My new skimmer

[Tim Marvin]

Look what Pete did. It was running for 2 days before producing skim.

[don-n-sa]

Looks great...how tall is it? What pump are you using for it?

[alexwolf]

very cool, love the base flange!

[::pete::]

Wow ... its looking good!!! Keep me posted.

[matt]

Great job, Pete!!!!

[::pete::]

Thanks Matt!!

Josh .., no problem here!! What avatars? :D

[don-n-sa]

Hey Pete and Alex, where's yall's "Off the Reef" avatars go?




They went back on the reef. :D

[Tim Marvin]

This baby is about 4 feet tall, and I am useing the back end of my Dart sequence pump. The dart runs two SQWDS and the skimmer with no problems.

[NaCl_H2O]

Very nice! Looks like it s designed for easy maintenance too!

Great work Pete! So, how much does one like that go for?

[Polkster13]

I'm jealous. Pete is finishing mine up and says he will have it to me at the meeting this Sunday. Then I just have to hook that bad boy up.


Joshua, I hope you are kidding about the Dart as I have one on order as well. It will be here this week!

[NaCl_H2O]

Hey Pete and Alex, where's yall's "Off the Reef" avatars go?

This should be Pete's new Avatar ... "Pistol Pete" that is :D

All in favor say "Aye"

[Gator]

aye

[don-n-sa]

Joshua, I hope you are kidding about the Dart as I have one on order as well. It will be here this week!

No, Josh is not kidding. The Dart excellent return pump because it is a circulation rated pump...skimmers should have a pressure rated pump. The fact that the Dart is running Tim's skimmer and closed loop is just a testament of how good sequence pumps are.

[::pete::]

A pressure rated pump is not needed as you can see. It not a different design it just kept simpl. Y'all cant beleive everything you read.


I'm jealous. Pete is finishing mine up and says he will have it to me at the meeting this Sunday. Then I just have to hook that bad boy up.
Polkster your is finished and looking great!!!! but taller! :D

[::pete::]

Correct me if Im wrong, but the pump is feed buy the water its given as well as the current so it too can fluctuate as well as with many other variables.

[NaCl_H2O]

An observation, with no factual info (aka - Typical MAAST post):

My skimmer is a recirculation type skimmer, so I am not using a pressure pump, and flow rate throught he pump is rather slow (~1000GPH)compared to beckets. When I first hooked it up, upon startup I would get a great deal of variation of water level for 10-20 minutes, then it would settle down.

My theory was it was caused by air trapped in the return plumbing and it was actally the flow "Out" of the skimmer that caused the fluctuation. I added an air vent (dorso style) to the return plumbing and the fluctuations stopped, never to be seen again!

[Henry]

great job Pete, the base flange looks great

[Polkster13]

Looking forward to picking it up on Sunday.

[matt]

Josh's explanation on pressure pump advantages with big beckett skimmers is exactly correct; I know this one from experience. This does not mean that high volume non-pressure pumps can;t run big skimmers, and since I have no experience with sequence pumps, I can't comment on how they would run a skimmer in comparison to a big iwaki, for example. I have an idea, though....

Pete, how did you seal the flange/top of box joint? Gasket or o-ring? If o-ring, did you machne a groove in the top of the box? And, did you need to thread the top of the box to accept nylon thumbscrews?

[don-n-sa]

Josh's explanation on pressure pump advantages with big beckett skimmers is exactly correct; I know this one from experience.

I was waiting for you to chime in on this...thanks Matt

[::pete::]

Josh's explanation on pressure pump advantages with big beckett skimmers is exactly correct; I know this one from experience. This does not mean that high volume non-pressure pumps can;t run big skimmers, and since I have no experience with sequence pumps, I can't comment on how they would run a skimmer in comparison to a big iwaki, for example. I have an idea, though....

Pete, how did you seal the flange/top of box joint? Gasket or o-ring? If o-ring, did you machne a groove in the top of the box? And, did you need to thread the top of the box to accept nylon thumbscrews?

