After doing the "Mesh Mod" about three Months ago with Tarvis, I wanted to give a few words on this Product; There was an immediate change in the Skimmer, The froth produced had finer bubbles and what seemed more pressure behind it. I re-introduced the unit to an "in sump" operation; the pump was submerged at the floor of the sump while I set the Skimmer unit on an ABS plastic shelf approx 16 inches above the sump bottom. A longer hose was cut to join the pump to the skimmer. The unit was adjusted for a Medium "Dry" skim and I saw an immediate increase of foam collecting in the cup. After running the Skimmer in this configuration for a week, there was about one measuring cup of nasty skimmate collected. note: I keep my system hungry with low food additions and target feedings. Other Aquarists would have probably seen the cup running over with larger feedings. I decided to UP the skimmate production and adjusted the unit to a wetter setting. Over the last few weeks, I have seen a remarkable performance increase of this unit and am very pleased. If not watched, the collection cup will top out after a few days depending on feedings. *I will open the Drain Hole on the collection cup and drain it into my scum reservoir to tidy things up. Final Thoughts: This Skimmer will do 90% of what the Manfacturer Claims. I give it a (7). The gate valve is still very stiff and this is a problem if you need a close adjustment. (I give the Gate Valve assembly a 5). <I don't use the Bubble Diffuser>. Hmmm... With the :Mesh Mod" addition this unit produces about 30% more Skimmate. (I give the modified unit a 9). For out of the box performance, I give this Skimmer a (7). (Given the excellent Customer service fron Current USA, I say 9). (The High Cost of this Protein Skimmer is a negative point). Total: (7.5) A Product shouldn't need a Performance Modification. In Closing; For us working class "Budget Minded" guys that are looking for the best "Bang for the Buck",this is a Fairly Good Skimmer for the money. I've seen some of the Coralife P. Skimmers do as good but seem to fall off on performance in time. There are a lot of New Skimmers out there that perform well but you end up getting into much higher cost to obtain one. In a Higher Cost range, you can do well with EuroReef, MRC, ASM, Deltec, Elos, Bubble King, ATI, H&S, Octopus, Korallen Zucht, Vertex, Warner Marine and others. Most of us (in this forum)are keeping tanks 150 gallons or under and need a Skimmer rated at twice our tank volumes; This raises a thought, Are we better off building our own DIY foam fractionaters? I'm seriously considering this given I plan to expand my existing system in the future. If I do decide to do a DIY Skimmer Build, I'll post about it Later. THANKS
-- Edited by Monty at 13:50, 2008-10-02
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"Earth, our Water Planet, is the only planet in our solar system to be endowed with appreciable quantities of liquid water. Life, born in the water, must be at least as rare as water in the Universe, and as such must be revered, under any of it's forms, as a Miracle."
Before I give an evaluation on anyone's Product, I need to say that I am by far Not An Expert. **As a (Former)Retailer of Drygood Products, I feel that it is Prudent to offer quality merchandise and not push "Sub Standard" products on the Buyer. I would only recommend a Product that I would use and be Happy with.
This Skimmer performs <GOOD> after the Break in Period. Of Course, I'd like to see more out of it, but it does do well (as advertised).
1. Dark "Stinky" Skimmate is produced consistantly.
2. The Gate Valve is "Touchy" and a little "Stiff", but can be dialed in.
3. The Bubble trap clogs easily but can be removed or Modded.
4. The suggested Retail on this unit is a little "High" IMO.
5. Generally speaking, ALL Current USA Products are a little Pricey, But the Customer Service Makes up for the extra cost. *If a part fails, just shoot a Fax to Current and they will send out replacements with Free Shipping. (Not many Companies do this).
6. It's a Good Looking Unit and runs Quiet.
7. I'm pleased with the overall performance of this Protein Skimmer and will continue to use it.
FINAL: This Skimmer is worth the Price but I think there are slightly better Skimmers out there for the $. So I give it an 8.
Possibly this week, I'll do the "Mesh Mod" and see if there's any real changes in the Skimmate production.
-- Edited by Monty at 11:59, 2008-10-02
__________________
"Earth, our Water Planet, is the only planet in our solar system to be endowed with appreciable quantities of liquid water. Life, born in the water, must be at least as rare as water in the Universe, and as such must be revered, under any of it's forms, as a Miracle."
I moved the Current Skimmer from "hang on tank" position to "in sump". This is better because I have to run it on a "Wetter" setting to get a good skim, but it takes spells and overfills the collection cup too fast. Can get a little messy.
I'm not fond of the "Bubble Diffuser", I think that there's always a way to build a (better Mouse trap)! As the foam diffuser clogs with detritus, it forces the water higher into neck of the skimmer bringing on an overflow mess.
Another problem; the gate valve control knob is pretty "stiff" and I have to adjust it with a small pair of pliers to get an exact adjustment.
***All in All, this is a decent Skimmer, it WILL do the job that it's advertised to do.***
I still wonder how it will perform with the finer bubbles from the "Mesh Mod". I'm gonna mod the impeller in about a week.
I'm starting to wonder; Is there a perfect Protein Skimmer out there? Somebody chime in.....
__________________
"Earth, our Water Planet, is the only planet in our solar system to be endowed with appreciable quantities of liquid water. Life, born in the water, must be at least as rare as water in the Universe, and as such must be revered, under any of it's forms, as a Miracle."
I wanted to update this thread, This little skimmer seems to do better the more it runs. I'm still looking to mod the thing though.....
Slipper has the Mesh for the "Mesh Mod" if anyone needs some. Monty
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"Earth, our Water Planet, is the only planet in our solar system to be endowed with appreciable quantities of liquid water. Life, born in the water, must be at least as rare as water in the Universe, and as such must be revered, under any of it's forms, as a Miracle."
An Update; The Current Skimmer has started producing Dark Skimmate in the last 2 days, but I'm not satisfied with the performance. I will give it 2 weeks and Do The Mod. Slipper was telling me that I will need to lengthen the "neck tube" to the same length as the reaction chamber. This IS a fundamental to building a good skimmer. *I'll need to find the rite material to make this part of the mod*. Anybody got any ideas? I'll re-post asap with an OD measurement. Monty Hey OS, Slipper has some of the mesh.......
-- Edited by Monty at 02:17, 2007-07-10
-- Edited by Monty at 02:23, 2007-07-10
__________________
"Earth, our Water Planet, is the only planet in our solar system to be endowed with appreciable quantities of liquid water. Life, born in the water, must be at least as rare as water in the Universe, and as such must be revered, under any of it's forms, as a Miracle."
i'm definitely gonna try out the mesh mod for my coralife soon, in the interim i tried it the fish line way and didn't get it wrapped around amazingly, but i can definitely tell a difference. so i'm sure the mesh would make it even better.
"Earth, our Water Planet, is the only planet in our solar system to be endowed with appreciable quantities of liquid water. Life, born in the water, must be at least as rare as water in the Universe, and as such must be revered, under any of it's forms, as a Miracle."
I have started an evaluation on a Current (non-recirculating) Protein Skimmer. 1. At the initial start up I'm not very impressed with the amount of foam this Skimmer is producing. After the "break in period", I will update.
"Earth, our Water Planet, is the only planet in our solar system to be endowed with appreciable quantities of liquid water. Life, born in the water, must be at least as rare as water in the Universe, and as such must be revered, under any of it's forms, as a Miracle."
