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Coral Vue Hydros

Help PicO Aquariums build a better mouse trap!


cdelicath

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Holy crap, that is friggin' art. My only hope is they work as good as they look.

 

What size air pump should be used for these, and what are you planning on using for a collection cup?

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Wow ..... those look amazing. I will give them a few weeks to see what they can do.

I also need to know a pump size you recommend.

If these things skim as good as they look you are going to be a busy man :P

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Evil, Chris.. thanks much!

 

I have given Chris the go ahead to run 'em ragged. I want to hear all about how well they work myself. I've got one made up for my own tank that is still in the planning stages so I haven't been able to put them to the test personally.

 

The single tube skimmer shouldn't need much in the way of air pump at all... only running one wood stone and the skimmer body easily raises and lowers to accomodate how much foam you have going on.

 

The two-tuber... something perhaps a little more beefier but again it won't take much. Each airstone has an air adjustment knob and I'll have a Y adapter for the two lines so a single output pump can be used. Wood is like... you know, all natural, and all different. No two airstones are going to be exactly alike in how porous they are... with each one having it's own adjustment you can tweak it/them to balance the air out between the two. Again... the skimmer bodies are held in place in with a set screw so you can raise and lower them to fine tune everything.

 

Lastly... collection cup. I really couldn't come up with a "one size fits all" plan as who's to say how much room somebody has behind a tank, or if they are going to run the discharge lines to a cup under the tank and so on. Last time I ran one of these, well it was quite a bit larger... I just had the line dump into a plastic Coke bottle I had sitting on the table behind the tank. If these work well and there is enough interest I can see about coming up with a "cup" of some kind... it might be interesting to see what everybody comes up with on their own though.

 

Steve

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A removable cup in the same style as the skimmer would be nice. Make a mount similar to the skimmer too. You could mount it on the back of the tank, or the sides, or remotely somewhere else. Including that in the kit will just add some major polish to the setup.

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Deleted User 6

Art is right - those are beautiful. I second a HOB collection cup. If these turn out to even pull tea-colored skimmate, I'm getting one. Can you say ULN Pico?

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The hydor skimmer is working very well and I will be offering it for the larger units. For those wanting to use MH I will also have coolworks chillers as a add-on option with free drilling when purchased with the tank. The ATO units are going to be delayed a bit.

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Some really down and dirty quick shots for you Chris... (phone cam, lol and no daylight in basement mancave)

These are going in the mail to you tomorrow. Pictures, videos... knock yourself out my man. Run 'em through the wringer and see what kind of spooge they pull out. Prior reports sound good and my much older and larger versions worked pretty well.

Somebody asked if they are going to be worth a crap so to speak... well, I've finally had the opportunity to see "the other" skimmer in action. Looks cool, certainly doesn't do much that's for sure.

 

Steve

 

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By the way... the dual tube version is two 1.5" tubes, the single is a little larger at 1.75"

 

 

Want want want want.

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Art is right - those are beautiful. I second a HOB collection cup. If these turn out to even pull tea-colored skimmate, I'm getting one. Can you say ULN Pico?

 

 

Well, courtesy of sogreedy23 who ran the very first version of these skimmers.....

 

2z9jjuq.jpg

 

 

It looks a bit like Starbucks.

 

As far as a collection cup, well I could come up with something but I'd like to see what Chris thinks about the performance of them. With media baskets and all not even sure if there would be room to "bolt" another bracket on to the back of the tank anywhere. What, ya'll all don't like the idea of a "spit cup" sitting there on the table?

 

Steve

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Didn't get a chance to get them in the water yet. I will try to do so tomorrow and try to get a video of it running. These things are very high in build quality. I am very impressed. They will fit in very well with PicO tanks.

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how are the glazer skimmers working out?

 

Good so far. They are starting to produce a very dark skim but I started screwing around with them and long story short I had to re adjust them a bit and now I have to let them settle in again. I was going to get another video tonight but it will have to wait until tomorrow now. You will just have to settle for a crappy phone pic for now. Give me a second to add it....

 

 

wow that is a great build. the music caused flashbacks of plastic pants, glow jewelry, and hair gel....god i miss the 90's

 

I did the techno thing for a bit and it was some of the best parties I ever went to. Oh lord wait till RW sees this :lol:

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more pictures of the gunk from the dual tube unit after about 3 days.

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Added the single tube unit to the DB15 for testing and removed the Hydor for now.

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The gunk coming out of the dual-tuber is looking pretty good so far, actually looks like it's clearing the water up in that stunning tank you have it on...lol

 

The single tube, well, if I may, looks badazz on that tank... looks sweet doing nothing even! Looking at the foam height in the tube it looks like it the tube might stand to be lowered slightly but I know you're playing with them Chris and getting them dialed in... good work my man.

 

 

I don't get how the skimmate gets up to the drain tube.

 

 

If I may..... when you set these up you want to try and get the foam to top out at or slightly below where the upwards slope of the tube begins. Same prinicipal as with a coventional collection cup. You want that head of foam to start drying a bit, it in turn gets "lighter" and the "heavier/wetter" foam below it starts pushing it upward. You have the wedge shape to the top of the tube that starts directing this foam towards the ouput hole and simply because you have all this air pressure in the tube that has to go somewhere the foam is forced out through the discharge hole. There is a limit to how "dry" you can get the skimmate with these... from past experience I seemed to have the best luck adjusting it so it was what you're used to calling a little more wet.

 

 

Thanks again for all the pics and setting these up for a go Chris...

 

 

 

Steve

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