Aquatic Life Internal Mini skimmer

[mxpro32]

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

 

I have this skimmer in my nc12. it fits, but you have to cut the trim a little, and lower the water level in the second and third chambers. I also had to trim the collection cup on one side. See my tank thread link for pics.

[bird]

Let's see those pics!

I will get some soon. I have it going right now and didn't take any when I was doing it. I wanted to give it a few days and see how it works too. I have not been using the skimmer so it has to break in. So far the foam is really...foamy?

[bird]

Her eis a pic of the foaming. I had tried this skimmer for a couple weeks before and it never really did anything but wet skim. I took it down but now am trying it again and I think this will make a world of difference.

Right now I am fishless so the organic load is very low probably the reason why there is very little skimmate.

I will get a pic of the impeller when I can remove and take the skimmer apart. Couple days or so.

This is day 3

[supertech99]

Interested in this, I am runing a 20L with a 10gal sump with macro and a YWG and a big blue damsel and all i get is wet skim, its got some color to it but I fill the cup wet in a day, would rather a dry but no adjustment seems to help!

[ulver982]

Nice pic. Now that looks like it's working good. I would like to see pics of your mod next time you clean it. You might not want to clean it though, you don't want to ruin a good thing Mine skims like that, but not as foamy/dry. I do agree, it does take a little while to break in, even after you clean the collection cup, it takes some time to get skimming again.

 

Also, watch for debris getting caught up in the air intake. I had a couple pieces of argonite that got stuck in the intake and not enough fine bubbles were being produced. For some reason, this caused some big bubbles to occasionally rise up the collection cup destroying all the fine bubbles/foam forming forming up the cup, so the foam never overflowed into the cup.

[bird]

I know everyone had just been chomping at the bit to see the mod and here it is. Kind of a crappy mod but I couldn't find any ecomat locally so just used a scrubbing pad from Wall Mart till I can get hold of some.

I may lok for something else though. I do not think ecomat would be dense enough for this small an impeller.

I just spot super glued it so I could remove it later.

Not really getting any dark matter, but I have been running polyfilters and the nutrient levels are really low right now, just wanted to use the skimmer as a backup.

 

[Jsnyder]

I've had this skimmer for a little over a year, I'm very pleased with it's performance. I don't think it's possible to get it to skim dark thick coffee style skimmate. It pulls out chunks and some gross stuff without too much water being skimmed, for my purposes it's ideal. I have done 2 mods to it, first I extended the airline and added a valve (silencing purposes) and glued a airline clip to the skimmer cup. Secondly I made a mesh wheel out of fishing line that I've been using for a few months, slightly drier foam, and more consistent skimming results.

 

 

 

 

 

[ulver982]

Looks great. I like the idea having a longer air tube. It's a pain when I have to get my hands in the tank and the skimmer starts sucking in water. It takes a while for the skimmer to get working again.

[spanko]

Did this really work?

[Jsnyder]

Did this really work?

Surprisingly yes, The stock needle wheel impeller is quite efficient at making small bubbles, and mixing air/water as well as providing flow through the skimmer (dwell time). I had the same idea as bird, using scrubber pad, but found I had issues with regards to mounting, clearance, rigidity of the scrubber pad, and changing the flow rate through the skimmer. I find with the fishing line the bubbles are slightly smaller, the foam head is more consistent as is the skim quality. Don't take my word for it, try it out. You can always cut the fishing line off if it doesn't work for you.

[bird]

I will have to give that a try. I have seen other pumps, I think Octopus, has the fish line, or at least the pump I had years ago did.

[cees]

I just got mine last night hoping it works it was the only skimmer that would fit in my diy 10g sump. Any pointers or tips on tuning this bad boy? Lol

[ulver982]

Just give it time before it starts really working good. It might take a few days but soon you'll start to get some skimmate.

[cees]

Just give it time before it starts really working good. It might take a few days but soon you'll start to get some skimmate.

