be changed then just drill a hole at the bottom of the cup & add a drain tube, it will drain into a larger container and wah la no problems

thats a VERY simple DIY project, even I can do this one with no problems.

I agree, dont let a drain decide a skimmer for you. I personally like having to clean the cup on mine. When I had a skimmer with a drain, I rarely cleaned the skimmer, and it didnt perform nearly as well because of it.


Are you talking about the Remoras? I'd stay away. Use too much power, and arent that great skimmers. the ER, or an ASM are much better buys. As to the other AquaC skimmers, I have no experience.

 

[JayG]

That way once a week-or longer-emptying could be in my future!

There is more to cleaning a skimmer than just emptying the cup. The more gunk that builds up on the neck of the skimmer the less performance you will get.

Not having a drain can actually be a good thing because it gets you into a better habit of cleaning the skimmer regularly.

Every 2 days I remove the cup from my skimmer and totally clean it.

 

[heavydc2]

I have a cs5 Euroreef on my 58 and I have not had any issues on mine. I agree about not having the external cup for the sole purpose of keeping the neck clean. If the neck is clean the skimmer will work better.

 

[merk1_99]

Skip the remora and spend the few extra dollars and buy a multi turbo floater....blows remora out of the water....for a few extra dollars...

 

[Dtilton]

Thanks for all the responses. The bigger collection cup is not a substitute for good husbandry and I don't intend it to be. I was just looking for a way to make it easier for someone else to tend to it while I'm away. Thanks again! -Dan

 

[JohnK]

I have a euroreef and a aquac collection chamber (on a PM skimmer). I would say removing and cleaning the skimmer cup on the ER is no more trouble than removing and emptying the seperate skimmate container. On the ER you just unscrew a lg unuion fitting, dump and wipe clean. On the aquac you have to deal with a very annoying top flange that is a pain to open and close, then you still have to truck it to the toilet and dump it just like the ER. IMO go ER (Or CRA store brand, same style of design but cheaper)

 

[delta]

The problem with the EV120 is it takes 5" to produce good skimmate with the EV 120 you have just that so it can be finicky, but it is a good skimmer. The Euroreef, ASM & CRA skimmers are good skimmers as well and are easy enough to retrofit with a drain to run off excess skimmate.
But if you haven't owned an air driven skimmer I would get the
Euroreef (needlewheel) type skimmer it will be easier for you to tune.

 

[Britrover]

The EV 120 is a great skimmer but it is finicky for certain.....I have owned EV and just sold my Euroreef. I would highly recommend the Euroreef.....it is very simple to operate....many members also have ASM which is a cheaper version of the ER.

This Deltec also would also work for you - http://www.deltecusa.us/proteinskimmers/mc500.php

I've never used them but they are suppose to be pretty good

 

[dave601m]

hey dan,

another problem with the drain fitting which i didn't even think of until some
people on here mentioned it is if the bucket you drain into isn't in the sump, and the skimmer goes crazy for some reason and overflows, it can pump out all the water in the sump and burn out both the skimmer and return pump.

if you do use a remote collection, make sure it is either sealed and unvented so when it fills it backs up to the skimmer causing the overflow to be contained to the sump, or make sure it is actually located in the sump so if it overflows it just dumps back into the sump. i would say this is especially important if you're gone for a week at a time.

 

[delta]

hey dan,

another problem with the drain fitting which i didn't even think of until some
people on here mentioned it is if the bucket you drain into isn't in the sump, and the skimmer goes crazy for some reason and overflows, it can pump out all the water in the sump and burn out both the skimmer and return pump.

if you do use a remote collection, make sure it is either sealed and unvented so when it fills it backs up to the skimmer causing the overflow to be contained to the sump, or make sure it is actually located in the sump so if it overflows it just dumps back into the sump. i would say this is especially important if you're gone for a week at a time.

Actually you need your collection resevoir to be vented with a float valve to shut off air flow to stop the skimmer for overflowing, otherwise it will kill the skimmer ability to produce any skimmate.

 

[dave601m]

Greg, my original idea before i found a small bucket that fit into my sump was to use a milk jug or similar, and drill a hole in the top and silicone the hose inside this hole.

this way when it was connected, it would hold a tiny bit of pressure. then if the skimmer goes nuts, it would fill the jug, back up in the tube, then fill the regular collection cup. from here, it would just overflow out the top of the collection cup instead of the top of the milk jug as if there was no hose at all. it wouldn't stop skimmate production, but the skimmate would instead be dumping back into the sump and stopping the pump from burning out.

under normal conditions, the tube going to the jug would be empty enough to both be a vent and a drain venting back into the collection cup and out the top of the cup.

this way it saved me from needing a float valve cause i'm a cheapo

 

[JohnK]

Not sure if I'm overlapping with others replies, but, regarding overflowing;

with the aquac or PM style collection chambers they use a simple float valve (ping pong ball in the appropriate pvc fitting) that shuts off the air flow when the collection chamber is full. This effectively shuts down the skimmer.

with ER, CRA and other similar skimmers, when the collection cup fills up, the foam rises into a full cup, then ends up condensing and running back into the skimmer body, also effectively shutting down the skimmer but in a totally different fashion. The only risk is with a remote collection chamber with no means of shutting down the skimmer. That said, I've had my aquaC collection chamber leak because the top flange does not seal %100 and sometimes the ping pong ball gets fouled and does not seal as it should. The PM design wouldn't do this unless you didn't tighten the screws and didn't let the ping pong ball get dirty, but then again thats about 8 screws you have to deal with on each cleaning.

Also, you can attach a remote collection chamber to a ER or similar skimmer but the tops usually don't seal so if the collection chamber fills up the air input won't be shut off. then again on ER type skimmers that would usually just result in skimmate overflowing back into the sump, bad but not catrostrophic (skimmate returning to the system water vs. overflowing onto the floor and running the sump dry).

 

[Dtilton]

All great info! Thanks! Still researching and kind of set on the ER skimmer now- just looks easy and even though more expensive, less trouble. Now to talk to the wife about how much Tek T5 lights are gonna cost! Wish me luck!