thanks Tony I actually never really looked at what the attached pump does. I thought it was just drawing air. but your right it is recurc.

Andrewsk: the ATI is making being talked about a lot and is proving to be a great skimmer. I can't say anything + or - about it.


I did a lot of research on skimmers. My 370G tank is almost a year and 1/2 old and just now I'm retireing my OA beckett. (BTW It's still kick butt). My first love was the H&S recirculating skimmers. but found myself always finding comparisons of all skimmer against the BK. So why buy something that might compare well with a Bubble king when I can get a Bubble king. Plus BK is making great headway in north America. With a local wholesaler now distributing them (Proline), I believe support will become stronger in Canada

j

Finally got it all set up and then had to go to Toronto for the week so finally here are some pictures
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...0991Medium.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...0992Medium.jpg

http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...0993Medium.jpg

I cleaned the cup last night it is to take up to 4 weeks to break in but this is over night skim amount
http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g2...0994Medium.jpg

what was your last skimmer jason. it was an H&S wasnt it? how is the noise of the BK to your last one. looks slick buddy. good job

Looks good, where, how do you control the foam height? i dont see a gate valve.

The ATI pushes way more water through the body than is optimal when compared with the BK's. They still skim circles around comparitively priced skimmers though.

I never did get the H&S. I've been using a OA becket up to this point.

Joe
Just below the white 't' there is a union. This can be loosened and the riser tube lifted higher. this control the water level.
I was away this week and it's the break in period so I left it low so my wife wouldn't have to deal with it

J

I played with the ATI a bit in a LFS and there really isn't any thing to compare. The ATI (Great Skimmer) but the acrylic is very thin and the quality is no where near the BK.
I have heard great things about the ATI but have also heard that water hight in the sump is a huge factor and many people have had performance issues because of this.

J

Are you pulling water UP from the sump to get into the skimmer? Will the skimmer drain into the sump when the power is off? It looks to me like the pump wouldn't self prime in that position.

I must be missing something...

That is the recurc pump there is a feed pump in the sump

J

Err ... hmmm, actually now I see what he's saying too. If the power is off, won't the water drain out the skimmer via the feed pump line? Or is there some kind of check valve or is there an "up and down" part to the piping on the inside of the skimmer such that the water won't drain to the sump?

Jason - where did you manage to find metric PVC to extend the drain line. I looked all over the place to try and find some but was never successful.

Yes the water will drain out of the feed line.
the supply pump is in the sump and is an Eheim Universal 1260. So when I power off the unit the Eheim starts first and when the RD is primed i turn on that pump.

J

Ruth I found the plumbing HERE

Jason nice looking beast...are they built to go in sump:question:

Ya BK have a full line of internal and external skimmers

J

I suppose that just means that the dragon will run dry for a few moments when power comes back on after a power failure. Within a few moments, the eheim would be pushing water into that pump so it wouldn't damage itself.