Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board  

Go Back   Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board > General > Product Review and Equipment Forum > Filtration and Skimmer Specific

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 10-28-2009, 09:11 PM
fdiddy fdiddy is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 120
fdiddy is on a distinguished road
Default My Skimmer

So, recently I've been having an issue with my skimmer. It was putting a large amount of stray voltage into my tank (Enough to shock me when I put my hands in the water).

... this got me thinking with a new pump purchase. The pump that was on my Euro Reef RS180 was a GenX GX4100 - so aptly named because it does 4100 litres/hour. The bubble king 180 uses a pump that is rated at 3000 Litres/hour (if my research was correct - please correct me if I'm wrong). Why does my skimmer need to be running 4100 l/h on my 180g (total water volume) system?
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 10-28-2009, 09:21 PM
albert_dao albert_dao is offline
Good Guy Albert
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Richmond
Posts: 3,035
albert_dao will become famous soon enough
Send a message via MSN to albert_dao
Default

RS180 pump specs:

# Power Consumption W/Air: 45w
# Air Intake: 900-960 lph
# Water Flow Through: 400 gph

BK Mini 180 specs:

# Power Consumption W/Air: 28w
# Air Intake: 1200 lph
# Water Flow Through: 525 gph

Whether or not you need that level of performance is based upon the actual demands of your tank's bioload. If your skimmer is filling up everyday and you're still having issues controlling the nutrient levels, a better skimmer is in order.
__________________
This and that.

Last edited by albert_dao; 10-28-2009 at 09:24 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 10-28-2009, 10:25 PM
fdiddy fdiddy is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 120
fdiddy is on a distinguished road
Default

Thanks for the info! Glad to see I was just wrong on my specs :P At any rate, does anyone have one of these and can share some mods that might help it perform better (other than just a new pump)?
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 10-28-2009, 11:04 PM
untamed's Avatar
untamed untamed is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Coquitlam
Posts: 2,248
untamed is on a distinguished road
Default

Keep in mind that the skimmer body itself isn't getting any larger. If you put the larger volume pump on it, you will be pushing more water through the skimmer...faster. I don't know what the perfect amount is, but I'm pretty sure there is a flow rate that is simply too much.

At that point, water/air would just be blasting through the skimmer with no time to interract with the air.
__________________
400 gal reef. Established April, 2007. 3 Sequence Dart, RM12-4 skimmer, 2 x OM4Ways, Yellow Tang, Maroon Clown (pair), Blonde Naso Tang, Vlamingi Tang, Foxface Rabbit, Unicorn Tang, 2 Pakistani Butterflies and a few coral gobies

My Tank: http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=28436
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 10-28-2009, 11:17 PM
albert_dao albert_dao is offline
Good Guy Albert
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Richmond
Posts: 3,035
albert_dao will become famous soon enough
Send a message via MSN to albert_dao
Default

BK skimmers have bubble plates allowing them to put more air and water through the body than an equivalent Euroreef/ASM. This is true of all skimmers with bubble plates and reaches its height of potential with the Supermarin dual cone body which blasts INSANE amounts of air into a comparatively small body (2000lph/4000lph, 22" tall 10" dia body...)

Finally, I'd wager that contact time is less relevant than reduced turbulence, y'know, the whole quantity vs. quality arguement . Bit I digress, mainstream skimmers have undergone enough testing that I doubt one would have to worry about any particular unit getting too much water/air through the body.
__________________
This and that.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 10-29-2009, 05:17 AM
fdiddy fdiddy is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 120
fdiddy is on a distinguished road
Default

That's kind of the issue i was having with the skimmer before. I felt there was WAY too much turbulence in the skimmer. When I go to Bayside and see his BK in action (I know.. .way better quality skimmer), their turbulence is almost nothing compared to mine... and his pump is pushing more water through? Maybe I'll look into modding a bubble plate in.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 10-29-2009, 07:08 AM
albert_dao albert_dao is offline
Good Guy Albert
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Richmond
Posts: 3,035
albert_dao will become famous soon enough
Send a message via MSN to albert_dao
Default

Colby has which model of BK?
__________________
This and that.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 10-29-2009, 08:30 PM
fdiddy fdiddy is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 120
fdiddy is on a distinguished road
Default

Can't say I've ever looked. It's on a 230g display tank with what i figure to be a 90gish sump.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 10-29-2009, 08:59 PM
albert_dao albert_dao is offline
Good Guy Albert
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Richmond
Posts: 3,035
albert_dao will become famous soon enough
Send a message via MSN to albert_dao
Default

Oh! You could try a meshmod to the impeller. Just be prepared to manually start the skimmer should you have to turn it off.
__________________
This and that.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 10-30-2009, 05:44 PM
fdiddy fdiddy is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Saskatoon
Posts: 120
fdiddy is on a distinguished road
Default

Sounds like fun. I didn't really want to add another pump (for recirc mod), but this looks interesting. I understand why it's more effective than the needlewheel, i don't really know if i want to start messing with the impeller just yet. If anyone has a link to a bubble plate being added to this thing, please let me know.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 10:23 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.