75g-reefer
New Member
Would increasing the amount of micro-bubbles in the skimmer increase waste it produces.
lets say adding a air stone in to the skimmer body?
lets say adding a air stone in to the skimmer body?
Modding A Skimmer
- Thread starter 75g-reefer
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75g-reefer
New Member
i have a coralife skimmer 65 gallon model..
i drilled a airline size hole in the neck and ran an airline with a wooden airstone in to the body... i have an adjustable air pump and control the airintake to the stone so it does not cause the skimmer to over flow... but there is definatly a lot more bubbles in teh skimmer and more "white" foam in the upper neck part of the skimmer.. will leave for a few days and see what happens... just did it this morning...
i drilled a airline size hole in the neck and ran an airline with a wooden airstone in to the body... i have an adjustable air pump and control the airintake to the stone so it does not cause the skimmer to over flow... but there is definatly a lot more bubbles in teh skimmer and more "white" foam in the upper neck part of the skimmer.. will leave for a few days and see what happens... just did it this morning...
wattsupdoc
Active Member
Ditto on what acrylic said.
Also bubble size has a lot to do with it. The smaller the bubble size the more surface area you have per square inch of foam. The time it takes for the bubbles to merge into larger bubbles is increased, thereby creating more dwell time. As well the bubbles become more neutrally buoyant and tend to move around in the skimmer more, taking more time to rise to the surface. Again increasing dwell time. Adding an air stone is one way to get more bubbles into the skimmers reaction chamber. However it's not the most effective means of doing so. The newest thing is the enkamat type wheels, or modded needle wheels with enkamat. Using a venturi on the pumps intake. The material does an awesome job of drawing more air into the skimmers volute, and chops it up into very small bubbles. Creating mass amounts of foam in the reaction chamber. The water flow is slowed down some into the reaction chamber, but scum production becomes greatly improved with the slower reaction time, increased surface area, and increased air intake. I believe the coralife skimmer can be modded with enkamat.
sharkbait9
Active Member
Originally Posted by wattsupdoc
http:///forum/post/2477879
Ditto on what acrylic said.
Also bubble size has a lot to do with it. The smaller the bubble size the more surface area you have per square inch of foam. The time it takes for the bubbles to merge into larger bubbles is increased, thereby creating more dwell time. As well the bubbles become more neutrally buoyant and tend to move around in the skimmer more, taking more time to rise to the surface. Again increasing dwell time. Adding an air stone is one way to get more bubbles into the skimmers reaction chamber. However it's not the most effective means of doing so. The newest thing is the enkamat type wheels, or modded needle wheels with enkamat. Using a venturi on the pumps intake. The material does an awesome job of drawing more air into the skimmers volute, and chops it up into very small bubbles. Creating mass amounts of foam in the reaction chamber. The water flow is slowed down some into the reaction chamber, but scum production becomes greatly improved with the slower reaction time, increased surface area, and increased air intake. I believe the coralife skimmer can be modded with enkamat.
yes it can. I just did my old 65 and put in on a friends tank (tossed his prizim) and it made one hell of a diffrence.
I also bored the air inlet to, its a little louder now (not much but i could hear the diffrence)
In fact i got the enkamat from wattsup. You sent more then i needed but that cool it was still cheaper.
Thanks again
WUD
http:///forum/post/2477879
Ditto on what acrylic said.
yes it can. I just did my old 65 and put in on a friends tank (tossed his prizim) and it made one hell of a diffrence.
I also bored the air inlet to, its a little louder now (not much but i could hear the diffrence)
In fact i got the enkamat from wattsup. You sent more then i needed but that cool it was still cheaper.
Thanks again
WUD
acrylic51
Active Member
Bubbles in the reaction chamber should be small almost milk like IMO......as they rise to the surface they are coated with "junk" and they will get bigger as they explode into the collection cup. You have to adjust and play with the skimmer at that point to get it to either skim wet or dry.....Again it's alittle more than just producing "mad" amounts of foam in the reaction chamber.
