Stuck in the middle - 50g tank, which Deltec skimmer?

[Rippin]

Well, I've had it set-up for a few days now and made a few modifications to hopefully improve operation and reduce the noise even further. Note: This unit is already quiet, but I am always looking for ways to reduce noise. The fan on my Coralife lighting unit is louder than the skimmer

The intake pipe was way too long, vertically. I wanted to bring the strainer closer to the surface. Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as it seemed. The rigid tube that connects to the PVC elbow bend is glued in, so that ruled out a simple shortening cut, and then slipping it back in to the elbow bend. Also the diameter of the tube and the size of the elbow is metric. I searched high and low trying to find a 20mm PVC connector sleeve or another elbow, but could not get one. It seems the imperial measurement PVC fittings are more common in Vancouver.
I eventually found a rigid, clear tube that was slightly larger than the provided tube and used that as a connector sleeve.
You can also see the amount of micro-bubbles this new unit is outputting in the picture.



As mentioned, the unit is pretty quiet, but you could still hear the hissing air valve. Because it is fairly high pitched, it could get annoying. Again, the OEM tubing is not a typical size and type that I could find at an aquarium store. The tubing reminded me of medical tubing, so off to the medical supply store to see if I could find a suitable match - and found something that would do quite nicely. I could not get it in the colour black, but the medium weight is (hopefully) good enough to prevent tubing pinching due to bends. These rubber tubings come in various wall thickness - thin, medium, thick, extra thick. If I went with the thicker walled tubing it might have been more difficult to stretch it over the air intake valve. I purchased about 4 feet of it and fed the tubing behind the aquarium and under the table.
The air hissing sound has been reduced considerably.



And finally here is a pic, just for reference, of the skimmer cup. Note: There is absolutely nothing in the tank right now except for the aragonite substrate.