New skimmer

1guydude

1guydude

Well-Known Member
Well yesterday in the mail i got my new skimmer for my 20gal tank! It is made by hydor(a pump company) and right out of the box i was impressed! The acrylic is nice and thick, it came with some decent directions like how to assemble it and where it should be water level wise. After i got up from my nap and after about 5min tinkering around with it...it was ready for the water! I rinsed it out and put it in, my tank however wasnt deep enough for my liking lol, i think this skimmer would be perfect for those of you who have those tank divider with the filtration and everything in the back! This morning i woke up to go to work =( .....and it even had some skimate in it! This was very watered down skimate so im thinkin i need to do some adjusting. Non the less i emptyed out the top (which came out nice and easy) and raised it up a lil...well turning up the air to get some more bubbles goin! I will have to see wat i get when i get home today....hopefully some nice tea is in order! No im not gonna be drinking this tea!!!!!
 
slice

slice

Active Member
See if you can get a "wet skim -vs- dry skim" discussion going. I still skim wet and pour out maybe average 3/4" of "tea" daily from my Bak-Pak skimmer. There is also a good coating of thick crud on the neck and underside of the cup lid.
As a related aside, now that I have my second MP10 going (no more butt-ugly koralia!), much more crap is kept in the water column and is removed via the skimmer.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slice http:///forum/thread/386555/new-skimmer#post_3396060
See if you can get a "wet skim -vs- dry skim" discussion going. I still skim wet and pour out maybe average 3/4" of "tea" daily from my Bak-Pak skimmer. There is also a good coating of thick crud on the neck and underside of the cup lid.
As a related aside, now that I have my second MP10 going (no more butt-ugly koralia!), much more crap is kept in the water column and is removed via the skimmer.
With a Bak-pak you have to wet skim or it won't skim at all. At least that was what I had with mine.
If you wet skim too much you remove saltwater, and when you top off you replace the lost water with fresh and the SG drops. With an ATO (auto top off) unit running that can spell disaster.
You want to skim and get the crud out but you don't want to waste your saltwater to do it. So skim as dry as your skimmer will allow you to.
 
slice

slice

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower
If you wet skim too much you remove saltwater, and when you top off you replace the lost water with fresh and the SG drops. With an ATO (auto top off) unit running that can spell disaster.
Thats a great point, Flower.
Fortunately the Bak-Pak cup is so small its not a large amount of skimmate/SW, but now that I FINALLY got my refractometer, I will be able to check
salinity more accurately and see for myself, thanks!
 
1guydude

1guydude

Well-Known Member
+1 on the bak pak!
It does indeed skim wet but I have mine at the best point i can find...where the tea is really green and chunks in it! I couldnt get it to skim any dryer i dont thinks! Also ur supposed to clean out the cup and the neck of the cup regurly....run warm water through it and use ur finger to clean it out if u have to! This will increase the performance!
This new skimmer i got i think i just need to tune it a lot more....the skimate i got this morning from it was really really watery lol! I throw some pics on here later if i can remember lol...of both my skimmers in action!
 
slice

slice

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1guyDude http:///forum/thread/386555/new-skimmer#post_3396084
+1 on the bak pak!
It does indeed skim wet but I have mine at the best point i can find...where the tea is really green and chunks in it! I couldnt get it to skim any dryer i dont thinks! Also ur supposed to clean out the cup and the neck of the cup regurly....run warm water through it and use ur finger to clean it out if u have to! This will increase the performance!
This new skimmer i got i think i just need to tune it a lot more....the skimate i got this morning from it was really really watery lol! I throw some pics on here later if i can remember lol...of both my skimmers in action!
YOU USE YOUR FINGER?!?
Does your girlfriend know that?
yeah, I clean the neck and cup every other day or so...with a toothbrush...
 
1guydude

1guydude

Well-Known Member
well i wash my hands afterwards.....

.....
the cup i only clean out like once a week when i empty it!
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1guyDude http:///forum/thread/386555/new-skimmer#post_3396084
+1 on the bak pak!
It does indeed skim wet but I have mine at the best point i can find...where the tea is really green and chunks in it! I couldnt get it to skim any dryer i dont thinks! Also ur supposed to clean out the cup and the neck of the cup regurly....run warm water through it and use ur finger to clean it out if u have to! This will increase the performance!
This new skimmer i got i think i just need to tune it a lot more....the skimate i got this morning from it was really really watery lol! I throw some pics on here later if i can remember lol...of both my skimmers in action!
LOL..Just a helpful note....A babybottle brush (mark it FISH ONLY) works fantastic for cleaning a skimmer cup.
 
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