Aquaclear AC70 Magnetic Surface Skimmer V2 - Official Video Inside!

[Oceanbox Designs]

Im paypal ready for the 110 version !!! lol

 

The Aquaclear AC110 Magnetic Surface Skimmer is now available. Sorry about the wait!

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/372605-aquaclear-ac110-magnetic-surface-skimmer-no-more-surface-scum/

[Oceanbox Designs]

Hey guys new to the forum but just got this skimmer box and wanted to share some photos. As some background I was looking into a surface skimmer for an AC70 on my new tank and came across this thread last week. All of the other options I found looked terrible but this reminded me of a classic overflow so I decided to give it a shot. I just have to say it really is a nice addition to a sumpless tank. It attaches very securely and within 5 minutes of install the nasty new tank surface film was gone. Its really nice to take a flyer on an item and get quality in return for your money. I hope you all enjoy the photos, I wish they were a bit brighter but my Iphone was struggling with the lighting.

 

Welcome to NR community!

 

Thank you for the feedback! It's great to see more of this being used in simple reefing keeping system. My design focus on aesthetically pleasing and non-obstructive installation, it literally takes just a few seconds to get going. I'm glad to hear those few seconds worth of installation to get rid of the surface scum for good is a great investment for you.

 

Happy reefing and steer clear of the surface scum!

[Oceanbox Designs]

For those of you who's not running an Auto-Top-Off system or manually topping off evaporated water. New units are now being shipped with a hole on the bottom, this will temporarily keep the filter from running completely dry and start making loud gurgling noise which will alarm you it's time to top off the tank.

 

Remember it is not suppose to be running this way and ideally you would want to top off your tank one way or another to keep the water parameter stable in order to keep your corals and fishes in good health, however this will give you a bit of overhead if you forgot to top off or if the ATO is malfunction.

[OrcusVaruna]

Just wanted to update, the surface skimmer is still working great! Also, I wanted to add to the ato discussion and share what I did. If you look at the picture below I attached the smart ato micro directly to the Oceanbox skimmer. It has not negatively affected the the skimmer and it gives the smart ato a great place with low flow so the optical sensor can keep your water height consistent. I will update if I run into issues but it has been working well for about a week!

[Oceanbox Designs]

Just wanted to update, the surface skimmer is still working great! Also, I wanted to add to the ato discussion and share what I did. If you look at the picture below I attached the smart ato micro directly to the Oceanbox skimmer. It has not negatively affected the the skimmer and it gives the smart ato a great place with low flow so the optical sensor can keep your water height consistent. I will update if I run into issues but it has been working well for about a week!

 

That's a very good idea to mount the ATO sensor outside the box, have you try mounting it to the back of the box just behind the intake tube? Since there is no water going down on the back side so it may work and hidden from view.

 

I noticed the water level inside the surface skimmer is about the same as the tank level, it should be overflowing into the box a bit lower than the tank level for the surface skimming to work effectively or is the picture just seem that way?

[Benny314]

 

That's a very good idea to mount the ATO sensor outside the box, have you try mounting it to the back of the box just behind the intake tube? Since there is no water going down on the back side so it may work and hidden from view.

 

I noticed the water level inside the surface skimmer is about the same as the tank level, it should be overflowing into the box a bit lower than the tank level for the surface skimming to work effectively or is the picture just seem that way?

 

Hummmm shouldn't evap show up inside the overflow box?

With water being lifted out of it by the AC70 the skimmer box is effectively the same as a return chamber in a sump (lowest point in the system and where any water level fluctuations will show). The water level is high in the skimmer box because the system is effectively over filled slightly. If you removed a cup full of water to get the skimmer box skimming properly you'll find the sensor will need to be fitted in the box to control the water level. Should all still work the same.

[Oceanbox Designs]

 

Hummmm shouldn't evap show up inside the overflow box?

With water being lifted out of it by the AC70 the skimmer box is effectively the same as a return chamber in a sump (lowest point in the system and where any water level fluctuations will show). The water level is high in the skimmer box because the system is effectively over filled slightly. If you removed a cup full of water to get the skimmer box skimming properly you'll find the sensor will need to be fitted in the box to control the water level. Should all still work the same.

 

That's correct, however if the sensor of the Smart Micro ATO is very sensitive to even a small amount of drop, then putting it in the display shouldn't be a problem. I can't verify this since I don't have one on hand but putting it inside the overflow is more effective as level inside the overflow drop a lot more as the tank level evaps. Increasing the flow to full should fix the level inside the box as well, it looks like he has it at the lowest flow.

[Benny314]

The ATO won't detect any drop in the display using one of these skimmer boxes. The water will be held constant in the display by the box. The drop will only be noticeable in the skimmer box, as you have said the water should be 'falling' into the box to get a surface skim going.

[Oceanbox Designs]

The ATO won't detect any drop in the display using one of these skimmer boxes. The water will be held constant in the display by the box. The drop will only be noticeable in the skimmer box, as you have said the water should be 'falling' into the box to get a surface skim going.

Good point! I completely forgot about that fact.

Just wanted to update, the surface skimmer is still working great! Also, I wanted to add to the ato discussion and share what I did. If you look at the picture below I attached the smart ato micro directly to the Oceanbox skimmer. It has not negatively affected the the skimmer and it gives the smart ato a great place with low flow so the optical sensor can keep your water height consistent. I will update if I run into issues but it has been working well for about a week!

 

Can you let me know how is it that the ATO sensor is working with the sensor in the tank and not inside the skimmer box? It may be a good idea to move the sensor inside the box since the water level is constant on the tank side. Just move the box to the left to make some space, it can be installed on the back side.

[Benny314]

Can you let me know how is it that the ATO sensor is working with the sensor in the tank and not inside the skimmer box? It may be a good idea to move the sensor inside the box since the water level is constant on the tank side. Just move the box to the left to make some space, it can be installed on the back side.

 

With the tank overfilled it won't be an issue and will work out there. It's not until water falls into the box that you'll have a fixed DT water height.

[OrcusVaruna]

I'm still experimenting, the tank is only 1 month old and its my first tank without a sump. But from my testing it works either way. Currently I'm running the tank over filled with the ac 70 pulling at its lowest setting. As the tank matures I most likely will drop the water level and move the ato inside the box to increase detritus removal. But I have found running either way that I don't get any surface scum. Once I increase the stock levels/feeding that may no longer hold true. I just personally like the look of an over filled tank and will definitely update as the tank matures to let you know if it's viable long term! I just want to add though that the skimmer really is awesome I highly recommend it.

[Oceanbox Designs]

I'm still experimenting, the tank is only 1 month old and its my first tank without a sump. But from my testing it works either way. Currently I'm running the tank over filled with the ac 70 pulling at its lowest setting. As the tank matures I most likely will drop the water level and move the ato inside the box to increase detritus removal. But I have found running either way that I don't get any surface scum. Once I increase the stock levels/feeding that may no longer hold true. I just personally like the look of an over filled tank and will definitely update as the tank matures to let you know if it's viable long term! I just want to add though that the skimmer really is awesome I highly recommend it.

Thank you once again! I'm glad it is working for you, please do keep us updated. I might have to grab a Micro ATO run some test inside the box and possibly do another how-to video, should have ordered one when it was at $99