Aren't we using the exact same skimmer? I guarantee you that this skimmer will pull nasty gunky skimmate if tuned correctly. I assume our skimmers have the same options, body shape, and pump settings...no?
Alex’s IM 150 EXT
- Thread starter Alexander1312
- Start date
I'm currently using the nyos 120, has a air intake nob, and a bigger button that adjusts water level I think. I've played with both every way I could for over a hour more than once. With none of those type of results. I've follwed suggestions in videos with no results except for raising the sumps water level allowed it to skim more wet.
I have other skimmers I could swap out from other tanks, though two of them would probably be crazy oversized. The one on my frag tank could possibly work. Yet I assume the nyos 120 would be the better skimmer???
1.) Bubble magnus curve 5 (currently used on frag system)
* rated for up to 120 gallons
Linked below:
Bubble Magus Curve 5 Protein Skimmer
Curve 5 Sizing Recommendations Light Bioload: 120 gallons Medium Bioload: 90 gallons Heavy Bioload (most common): 55 gallons Specifications Footprint: 7.28" x 7.08" Height: 18.5" Recommended Water Height: 9.5" - 11" Pump Model: SP1000 Power Consumption: 8 Watts @120VAC...premiumaquatics.com
2 .) Redsea rsk 300 (Not used currently was plan for 210 gallon tank combined with the eshopps one)
*Rated for up to 225 gallons
Linked below:
RSK 300 Reefer Internal Protein Skimmer
Protein Skimming Reinvented Efficient | Quiet | Ergonomic Red Sea Recommends for tanks up to: Light Bioload - 225 gallons Medium Bioload - 150 gallons Heavy Bioload (most common) - 75 gallons Red Sea Reefer Internal Protein Skimmers are designed with the hobbyist needs in mind. From...www.bulkreefsupply.com
3.) Eshopps s 200 cone skimmer (currently used on 100gallon stock tank)
* rated for systems up to 250 gallons.
Older version linked below:
Eshopps S-200 Skimmer. Brand new in sealed box.
I was lucky enough to acquire a couple of these great skimmers. I decided not to use. Like I said. These are brand new and under 100% warranty. 299 and buyer pays shipping. Save big. Descriptions The Snow Cone Skimmers are affordable cone-shaped skimmer that boasts compact design, has a silent...www.reef2reef.com
Do you all think one of these would be a better option?
Sps tank is around 50-60 gallons including water in sump.
Frag system is 60-70 gallons including water in sump.
The Nyos 120 is a great skimmer that a lot of people have success with (including myself - used to have one, skimmed great). I don't think you need to go looking for a new skimmer.
Kensington Reefer
Supporting Member
What’s your flow rate through your sump?
I recommend 5 to 10 times turnover rate
I recommend 5 to 10 times turnover rate
I had the opposite problem water level was to low. It wasn't skiming anything at all the last 2 months. I recently raised the water so now it's skiming just really wet, like light tea colored water. I will give it some time and keep fooling with it.
Yes that was my thinking had to be way better than the curve 5. I will wait it out and keep trying to play with the nobs.
Alexander1312
Supporting Member
You put LC in yours, I do not. I add ozone, you do not. I add Elimi NP, you do not. Probably a ton of other difference specifically in terms of feeding between what you are adding and what I do which might drive a different outcome.
I am actually of the view that I should feed more to make the skimmer work better, but it is counterintuitive to what I am trying to do, i.e., lowering nutrients, but this might be the way to go.
What are your settings at the moment - sump level - skimmer water level settings - pump speed - and do you have a picture of how your skimmate looks like - like Thomas posted?
Here are my settings:
1. Pump speed settings: 4/5 previously, now running the skimmer through the drive port at a lower 70% speed level.
2. Sump water level: 8 inch
3. Skimmer water height: 1.5 (see picture)
4. Skimmate: see picture
Can you post a video of the skimmer from the side so we can see the bubble size and height?
