Protein skimmer

[ryanrichter]

I need to upgrade my protein skimmer. Thinking about purchasing the berlin turbo. Does anyone have any comments on this skimmer?

[brewercm]

I've been using this skimmer for about 3 years and don't have any problems with it. I'm sure there are better skimmers out there but it appears to work fine. You just have to keep the air inlet in the pump cleaned out to keep it running good. The calcium will build up where the hose attaches at the pump but it's easy to clean out.

[witecap4u]

What are you running right now, and how big is your tank?

[ryanrichter]

Well hate to say Im running a seaclone on a 115g. Hey what can I say, got the seaclone free!!

[Medinafish]

I have been using an AquaC Remora Pro HOT on my 50g breeder for almost two years. Absolutely love it. I've heard good things about the other AquaC skimmers but can't speak for them.

[Sherri]

I have a AquaC Urchin Pro on my 100gal - very pleased with it for the last 1 1/2 yrs.

[TwoOceans]

have owned a few skimmers including a berlin classic (not turbo) have not heard allot better of the turbo model, IMO if you are going to spend a couple hundred put it towards a euroreef you cannot go wrong.

[dan]

i have a diy skimmer. counter current 4 1/2 feet tall, air driven. fixing to build me a 6 footer, 9'' chamber running 4 large wooden stones. NOW THATS A SKIMMER!!!!!!!

[Pr4mncplus]

I was told the Berlin Turbo PS was really difficult to tweak but I have no first hand experience. BTW, I too used the SeaClone (100) at first which actually worked just fine thankyouverymuch. I now use the more powerful EV120. I would highly recommend the AquaC's.

[Tim Marvin]

I use a a berlin turbo eductor on one of my tanks and it works great. Easy to use, easy to clean, and cranks out the crud. If you are looking for a $400 range skimmer, Matt may build a smaller version in that price range, but be warned, it will SKIM your tank. Very strong, very efficient skimmer! I have one that runs on a about a 400 gallon system with fish in it and I can cure hundreds of pounds of rock in there and the fish, cucumbers, and urchins don't even notice the rock in there. NOW THAT'S A SKIMMER! Matt's Monster...

[matt]

Thanks, Tim! I have to disagree with the aquaC recomendations; it's a little delicate because I don't want to sound like I'm pushing my skimmers on anyone. I had a EV120 on my 110, and I was pretty disappointed with it, in fact, that's part of the reason I decided to try my hand at making skimmers. Maybe the bigger aquaC skimmers work better.

Rather than try to push one brand of skimmer over another, I'd say that IMO the most important design considerations with skimmers are contact time (which is closely related to skimmer volume) and consistency of foam generation with changing organic loads in the water. Other than a huge airstone skimmer, I feel that the skimmers that best achieve these characteristics are large beckett skimmers driven by a high quality pressure rated pump. To me, aquaC skimmers are simply too small, with very little space in the tube for consistent, strong foam production with little turbulence, which tends to disrupt the foam stability. Also, the recommended pumps for aquaC (mag5 on the EV120) simply cannot maintain a steady stream of water speed through the injector as the load increases. What happens is, as the organics in the water increase, more foam is produced at the injector as air gets into the water. This is true with air injector, downdraft, and venturi skimmers. This causes more friction in the water path. Unless you have a strong enough pump to keep the water moving with this inceased friction, the foam "disappears" at exactly the time it's needed the most; when organic content in the water is at it's highest. Now, maybe the aquaC with a good pressure pump, like an iwaki, would work fine. I know my skimmer's performance improved drastically when I switched from a non-pressure pump (quiet one) to a pressure pump. (velocity T3) At some point I'll try an iwaki on it.

Within a week or so I'll have pictures of a new large dual beckett skimmer driven by an iwaki 70rlt. I'm pretty anxious to see how that one works.

[wkopplin]

Me too. ;)

[dan]

hmmmm! i'd like to see that matt!! the hummbe of skimmers. thats what you call it " THE HUMBE 2 "

[SuperXdude]

I am using a seaclone 100. Now that I have a sump, it works so much better, though I don't know why.

I do need to lower the height of the intake aperatus, but I don't know how.


SuperXdude

[Derek B]

Matt, any chance you can build me a hang on model for my 65?? Have you ever done that?

[matt]

Nope. My current feeling is that large skimmers driven by large pumps are the only way to go. It all about contact time and water speed through the air injector. This kind of rules out hang on skimmers. I'm sure there are hang on skimmers that work well for smaller systems. Maybe PM makes one. If you get the remora, which is what many people really like, definitely get the pro model with the mag pump.

Probably, if I were to try designing a hang on skimmer, it would use some sort of airstone, or something that would utilize an airpump. That way you could use a small pump to push water through it, and still get plenty of foam. First step in this design is to find an air diffuser that lasts more than a couple of weeks.

[DeletedAccount]

I ended up getting the Aqua C Remora Pro HOT with an upgrade to the MAG 7 pump and the extra large collection cup. I think this is a wonderful skimmer if you need to go with a hang-on. For one of my tanks I needed a hang on and I love this! Just 1 week and I am getting nice dark sludge in very large amounts! As Matt as stated, hang-on skimmers and in sump skimmers are in different leagues, but as far as hang-ons go, Remora Pro's are great!