Quote:
Originally Posted by asmodeus
Mike with this all being said, I know that you are going to choose the right pump. Because in the end its the pump that makes the skimmer.... And the other things assist like easier cleaning ability, quiet, LPH of air, compact. Maybe when thinking about the skimmer we also need a pump that is able to handle the different levels of water in different sumps. IE with the SWC skimmer the 160 Cone a amazing little skimmer it runs at 7 -11" and there really isnt any difference in settings which is really good IME /and IMO.
But what if Mike, we think about not only compact but Girth with the ATI bubble master 250 the body is 8 " or 10 " and the neck is made to a whooping 6 " for easy wipping and a more fat area neck. Like the H&S skimmer.
This is causing the pump not to push the water harder but allowing the contact time to be in the body longer for which what we want and allowing the nutrients to make its way up the neck naturally instead of forcing the bubbles up causing less effectiveenss skimate.
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I agree with this 100% I have the ATI 200 and the width of the head and short stocky design allow lots of flow through the skimmer while still allowing a great deal of water/air contact time. Very easy to clean, I can do the whole thing without touching the skimmer cup by sticking my faucet inside the neck and spinning.
Also brings the next issue, Pumps. The ATI uses the sicce 2500's, if the new sicce's have the same startup issues it would be very beneficial to spend a bit more on the better aquabee pump. I know in reefing "spend a little more for better" is common, but i'm a very cheap bastard who DIY's most stuff to save a penny, and I even agree it's better to spend the money on a better pump. My skimmer is now set to "lockout" after a power out, I don't even try to turn it on when everything comes back on. I only restart it manually because I know that it can not start by itself. It's beyond the "blow into the hose" not starting up, I have to take off the shroud and spin start it. It's been this way for a long time, very clean etc, the red devil pinwheel has made the startups go from 50/50 to imposssible, but made the skimmer far more effective.