All right... I'll ask it... how do you set the skimmer correctly?

[dave green]

I have a SeaClone on my tank.

Now that I have this skimmer (spare the readers present and future about how much better the harley-davidson skimmer is than the seaclone - let that be hashed out in other threads, please), what should it look like in proper operation?

(I did a few searches in the site and couldn't come up with one place that said "here's how to do it" or "here's how it should work" - so that's why I'm asking that we keep this thread to that point)

Can someone please post pictures of what a properly functioning seaclone looks like and/or post what to watch for, such as should bubbles be going out into the tank, where should I see foam (especially in a new one), etc....?

Sure, I could take pictures and ask "how does mine look?," but I'm much more interested in helping both myself and future newbies.

Thanks in advance!

 

[dakota9]

David,

If your skimmer is new then you wont be able to adjust it right now.

SeaClone is one of the few skimmers I've not tried (bought one, but never recieved it, ebay horror story), but no skimmer is going to work well when you first put it in your tank. It will need (usually) between 2 days to a week before you can even attempt to adjust it. It probably wont skim at all at first so trying to adjust it now will just drive you insane. All those bubbles in your tank will gradually calm down after the first day or two. Make sure your Specific Gravity (salt) is high enough (1.025) for the skimmer to work effectively. After a few days you should notice less noise, less bubbles in your tank, and atleast some water or skimmate collecting in the cup.

Time is about the only cure for new skimmer issues....

 

[patrick214]

If this seaclone is new, you could take it back and I will give you one for free. It does need a new pump however. Let me know.

 

[patrick214]

Wow, just went to get it out of the closet and it has been thrown away. Sorry. Atleast I'll tell you how I used mine in the past. It's a very tricky skimmer to get to function properly If you buy a better air valve that will probably go a long way, as from my experience as you let enough air into the unit to skim it would restrict the water flow and if you allowed enough water there wouldnt be enough bubbles. A better air valve will help alot I believe the one with the unit is made cheaply. Also if you want to get real fancy I have heard cutting the riser tube to the collection cup will significantly improve skimming with this unit. sorry for misleading you lol.

 

[dave green]

Patrick, you're evil! Thanks for checking, though!

Thanks, y'all! I guess there really is no one set "here's how it is," is there?

You know, Barbara, to this day, I still haven't had anyone experienced look at the tank well, except for one guy who used to be a competitor of mine who has now decided he needs to pull out his old tank... I'd love the chance for someone to take a look at it and make sure I'm not misleading myself... The soonest I could do would be Sunday afternoon.... would that work for you?

 

[tsciarini]

davidbgreen;95390 wrote: Can someone please post pictures of what a properly functioning seaclone looks like...

:yes:
<fieldset class="gc-fieldset">
<legend> Attached files </legend>

>

class="gc-images" title="Seaclone Skimmate.JPG_Thumbnail1.jpg[/IMG] style="max-width:300px" /></a> </fieldset>

 

[dave green]

Thanks Tony! Wow... that looks like it could get kinda nasty...expecialy if what's going up there is what I have read is going up there! Ewww!

So I need to set my skimer so that the bubbles go into the top compartment? Is there a way I can cut down on the little tiny bubbles that go into the tank when I do that?

Thanks again!

 

[jetchris]

yes, you can make baffles or a bubble diffuser to cut down on micro bubbles in the tank.

 

[george]

rlmblm21;95460 wrote: If you take the little "screw in" part and just set it in, then turn it just enough so you can't pull it out (that is, let in as much air as you can without leaving it off altogether), that is where I had the best luck with my setting and the best performance with the seaclone.

Agreed. I would add that if you're using it HOB, the wide-out setting will let a bit too much air in for good water flow. If it's HOB, I found the best setting was adjusting the intake valve until you just started to get bubbles accumulating at the elbow of the input tube at the base of the unit. That made for the best mix in the chamber.

I used one of these skimmers for years. Nothing wrong with them once you get it adjusted right. The only down side is you're using a powerhead with a venturi intake. I ran a cup of RO water through the intake hose every couple days to keep it running right.

 

[george]

Something else I remembered for maintenance if you do the HOB thing: ditch the suction cup mount for the powerhead and just stick something (I used a piece of PVC taped to the tank rim) between the tube going up over the top and down. That way all you have to do to get the powerhead out to clean it is pop off the coupling.