Aquatic Life Internal Mini skimmer

[bird]

Couldn't locate the review for this so here is another.

Just got it today.

Needed either this of a Tunze 9002.

Only ones that will fit in the tank.

I decided to save a hundred bucks. Hopefully I will have saved and not wasted $60.

That was with shipping.

Upon first impression I was thinking I had wasted money.

I went ahead and set it up in a bucket of salt water to get the hang of it.

So far the escaped micro bubbles are at a min. and once broken in they should be gone.

Will give it a few days and post progress.

So far it looks like it might be a decent nano skimmer. If it does seem to work at an acceptable level I will attach magnets to hang it.

[mxpro32]

it works alright, but the micro bubbles never go away. The get a little better after a break in period, then they come back even worse. I only turn mine on at night.

[gutterguy]

I bought a used one off a member here and have had it running for about 4 weeks now. Pulling a lot of dark junk finally. It took a good week to start pulling good stuff. Definatly worth the money.

[J-Ranko]

[...] It took a good week to start pulling good stuff. Definatly worth the money.

 

This seems to be consistent across many users...including myself. This skimmer takes a while to break-in and develop the proper slime coating to start the skimming. It took mine a full week before the foam started rising up the neck and spill into the collection cup. And every time I thoroughly clean the cup it can take several days to restart the skimming. A bit annoying but it does pull some decent skimmate when it's working.

[driftsaru]

Ive had one for almost a year, it works like a champ! i wish i wouldve seen this thread before i just cleaned out my collection cup. it honestly does a good job, especially in my heavy SPS nano.Their customer service is awesome too, my first one broke, the intake line snapped the plastic snorkel when i cleaned it one day. All i did was call up AL, 5 mins later ( no bs) and i had one sent ...THE NEXT DAY.... T_T...they even had a prepaid return slip for my broken unit. Im sticking with this company for sure on future products.

[bird]

Glad to hear that so many are good with this skimmer.

I wish I would just leave things alone but I am the world's worst when it comes to modifications.

OK, skimmer is brand new and I have already attached magnet for hanging, gate restriction and placed a side hole in the intake/air inductor so the skimmer will recirculate a bit.

Foam is a little more and micro bubbles in the tank are way less, almost completely gone.

Since I have no top to the tank I can, since the skimmer is held with magnets now, raise it above the water line and work the gate along with the skimmer height to get a good foam level.

[bird]

I am also playing with the idea that zeolith stones could be placed in the discharge chamber. Once a day the gate could be opened all the way to flush the stones.

For this size tank I figure 8-10 stones would be more than enough, maybe replacing them every 3-4 weeks.

Once the skimmer is broken in I may try vodka.

Might even try some on the tank.

[bird]

it works alright, but the micro bubbles never go away. The get a little better after a break in period, then they come back even worse. I only turn mine on at night.

If you have the clearance I notice that raising the skimmer about 3-4 inches and closing off the gate will slow the flow of micro bubbles.

You will have to play with the skimmer height along with the gate valve to get the bubble height you want.

I am running mine about 5 inches higher but also have no top and added a sponge at the gate which slowed flow even more.

This does not reduce amount of bubbles in the skimmer, just those exiting.

[mxpro32]

Glad to hear that so many are good with this skimmer.

I wish I would just leave things alone but I am the world's worst when it comes to modifications.

OK, skimmer is brand new and I have already attached magnet for hanging, gate restriction and placed a side hole in the intake/air inductor so the skimmer will recirculate a bit.

Foam is a little more and micro bubbles in the tank are way less, almost completely gone.

Since I have no top to the tank I can, since the skimmer is held with magnets now, raise it above the water line and work the gate along with the skimmer height to get a good foam level.

 

I wish I had the clearance. I have it in an nc12 and its as high as it will go. I'm curious about the modification you made. Does it seem to work better with the hole in the intake/air inductor? Do you have a picture?

[bird]

I wish I had the clearance. I have it in an nc12 and its as high as it will go. I'm curious about the modification you made. Does it seem to work better with the hole in the intake/air inductor? Do you have a picture?

 

 

Can't really tell from the pic but I did a hole on each side and now I think there are too many bubbles being chopped up too fine.

The exit amount has increased and they are about the tiniest bubbles I have seen it make. I have my fingers crossed that when it breaks in it is going to be a little skimming demon.

 

[mxpro32]

let me know how it works. I just may have to try that.

[bird]

I closed the hole back up. The slots already there recirculate enough, extra seems to put too many bubbles in the tank.

The skimmer is making some good looking foam, but nothing has gone into the collection cup and it has been almost a week.

If I add some food to the tank the foam does rise and become drier, but nothing but white.

No dark or even tea colored stuff.

I have quite a bit of chaeto going now, about a gallon at least, so I am wondering if for a 20 long there might not be much in the way of organics. I may have wasted money after all.

[pweissma]

I'm very happy to see this thread. I've been using this skimmer in a Solana since selling my Tunze 9002 a week ago. It's pulling out a nice brown skimmate. Great skimmer. In the Solana it won't fit in the 1st chamber where the stock skimmer goes but it does fit nicely in the 3rd chamber with the return pump. This is great as the 1st chamber can now be used for Chaeto.

 

I would like to replace the hanging bracket and suction cups with magnets. Can anyone suggest what to get? There's the website gaussboys.com that sells epoxy covered magnets but I don't know if they have anything big enough.

[pweissma]

At the suggestion of bird and a few others I got the sure grip 50 magnetic powerhead holder. Very nice product. I'm using silicone rather than super glue to attach it to the skimmer. You need to be careful with placement so you can still remove the brackets that hold it together and also not glue in the power cord.

[Bill Nye]

Just out of curiosity do you think this would fit in an AC 70.

[pweissma]

Just out of curiosity do you think this would fit in an AC 70.

 

I don't know. The skimmer is, I think, 3" x 3" with one of the corners removed. It's a good bit fatter than the Tunze 9002.

[jdskidawg]

yes it fits in a AC70

 

 

 

[luvinmyacans]

IMO this skimmer is a POS and I regret ever spending any money on it. Mine went in the trash less than two weeks after I purchased it. Never again.

[ulver982]

I'm using this skimmer and have zero problems with it. Works great and pulls out some nasty stuff. The price was right and is probably the only skimmer that would fit in my setup.

[saltboy]

would this skimmer fit inside of the nc12dx chambers with the lid closed?

[hooligan_78]

yes it fits in a AC70

 

I could not get my skimmer to skim when it was that high out of the water. I fixed that problem with my new sump.

[jon210]

Skimmer works good for me. It does make a fairly loud gurgling sound and has added 3 degrees to the tank temp and I wish there was a hob version. But, otherwise works great for 50 bucks.

[Codeman]

IMO this skimmer is a POS and I regret ever spending any money on it. Mine went in the trash less than two weeks after I purchased it. Never again.

 

Considering most skimmers take a week or two to break in before they work properly, don't you think that may have been a bit of a premature decision?

 

 

I've had mine for over a year and after it broke in the microbubbles virtually stopped, it began pulling some nice dark skimmate and its been performing well for over a year now.

[bird]

was playing around last night and added mesh to the needle wheel.

Seemed to create a dryer foam.

Will post pics later.

[ulver982]

Let's see those pics!