Sea Clone 150 Protein Skimmer

[nickcoletti]

Hello All,

I just installed my skimmer today and i cant help to read all the bad things about this skimmer. Does anyone have this skimmer and what are your thoughts on it? Also i am not seeing any foam come up to the cup and I've also read about a "break-in" step that skimmers have to go thru... Can someone tell me what happens in the break in and how long i should expect it to take?

Thanks!

 

[DaveyJones]

I have a 75g n im not gunna say my sea clone is the best in the world but after a few months of it (and yes i am a newbie) and i should of should of gotten another I reliezed the reason it wasnt working well was bc most of the bubbles it was producing was escaping threw the return (the water flowing back into the tank) so i found sum semi heavy plastic from a package cut a piece and glued it to block the return at least halfway and since then ive been producing a ton of foam.

 

[Thales]

IME, they aren't really the best skimmers. They do skim, and do produce skimmate, but it generally takes them longer to do both. The break in can take anywhere from a day to two weeks. The breaking in is the skimmer neck building up organics so the organic laden bubbles can 'climb' it. I suggest you open the airway full - thats how I got the best results from mine.

What size tank is this on?

 

[Thales]

I have a 75g n im not gunna say my sea clone is the best in the world but after a few months of it (and yes i am a newbie) and i should of should of gotten another I reliezed the reason it wasnt working well was bc most of the bubbles it was producing was escaping threw the return (the water flowing back into the tank) so i found sum semi heavy plastic from a package cut a piece and glued it to block the return at least halfway and since then ive been producing a ton of foam.

Because of the way the seaclones are constructed, I don't think that modification would change the foaming of the skimmer - or the amount of bubbles exiting the reaction chamber to return to the tank. I guess it might put a little more back pressure on the pump, but I don't think it would change anything in the reaction chamber. I would guess the air intake 'clogged' a little with salt spray and that lowered the amount of bubbles exiting the reaction chamber and 'tuned' the skimmer to a sweeter spot.

One of the reasons these skimmers are notoriously difficult is because they not only are difficult to 'tune' but quickly go out of 'tune'.

 

[nickcoletti]

well im just going to have to hope it works out for me, i got it for a really good price and i figured it looked cool with the whole vortex thing and all. to answer your question thales its a 75 gallon tank. also... you think its better to have the air set to full for the break in period or full time once the bubbles start to foam up?

 

[Thales]

It depends on the system. As I said, these things are difficult to tune.