Seaclone skimmer problem

[narny]

Hi,

I've purchased a hangon seaclone external skimmer.

All is fine and it's broken in nicely. However where the water returns down the chute into the tank, i'm getting mass bubbles everywhere as it hits the water. Normally i would'nt mind a few bubbles but its seriously hindering my viewing pleasure... Any info on how others get round this???

My tank is a Juwel Rio 180, so there's a couple of inches of drop before the water reaches the tank.

Cheers,

Ade

 

[Fatal Morgana]

slow down the waterfall with filter sock, baffle, acrylic "slide," etc., or a container of somesort.

Is it 180 liter tank? You may want to look into comments about seaclone before invest too much time on it.

 

[Anonymous]

Much better reply than the one I had in mind, which goes something like this..
"I have a problem with my SeaClone skimmer.."
"A SeaClone? That is the problem!" :lol:


:| Well.. hey.

 

[Anonymous]

Ditto SM's comment(s)..

(And I'm even using one still after 3 years - though really only for circulation/aeration on a 10g..)

 

[narny]

Well thanks for that sort of advice, i fixed it !!!

Seems the higher to surface level you fix the pump, the slower the water fountain, and the less bubbles. Got it spot on now.

As far as the seaclone jibes go.. I'm very happy with mine, it pulls out loads of crap from the water, i empty it twice daily, each time taking out about 2cm of crap from the bottom of the cup. It's producing loads of small bubbles and appears fine. The alternative was a prizm aka noise machine. I'll keep the peace and quiet thanks.

Seriously, people who spend their life bashing seaclone should litterally stop being so sad. If a product works, then what's the problem??

It's not like it's a 100 gallon tank or anything.

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry Ade, but from a fellow owners perspective, the thing really doesn't work.. - At least, not to a reasonable degree in the majority of cases.

Mine certainly doesn't perform. - Not even on the (US) 10g I'm now using it on. - Yeah, it pulls a little bit of stuff out, but nowhere near what an effective skimmer would.

Have you used any other skimmer and compared their performance? - I switched from a Seaclone 150 to a Euroreef ES5-2 (the smallest they make) on a 30g and the difference was like night and day.

Also... - My apologies, your original post wasn't descriptive enough for me to give me an idea of what the problem was and I merely assumed it actually was more of a break-in issue. (Although you mentioned that it was broken in, this is the new reefkeepers forum and seaclones are usually purchased by new reefers.) - I just figured it would eventually reach an actual break-in and stop bubbling then.

Performance is all relative though... - Some folks go totally skimmerless, so who knows.. - It may just work out fine for you but a good many people starting out have been burned by it so it would be good to be prepared for reactions like this.

Glad you're back in shape..

Norm

 

[Anonymous]

I think narny qualified his/her statement very well, allowing that fantastic caveat, "if". As GD has pointed out, that little caveat is far more often the case rather than the exception.
Don't mean to bash, I have nothing to gain from it.
No worries, yeah?

 

[narny]

Fair enough... Narny is a he btw lol

I've gone from an internal air driven skimmer (pardon my noobness) to the seaclone, and as far as i'm concerned both did a good job. The external gives me more space in the tank, and is deffinately at least 10 times more efficient. Maybee i am missing somthing, maybee i've never seen an "Effective" skimmer working before. I guess the problem is, noone can really demo one for you while in the shop. When i brought the seaclone, i talked to several people i know who have nice looking marine tanks, and all have the same skimmer. I went with what i'd seen working.

Still maybee in a few months ... lol

Oh yeah.... I posted in noob because i still class myself as one.. I've 2 other tanks , a dicus and a malawi mbuna, both have been running for a year now, but as far as marine goes, allthough i pick things up fast i've still got a long way to go before i class myself as knowing exactly what i'm doing.

 

[Anonymous]

You wouldn't believe the difference in performance I saw going from a Seaclone 150 to a Euroreef ES5-2. 8O

 

[Fatal Morgana]

No GD, I doubt that he will be impressed by a Euroreef.

See, he probably will just say that although Euroreef is only 10 times more efficient than seaclone, which is 10 times more efficient than airstone skimmer, as far as he is concerned, all three do a good job.

(Sorry to pick on you, narny, but the just too perfect for a general, non-personal jibe)

 

[Anonymous]

I was a supporter of the Sea Clone. I still have one on my 100 gallon because I don't have the money to purchase a better skimmer. Sometimes it works just fine but most of the time it does not pull out much of anything. However it is a great "airstone". I will never recommend a Seaclone.....and I do not understand why shops carry Seaclones and Prisms when there "real skimmers" out there.

