blackwater
Active Member
what type of skimmer do u like most? which is more reliable?
cone or needle wheel skimmer?
- Thread starter blackwater
- Start date
blackwater
Active Member
sorry my knowledge of skimmer's is very little. i thought they were either cone or needle wheel. they can be both?
I thought that might be the case 
Cone refers to the shape of the skimmer body. Needle wheel is 1 method of injecting air into the skimmer to create the bubbles. Basically a skimmer is a tube, with water flowing through it and air bubbles injected into the water. Proteins are atracted to the air, and form more tension on the bubbles, as the bubbles get more and more firm they form a foam which rises and eventually the foam spills over the top into the collection cup. The cone design is supposed to help the foam rise. The needle whel is a spinning device in the pump, air is sucked into the flow and the needles chop up the air into fine bubbles. The finer the bubbles the more surface area.
Early skimmers flowed water through them and used an airstone for the bubbles, it took awhile to build up some foam.
Cone refers to the shape of the skimmer body. Needle wheel is 1 method of injecting air into the skimmer to create the bubbles. Basically a skimmer is a tube, with water flowing through it and air bubbles injected into the water. Proteins are atracted to the air, and form more tension on the bubbles, as the bubbles get more and more firm they form a foam which rises and eventually the foam spills over the top into the collection cup. The cone design is supposed to help the foam rise. The needle whel is a spinning device in the pump, air is sucked into the flow and the needles chop up the air into fine bubbles. The finer the bubbles the more surface area.
Early skimmers flowed water through them and used an airstone for the bubbles, it took awhile to build up some foam.
skimmers use air, broken into as small of bubbles as possible to remove proteing, the foam forced over the top of either a tube or cone shaped body, into a collection cup is the purpose. The air is injected in multiple ways. Pin/needle wheel pumps both water and air into the reaction chamber. Another popular type uses Spray Injection. High preasure water is Sprayed into the reaction chamber, taking air bubbles with it. Think of a Hose spraying into a soapy water bucket. Some will swear by needle wheel, some by Spray Injection. Truth is, they both work. THe method of air injection is not nearly as critical as the Brand of the skimmer. This isnt the area to go cheap. A high quality skimmer will be very useful and work well...a cheap skimmer will do little, and give you headaches. Popular Brands are
Aqua C
Reef Octopus
Bubble Magus
Bubble King
and other.
Stick with one of those brands, and you wont get taken. And remember. The manafactured recommended tank sized, if possible, go 1.5-2x the volume of your tank. if ya have a 65g, get a skimmer than can handle 120.
Aqua C
Reef Octopus
Bubble Magus
Bubble King
and other.
Stick with one of those brands, and you wont get taken. And remember. The manafactured recommended tank sized, if possible, go 1.5-2x the volume of your tank. if ya have a 65g, get a skimmer than can handle 120.
blackwater
Active Member
Oh now i get it...lol. I was thinking reef octapus @ 2 or more x the rating. Want one that csn be used again on a larger tank if i upgrade...again.
.....wet floors make me angry
.....wet floors make me angry
It would depend on what you upgrade to. If you have a 65, you could go for a skimmer rated to 200 gal and then you'd be fine if you went to a 100 gal tank, or so.
If you go to a 250 gal tank I think any skimmer that would do that job would be way to big for your 65.
If you go to a 250 gal tank I think any skimmer that would do that job would be way to big for your 65.
I have an AquaC and Reef Octopus. I'd recommend either one to anyone who asks. Not to say that Bubble King or Bubble Magus arent good too, But those 2 i have experience with. You wont be sorry if you get a Reef Octopus. Just whatever you do, avoid like the plague Knock-offs and Ebay Junk. Bulkreefsupply.com or Marinedepot.com carry good selections, but more importantly, they have Reviews of each. You will be hard pressed to find a bad review of Reef Octopus or AquaC Skimmers, thats why i got them. Ive been happy with both. Reef octopus uses needle wheel, and AquaC uses Spray Injection. Both work well for me.
Willie McDaries
Well-Known Member
it would be too big but it will only remove what it can remove,then it will just stop foaming until it has more to remove,though not practical for a 65g,if you plan a large upgrade soon,it could be a better investment to go extremely oversized...some extremely oversized skimmer can be tuned down,an undersized skimmer can't be tuned up,but that's just my opinion.....
I think my skimmer is rated for anywhere between 250g to like 1200g tanks,big swing there but it just depends on the flow through it,for a smaller tank,I would use a smaller feed pump and vise versa,but it is a recirculating skimmer..the single pump skimmers may work differently,I've only ever used recirculating skimmers