sykospark Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 Anyone have a URL to the manual for this thing? I got a small random pamphlet with my skimmer. (I got one for my 12g NC due to nitrate issues, see my various other threads on that one). I have it hanging off the front of my NC, and it s filling the cube with lots n lots of BUBBLES. I have tried adjusting the flow but that changes nothing. Any advice?? Link to comment
carlota Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 Hey Syko I have tried that thing on my NC12 too, but i decided to give up on it and just get a sapphire from Nanotuners. Its a bit pricey, but it works and most of all, doesnt require any mods and will still work in the rear chambers of your cube. Hope this helps Carl Ota Link to comment
sykospark Posted February 14, 2007 Author Share Posted February 14, 2007 This is for anyone doing a search on this product and wants to use it with a Nanocube. I unhinged the NC hood and pushed it forward. The skimmer sucks up water from the output chamber and drops it back into the intake chamber. Sort of counter-productive, I know, but it's not dumping water directly into the tank and causing bubbles to rear in the tank. Sort of a stupid question for anyone reviewing this but: What is supposed to happen? Is froth supposed to build up and overflow into the top part of the skimmer? Link to comment
seabass Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 Mine came with the same leaflet that discusses adjustments, and I’m fighting the same problem. It almost seems that either the venturi aeration is pulling too much air or the flow is too much. I’m running mine with the least amount of air (most flow); however, when you adjust it for less flow (more air), you tend to lose the siphon. Mine is running in my tank stand, so it’s hard to see it operating; and there is a possibility that I’m not adjusting it properly. There is a water level adjustment that I haven’t really played with yet. You can see the bubbles that it’s producing: It’s too bad that this seems to be a problem because the price and size is perfect for a nano. I’m thinking that an improved version will be very popular. I’m trying to think of mods or additions the limit the bubbles. I’m going to try media in the 2nd and 3rd chambers; I might also try drilling the tube to reduce flow or modifying the venturi tube somehow. Link to comment
sykospark Posted February 14, 2007 Author Share Posted February 14, 2007 Definately let me know what you end up doing. I turn and turn and turn and nothing seems to change when I try to adjust it. How long did you have it running before you got any skimmate? Link to comment
seabass Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 It was close to a month before I started getting skimmate. I attribute that to being a newer tank with a light bio-load; in addition, I’m thinking that there were oils, as part of the manufacturing process, that also made it less efficient until they wore off (I choose not to wash the collection cup with ‘mild dish detergent’ like the leaflet suggested). Finally, there is also a ‘rejuvenation cap’ on the side of the intake tube; removing it is supposed to make the skimmer more efficient. For micro bubbles the leaflet suggests: • Salinity might be too high, verify it is no more than 1.025 • The filter pad might be clogged, allowing the bubbles to flow over the top of the cartridge (although I haven’t found were to buy replacements) • The flow might be too high, decrease the flow by adjusting the intake tube • Avoid certain de-chlorinators, stress coats, and red slime removers (as they can increase surface tension) • Connect an airline hose to the intake and submerge the other end (stopping air intake) for a day, and then resume normal operation I’m also thinking about adding an airline tube and control valve to allow easier venturi aeration adjustments. Note that the venturi tube isn’t threaded, so just turning it won’t adjust it up or down; try pulling it up or pushing it down while twisting. Link to comment
paradicio Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 Good info on this, I just got one of these but haven't had a chance to use it yet... Since it's V-day I probably won't get a chance to try it out until tomorrow, but I will let you know if I have any better luck, or if I come up with any tricks that work. Link to comment
PeterU Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 I have one running for 5 days. I started getting skim mate after about 3 hours. To reduce micro bubbles I have the water inlet flow adjustment reduced to about 25%, the air adjustment set at 2 1/4" and the water level adjustment to its lowest level. Also make sure the filter in the last section is all the way in and not plugged. If the outlet water goes over or under you will have more micro bubbles. Unfortunately, the way I have i set increases the noise level. I have had no problems with losing suction and almost no microbubbles. Now how do I quiet it down? Link to comment
seabass Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 Now how do I quiet it down?The noise is from the needlewheel chopping the air. Reducing the air will make it quieter (you could try an airline hose with valve to cut some of the air to the intake). Weird, I just cleaned the collection cup and when I put it back on, there were no microbubbles. The skimmer is running; I’ll have to see if I still get skimmate. I’m not sure why it is running different now. Link to comment
PeterU Posted February 14, 2007 Share Posted February 14, 2007 It is quieter then the fan on my Coralife Quad light, I should probably work on that first, Link to comment
paradicio Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 So I got a chance to run mine yesterday after all. After 8 hours of it pulling water out of the tank and then putting it back in (no bubbles forming) I figured out how to adjust the venturi… I’m at work now, but I left it running when I left. The bubbles were about a quarter of the way up the tube to the collection cup. Will this raise over time? Is it supposed to bubble all the way up? No matter how I adjusted the flow or the venturi I couldn’t get them to go all the way up, one quarter was the best I could get. I was getting the problem with bubbles in the tank, but after I adjusted everything they went away. I noticed it would stop bubbling if I messed with the venturi and the flow too much, I would have to unplug it and start again in order to get the bubbles back… Link to comment
PeterU Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 Probably just need time to break in. Sometimes after playing with my adjustments it takes a while for the foam to reach the top. I removed that little plug on the inlet tube last night to see how it would run. Seemed about the same as before but I just got home from work and found it had lost suction. Only took a second to get it going again and the foam is at the top of the tube almost right away. The skimmate is still the consistency of weak to medium tea. Link to comment
paradicio Posted February 15, 2007 Share Posted February 15, 2007 Thanks for the info on the little plug, that was going to be my next step if I didn't see skimmate when I got home. I read a review that this thing doesn't work with AquaPods because the water level is too low. Wish I would have read that before I purchased it! I'll keep trying to get it to work regardless. Anyone here using one on an AP with some success? Link to comment
paradicio Posted February 16, 2007 Share Posted February 16, 2007 So after much fiddling with the venturi and waterflow I finally got this thing to work! I woke up this morning to skimmate! Link to comment
Kingpo Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 So after much fiddling with the venturi and waterflow I finally got this thing to work! I woke up this morning to skimmate! How would you rate the consistency of your skimmate? I plugged mine in yesterday but I believe that the skimmate isn't dry enough as the cup fills too fast with mostly what appears as simple water (a little dirtyer maybe). Any insights on how to make the skimmate dryer? Thanks Link to comment
PeterU Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 The skimmate I am getting still the consistency of weak to medium tea. Link to comment
Kingpo Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 Alright, you can see how mine is setup here : http://nanonoob.blogspot.com/ (or click the link in my sig to read it in english). I removed the small rubber in the intake tube and raised the intake almost to the top. Water flow is at the lowest possible. I am still getting bubbles but at least they don't fill the cup as fast. I will let you know how the skimmate turns out to look after a few days. Link to comment
paradicio Posted March 12, 2007 Share Posted March 12, 2007 After doing a water change I was unable to get the bubbles to go away again. Nothing I tried would work. I finally dumped it and got an AquaC Remora. Link to comment
scoots Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 So after much fiddling with the venturi and waterflow I finally got this thing to work! I woke up this morning to skimmate! What type if fiddling did you do. Im having the same problem getting the bubble to reach to top of the tube. I just set up a 12gal. AP 2 days ago and thought that it might be due to there not being a large enough bioload yet. I will try removing the plug to see if that helps. Thanks Link to comment
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