 

[Anonymous]

Look, if it's working for him, then it's working. He can certainly take up the slack with water changes, which are easy-peasy on a small system. Heck, I've had or maintained lots of small systems I didn't care to bother with foam fractionation on, so I just didn't. They were all 30 gallons and under, the easiest being 5-10gals. On something getting close to 50 gallons, though, I think eventually you might want to consider another upgrade (you know, for when you get that 300L tank?). :twisted:

(Remember, we're a little like drug dealers; all we need to do is get you hooked, and it's all gravy from there.. )

 

[Anonymous]

He can certainly take up the slack with water changes

Yeah, I was going to make a long detracted reply asking if any of his acquaintences were using seaclones on acro/sps dominated tanks and how often they might do water changes if so to get to the same point, but... I figured, whats the point? - He already knows, so what goods it gonna do?

Ehhh well.. - I've got my own worries. - Like maybe witholding rent on my new apartment 'cuz the freakin landlord won't fix the damn A/C and I can't even open 1/2 my windows to try and keep things moderately cool. -- If I wind up losing my new rose BTA cuz the temps keep getting up there a little too high this guy is gonna wind up on my $hit-list big time... (Not a good place for anyone to be.)

Bleh!

Good luck narny.. - SM's right, you don't NEED a better skimmer, you'll just have to make adjustments/compromises in other ways.

 

[Anonymous]

Good luck with the landlord, GD. I've been down that road more times than I can count, and I can tell you this much: many, many landlords/property managers count on their tenants not knowing their rights or the law!

 

[Anonymous]

:lol:

I have to walk through the housing/zoning & code enforcement departments @ City Hall in order to get in and out of my cave.

:twisted: :twisted:

 

[narny]

You people really are up your own arses are'nt you.

"No i doubt he'll be impressed"... is this how you treat everyone who's new to the hobby?

When i sayi was happy with the skimmers and they both do a good job, i'm refering to the fact that my water is clear and my fish are alive and healthy. I know that externals are better than internals, and i wanted the space back, so hence the external. Now the external seaclone does indeed pull out loads more crap than the internal, so hence it's doing a good job.

I'm assuming this hobby is much like those who are into computing, and have to have the latest badass gadget or they aint happy. My fish are good, my water is clear as day, why the hell should i go out and spend another £150 + on a skimmer that may or may not be better. I say may or may not, as non of you , yes NONE !!! have yet to explain to me what the euro-reef will do that my seaclone will not.. I've woken up this morning to find an inch of crap in my collection cup.. The water looks clear, are you saying there's stuff in my tank killing my fish and corals slowly??

Are you going into technical details on why the euro-reef is better?? NO !!

Your slagging and bitching without any proof that you can back up your claims. I've done some reading on the euro-reef, and it's venturi system.
Fact is my seaclone looks allmost identical, and has the same venturi system as far as i can see. What is the difference? What makes it technically better? I've heard nothing constructive yet, but plenty that make me believe you guys are being payed backhanders to promote their products (yes yes i know your not).

So come on, is someone gonna give me some details on why my skimmer is so bad? Or why the euro-reef is so much better?

 

[ChrisRD]

You people really are up your own arses are'nt you.

"No i doubt he'll be impressed"... is this how you treat everyone who's new to the hobby?

I think Fatal was joking around with you - sometimes humor doesn't come across well in this format.

If what you've got is working for you, by all means stick with it.

 

[Anonymous]

narny, please, don't take the piss with us as if none of us has any clue what we're talking about. I, myself, long ago went far beyond this 'thing' as a hobby and made it my means of income for at least a little while. There are a few of us gents and ladies who can say the same. There's at least one person posted here who, as a scientist by profession, can likely be trusted for good, valid information.

We may not be telling you what you want to hear, but we speak the truth. It's not as though you're the first person who hasn't sorted the efficacy and ease of use associated with this particular brand of foam fractionator, just know that there are many who have never been able to get much good use from their SeaClones. Remember, it's not at all an attack on you.

You keep going on about how your water's clear as day, which clearly indicates you have a misunderstanding of how much 'bad stuff' can INDEED be present. At this time I'll thank you to please not make such sweeping generalizations about "you people". We're not attacking you, we're just telling you the truth, based on lots of experience and tales of woe by even more, about the product. As I said, and as Chris reiterated, if it works for you, then stay with it.

Now, if you address me personally, I'll tell you that you can certainly go without a skimmer! However, I would make this recommendation along with advising employment of other means of nutrient control and export.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok....Narny......you people crack me up...you want help but then crab about the response you get. Do your own research.

http://www.proteinskimmer.com/skimmerdatabase.htm

 

[narny]

Appologies if i got frustrated. I no way am i taking the piss either. I came in here asking about how to curb my water flow, quite happy with my skimmer. I am however open to advice. But "Seaclone that is the problem" is hardly the responce i was looking for. If you can't be civil, don't bother. When i asked ok how is the euro better ( i am trying to understand) , i don't get a responce, in fact i get accused of taking the piss.

I did'nt come here for research on good and bad skimmers, just some advice from your lot who have been doing this for years. I appreciate that i'm a novice at this, but don't i deserve an answer now that you lot brought the subject up?? If i had told you i had somthing better i would at least take the time to tell you why in my opinion i thought it was.