Theres more than one way to skin a cat ;)

The flange was a last minute deal and it uses an o-ring and the box is tapped.

[don-n-sa]

Theres more than one way to skin a cat ;)

Really? I have always heard this but I really can only think of one...hmm :wacko

[NaCl_H2O]

Theres more than one way to skin a cat ;)

Really? I have always heard this but I really can only think of one...hmm :wacko

Besides, a cat in your skimmer really messes up the reaction chamber ;)

[don-n-sa]

Besides, a cat in your skimmer really messes up the reaction chamber ;)

Ouch! Thats worse then cat juggling...inside joke...can anyone guess? :blink

[Tim Marvin]

All I can say is the dart runs two SQWDS and the skimmer. Most of the water is going through the skimmer and it makes a super fine bubble. The skimmer sits at the same level as the pump and appears to be working well. Pressure pumps use a lot of energy to run, unlike this dart. So I guess it comes down to do you want a nice reef and spend tons of money on electricity or do you want a nice reef that runs efficiently? I am running 4 halides, 8 t-5's, a couple PC's fans, pumps on the pond, and various other fish related equipment. My electric runs a little over $100 per month. Last year running inefficient pressure pumps, various circulation pumps and mogul halides I ran $500 per month....My tanks look as good today as they did last year but they have more flow, and better light.

[::pete::]

Efficient and a nice tank .... I guess thats oneway!!

As always a nice tank for sure!

[don-n-sa]

I guess thats oneway!!


I know there is more than one way to skim a tank...I really meant "to skin a cat"

is there really more than one way?

[don-n-sa]

Yes Tim please do...that is one of the main reasons that I have kept away from Halides.

[brewercm]

Very interesting.
Now I'm thinking I can use my Dart to run my skimmer , 2 lines to my 3/4 inch sea swirls, and a 4th line into the tank for flow control. Of course all of these would be on valves to fine tune performance of each.

On the halides where was the savings, was it from changing from magnetic to electronice ballasts?

[garagebrian]

I'm interested in the savings as well. Running 4 halides and 8 T-5s is just over $100? What watt halides and type of ballast?

Completely unrelated, Gator, how did you get my freshman highschool picture for your avatar?

B.

[matt]

The flange was a last minute deal and it uses an o-ring and the box is tapped.

Tapping the box is the main thing that kept me from trying this sort of arrangement. I'm not a big fan of tapping acrylic in pressure situations. That joint between the tube and the box is the "money" joint on any skimmer; most visible and most subject to pressure. Until i started using spartech, I would occasionally have to run the box top though a surface sander (courtesy of my guitar builder friend) to get it really flat for matching up with the tube end. Attching the two mechanically solves that problem, and makes it eaier to access the interior of the box if necessary. As far as the o-ring, did you machine a groove in the box? If so, I'm curious if you used a plunge router, or did as I did on the lid flanges, which is to just lower the work carefully over a bullnose bit and spin away....I found that the big gaskets were better at holding a pressure seal, but if you can get a "perfect" o-ring groove, my hat's off to you.

Maybe someday I'll have a chance to this nice skimmer in action!

[::pete::]

Matt
PM sent bud :)

[Tim Marvin]

I am now running all electronic ballast. 250w DE Halides run 9 hours, T-5's 11 hours. Swithed to Tunze streams 24watts for internal circulation and the Sequence Dart to return. My monthly electric total runs right around $200 so I attribute $100 to the fish tanks alone. I have a couple pumps on the ponds and kids that leave everything on. before I started converting everything to power saving equipment I ran $500-$600 per month in the warmer months, and $400-$500 when the AC was not on.very much. Oh, I also got rid of the chiller and use fans to cool now.

[Tim Marvin]

I have one 400w DE 20K on the frag tank that has been running a few weeks now, so I'll update when I get next months electric bill.