Like from this angle:
Did you get it used? Can you take a pic of the needle wheel?
It's really common for the needle wheels to break down over time and they need replacing. This would definitely impact your foam production and really impair performance. Snails and junk get caught in them also. Have you taken a look at it?
I actually don't put LC anymore as my Po4 is pretty low now, although I doubt that matters. Certainly our husbandry differs but there a lot of people out there who love their reef octo skimmers, all using a lot of different husbandry methods...perhaps your specific combination of actions impairs skimmer performance but I would have to imagine if that were the case it would impact it for ANY skimmer.
I'll get my specific measurements and settings for you after work though and we can compare. Just looking at your pic though you have the water level set to skim SUPER WET:
I have mine set much close to the 4-5 mark most of the time for a dry skim. If I had mine set where yours was it would be skimming nearly clear water probably. I would definitely start by tuning that.
I would also try turning the pump down to 1-2, especially if your sump flow is very low (which I think it still is?). The settings you have share here are absolutely what I would set to deliver a very wet skim which is exactly what you are experiencing.
@MichaelB @Alexander1312 how often are you emptying your cup? Keep in mind too that a dry skim, with the super nasty gunk, fills much more slowly - by nature, there's less water and more gunk and so you aren't going to see it producing as QUICKLY as a wet skim.
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I cleaned it all a few days ago from @Darkxerox suggestion. I didn't find anything broken just a bit of gunk around the wheel.
Water level was raise to between 9-10 inches. Before it was 7-8.
I lowered the bubble level in the skimmer just now. Will see if that helps. It’s working now with higher water level. I agree with you It’s likely just the fine tunning part that I need to work on now.
Before cleaning and raising the water it skimmed zero stuff at all.
How it looks after playing with the nob. It doesn't seem to be just filling up the cup as fast.
RandyC
Supporting Member
This is the way.
From the picture of your foam, it looks like your water line in the neck is probably too high not allowing for larger bubbles to form. Lots of small bubbles = wet skim.
Also, keep in mind that a super clean neck will hamper larger bubble formation. A little biofilm is better in this case.
Agree w/ @RandyC it still looks like the water is too high to me - that looks to be a pretty wet skim. See how it goes, but see the note I added above - dry gunky skim fills much slower and with bigger bubbles like Randy said. Set it even lower and then leave it alone for a couple days. Keep sending pics!
Alexander1312
Supporting Member
Intentionally 1.5 to 2x, and have recently slightly increased that, but not significantly. However, I might go to a higher turnover temporarily to see if this makes a difference. Thank you for bringing this up.
Also make sure you are doing this for the right reasons - skimming wet probably actually pulls out more stuff overall, it just does it much less efficiently since it's also pulling a lot more water. This just means your salinity is impacted more and you have to empty your cup more often which is annoying.
If i'm really trying to be aggressive with nutrients or just want to pull as much out as possible, I will skim super wet. @H2OPlayar used to actually do his water changes through the skimmer this way.
Contrast this with @Darkxerox who is only emptying that super nasty cup every couple weeks (just texted him). I assume your cups are filling quite a bit faster than every couple of weeks with that tea-water?
If i'm really trying to be aggressive with nutrients or just want to pull as much out as possible, I will skim super wet. @H2OPlayar used to actually do his water changes through the skimmer this way.
Contrast this with @Darkxerox who is only emptying that super nasty cup every couple weeks (just texted him). I assume your cups are filling quite a bit faster than every couple of weeks with that tea-water?
Alexander1312
Supporting Member
Alexander1312
Supporting Member
I have to have a full cup of skim ‘mate’/liquid at least once a week to be satisfied haha
.I would be curious now what your sump water level is, so that you can set the skimmer water height to 4-5?? I agree mine is low but if I go into the 2 or higher range, I doubt that anything would land in the cup from past experience.