Lol yea am starting to learn to have patience for this hobby! So far am just getting clear water in my cup so i keep messing with it. Hope all goes good and when i get home tonight am gana start a member aquarium on my shallow soon to be reef setup.

[DirtyC]

can you find that valve from LFS???

[cees]

So my skimmer finally broke and and is pulling out some good brown skimmige(idk how to spell) and now i was thinking if any one has made a drain line to and extra collecting cup from the collection cup?i sometimes forget to empty my cup in mornings b4 i go to work and i wanted a back up plan.

[floridian reefer]

i read this a while back and it was my deciding factor on buying it, i got it in two days ago and it has been in my bc29 since yesterday. couple questions.... it says to keep waterline at the top of the casing, i was wondering where people have been getting better skimmate, at water level or raise it up and close valve a little and second question , did the added venturi valve help?

[under the sea]

time for a new reply. just started mine 4 days ago. should have run it in a bucket of vinegar/water , probably would have helped speed up break in. still haven't got any skimate but the foam is getting a little higher in the tube. no bioload in the new tank yet either. just live rock, zoa's, pods. reading 0 ammonia,nitrite. have been slowly transfering from my established 12 gallon into my new 20 gallon seaclear. going to do the airline extension. they should not have put that so close to the water line.

where is the best spot for the outflow gate? got mine about half closed.

[pweissma]

... slowly transfering from my established 12 gallon into my new 20 gallon seaclear. going to do the airline extension. they should not have put that so close to the water line.

where is the best spot for the outflow gate? got mine about half closed.

I haven't seen the mod but an airline extension would be a big plus. The collection cup sits firmly on the skimmer so when water gets into the air line, the collection cup fills with water.

 

I'm a fan of the performance of this skimmer but it functionally doesn't work well in a Solana so I went back to the stock skimmer and then to an HOB. A few negatives are

* Low air intake but I guess this can be fixed with the mod.

* Tiny collection cup. Not so much an issue on a tank more appropriately size for the skimmer, say 20g.

* Difficulty replacing the collection cup. This is a problem when the water level is much lower than the walls in a tight sump which is the case with the Solana.

 

Net I still like the skimmer a lot but I don't recommend it for those with 30g AIOs.

[pschom]

I bought this skimmer for a new Biocube HQI. I have never owned a skimmer, but after reding posts on this site I think it's doing what its supposed to do. Pulls out dark brown liquid as well as small chunks. I'm also seeing minimal microbubbles in the tank, but I can't say its from the skimmer. I'm running a chiller so it could be from there. I attached using 1 supplied suction cup and gravity. lol See pics.

 

Pros:

Fits well in tank

Does what its made to do

 

Cons:

Small collection cup

When dumping the cup it takes a day and some adjustment to get skimming again. This is ANNOYING.

 

I have: 1 Clown, 1 Jawfish, 1 Helfrichi, 1 Watchman, A bunch of hermits and snails, Peppermint and Blood shrimp

Also, running the fuge setup with live rock and chaeto with the magnet LED

[GreyFox]

im gonna warn any one with one of these. I've had mine about a year and a half now. Yesterday I noticed while cleaning my 55 gal, that when i touched the skimmer on any part of it i got a slight shock. Nothing noticeable, it felt like it was a sharp spot on the skimmer.

Thing wasn't working well for me at all. I'd adjust it to where the bubbles are just bellow the overflow into the cup. And by morning the whole thing is full of water... Not very good skimming if it all goes back in the tank

 

BAD REVIEW!

thing could have potentially killed everything in my tank. And for that head's would roll

[rO.oster]

great thread.. trying to tweak my new 115 as well.

 

+1

[streetsong]

Just installed this skimmer 2 days ago. I'm excited to see what it can do, baed on the majority of reviews.

[spanko]

Skimmate production from Aquaticlife Miniskimmer with vodka dosing.

 

[under the sea]

mine broke in after 6 days and is pulling nice green water with low bioload. has a gurgling sound but oh well, not to bad.