•Product Testers Needed• FREE Newly Designed Surface Skimmer

[A Little Blue]

8 minutes ago, StevieT said:

We use magnets on a surface skimmer for the AquaClears.  The outter ones need to be coated.  Cost makes them a slow mover.

 

I've found the wallet is the ultimate survey as it is the true equalizer.  I'd love to have them magnetic though, I think that is the ultimate design

Without risk there is no reward😉

[LogicalReefs]

2 hours ago, StevieT said:

It is suited for a tank like this.  The stock intake grates let water in all the way from the bottom of the slits to the top.  Depending on the water level the user keeps the display at this may not create enough surface tension to remove surface film.  Especially if the water level is over the top of the intake grates.   Since the majority of the water is pulled from the middle to bottom of the intake grate surface film is not pulled through the intake slots.

 

The surface skimmer breaks that surface tension forcing all the entering water to be from the top.

 

If you kept your water level lower in the IM10 to say about 1/2 up the intake grates then you may not need it.  But some to most like their water level higher so the tank looks more full, they may have aquascape that is tall, or they don't want to see the water level line that low in the aquarium. 

 

Aquariums like the Fluval AIOs are terrible at surface skimming.  Which is what this product originally was for.  It can also act as a fish guard for those smaller inhabitants. 

Thanks for the info. Makes a lot of sense. 

[skijumpersc]

I stirred up a lot of debris today and it reminded me of another issue with the Red Sea 130 surface skimmer upgrade. The rounded shape sticking out into the tank creates a current that pulls debris down and under it, so unless debris is floating on the very surface it has little chance of getting pulled into the rear chamber and instead it floats in laps in the display tank until it finds a dead spot and settles out. I'd be really curious if a low profile surface skimmer like your design would solve this problem since it doesn't protrude out into the current so much

[pgrVII]

Lookie what I got😎

Just set it up this afternoon,like 15 mins ago...

[jcreefer]

Hi Steve,

 

I would be interested in testing this "second generation" of the skimmer.  I bought the very first set when it was first released for my IM 30L to raise the water level in the display.  These are my observations for the first iteration:

 

1)The clips that held the skimmer to the back wall applied pressure on the backing plate such that the bottom edge of the skimmer lifted off the back wall.  Though majority of the flow went through the grate, there was sufficient amount of leakage from the bottom that not all flow was going through the top.  It looks like your new design do away with the bracing piece?

 

2)The surface area of the skimmer (the three sides of the skimmer) were not flat.  Looking at the skimmer, I can see the three sides are folded together to meet together.  During the forming of the three sides, the corners did not meet completely together.  This left the bottom edge protruding ever so slightly such that the skimmer did not have a flush plane.  This also allowed water to seep through the cracks & the corners rather than going through the top inlet.  I actually try to fix the issue by removing the skimmer from the tank, applying black silicon to the edges, flipping the edge side onto a wax paper, and applying pressure to ensure the silicone gave me an even surface area to remount in the tank.  This helped somewhat but is negated by the holding clips problem (see point #1)

 

 

I would love to see if this generation improved upon the original.

-Jeff

 

 

[StinkyBunny]

On 8/1/2018 at 5:12 PM, StevieT said:

The new bracket may just grab enough to work on the 130D.  The cord track on this tank is the variable.  The surface skimmer does get held in place by the incoming water flow. 

 

Don't know if they had it on the 130D but there was a gate on the intake grate that would have to be removed.  The 130 had the gate but didn't include the surface skimmer that came with yours.

I never had an issue with surface skimming on the 130D tanks, the IM 20 Nuvo was horrible for having surface scum. This would be great for that issue.