Lowering the skimmer pump speed to 1 is something I did previously for a different reasons and this led to a significant increase in nutrients week over week. So I would rather try to increase the return flow and see if this makes a dent. I can see that there could be a sweet spot between return flow and skimmer pump speed but this might not be a simple comparison of flow (and estimating pump overhead).
@Alexander1312 My skimmer is in exactly 8" of water (mine is the 220, not the 200 - FYI. my system is also quite a bit larger though).
My pump is set to "3" which is the middle setting.
My water level is set to ~4.25 right now, which is a fairly dry setting.
I am getting some super nasty gunk, here's the proof you asked for although it's difficult to capture in a pic:
I empty the cup every 2-3 days when it gets to about 3/4 full. So I am skimming fairly dry AND emptying often - not surprising given how heavy I feed.
If your skim looks that wet and you only have to empty it once a week - I would think that perhaps your skimmer is a little oversized for the amount that you are feeding. You can either feed more (a win for everyone - your nutrients shouldn't go up that much since presumably your skimmer has quite a bit more capacity) or turn down to a dryer skim and just not have to empty it often (try 2 on the pump and 4 on the water level to start? give it a few days).
OR do nothing and just be content with a wetter skim on an oversized skimmer - there's nothing really wrong with this. You're basically pulling out everything you possibly can already so there isn't much to be gained by making a change here, in theory. But I would use the opportunity to feed a bit more
My pump is set to "3" which is the middle setting.
My water level is set to ~4.25 right now, which is a fairly dry setting.
I am getting some super nasty gunk, here's the proof you asked for although it's difficult to capture in a pic:
I empty the cup every 2-3 days when it gets to about 3/4 full. So I am skimming fairly dry AND emptying often - not surprising given how heavy I feed.
If your skim looks that wet and you only have to empty it once a week - I would think that perhaps your skimmer is a little oversized for the amount that you are feeding. You can either feed more (a win for everyone - your nutrients shouldn't go up that much since presumably your skimmer has quite a bit more capacity) or turn down to a dryer skim and just not have to empty it often (try 2 on the pump and 4 on the water level to start? give it a few days).
OR do nothing and just be content with a wetter skim on an oversized skimmer - there's nothing really wrong with this. You're basically pulling out everything you possibly can already so there isn't much to be gained by making a change here, in theory. But I would use the opportunity to feed a bit more
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Alexander1312
Supporting Member
@Alexander1312 My skimmer is in exactly 8" of water (mine is the 220, not the 200 - FYI. my system is also quite a bit larger though).
My pump is set to "3" which is the middle setting.
My water level is set to ~4.25 right now, which is a fairly dry setting.
I am getting some super nasty gunk, here's the proof you asked for although it's difficult to capture in a pic:
View attachment 71351
I empty the cup every 2-3 days when it gets to about 3/4 full. So I am skimming fairly dry AND emptying often - not surprising given how heavy I feed.
If your skim looks that wet and you only have to empty it once a week - I would think that perhaps your skimmer is a little oversized for the amount that you are feeding. You can either feed more (a win for everyone - your nutrients shouldn't go up that much since presumably your skimmer has quite a bit more capacity) or turn down to a dryer skim and just not have to empty it often (try 2 on the pump and 4 on the water level to start? give it a few days).
OR do nothing and just be content with a wetter skim on an oversized skimmer - there's nothing really wrong with this. You're basically pulling out everything you possibly can already so there isn't much to be gained by making a change here, in theory. But I would use the opportunity to feed a bit more
Great picture. That makes me believe not all hope is lost - difference between the 200 and 220 should not matter given your larger tank size. Thank you for sharing your settings, this is helpful comparison. Just to continue to level set: What are your average nutrients levels at the moment - since you are no longer adding LC, are you using anything else to keep them at that level?
Again, I would buy that oversized argument if nutrients were much lower for me than they are. I know quite a lot of folks are able to bottom out nutrients were skimmers are truly oversized (specifically nitrates) - I am far away from this problem.