HELP WITH THIS SKIMMING NONESENSE!

[PicassoTrigger]

Which is better cprbakpak2r or seaclone? I've done extensive research on both and even owned a seaclone at one time(think i still have it) but i switched over to the bakpak a few years ago because the clone wasnt doing its job. Now im begining to wonder about hte bakpak as i've tried every adjustment and I'm still getting water the consistancy of dishwater in my cup, not thick chunks of crap. Anyhow somebody today told me to use the seaclone instead uggg. Ideally i'd buy a berlin redsea , what is the best price online? Anyhow I"m confused about this skimming nonesense and despite reading many articles and talking to many many people I still find myself at odds with these crappyass skimmers. Btw its a 70gal tank*yes i know the bakpak is rated at 60g however i didnt not want to spend $500+(cdn) at the time and everything i read said the bakpak was a superior skimmer to the seaclone. HELP please, i am in dire need of advice


*3 fish (lion, picasso trigger, blue tang) and until this morning i had a niger trigger. He committed fishicide last night(jumped out the tank)...i feel insulted!

 

[MediaOne]

The Berlin would make those other skimmers look like they really are... CRAP. I would advise you to stick with the Bakpak until you can afford something better, however if you do a search online you will find modifications you can use on the SeaClone. Why not run both together?

As I'm sure you know, the major characteristics required of a good skimmer just aren't found in either the SeaClone or the Backpack. When purchasing a skimmer look for something with extremely small bubble size, long contact time, and a dense pack of bubbles in the reaction chamber. You should see a milk color when you look in the chamber, not a greyish color.

If money is an issue, I would advise you to try making one of Sandmans skimmers available in the DIY section of this bulletin board. Instead of an airpump, try a closed loop venturi on the skimmer similar in construction to the diagrams found in Reef Aquarium Vol 1, and other designs on the internet. The closed loop will pack the reaction chamber with very fine bubbles due to the way it sucks from the chamber and chops up the bubbles.

Goodluck!

Jeff O'Neill

 

[fishpoo]

my advise is don't over buy. The larger skimmer will be skimming nothing much of the time. total waste of energy. The CPR is a well made skimmer. A large skimmer on a small tank will impress in the beginning, pulling and making alot of foam, but in the long term it's pulling nothing most of the time.

[ April 14, 2002: Message edited by: fishpoo ]</p>

 

[IronChef]

Along the line of this skimmer mystery

Somebody gave me a Berlin Skimmer with a MAG 9.5 pump attachedt, as you speek about dwell time will this pump be too strong to provide enough skimm time or will the volume of water passed through make up for the short time in the chamber
this on a 72bf 70#lr
emperor angel
coral beauty
stripped goby
f.r. percula clown
flame goby
green mushrooms
hairy mushrooms
anenome

 

[HARRISON]

The CPR debate...This is new....NOT....

haha, I have a CPR on my 80 gallon tank. I do however back it up with a 30 gallon refugium. It does pull out a lot of gunk and I am pretty please with its performance. I think it is a little small for my system and didn't really change it just to see what would happen. I had been told in the beginning that if i skimmed out too much junk with a "monster" skimmer the caulurpa would have a hard time getting enough nutrients to grow. The clams also utilize alot of the excess nutrients. I think my tank has been clear but not really sure if this is the best way to go. I am sure if I had a bucket of extra money that I wasn't blowing on other stuff I would have replaced it, but for now it seems to be doing well.

I do agree with running both of the small skimmers if you feel you need to get more stuff out. Once you feel the water is clean you can drop back to one again, saving the energy costs.