skimmer recirculation: marketing hype, wishful thinking, or legitimate?

[ErikS]

Ah, but there's the rub........there is no objective data on which skimmer is the best and there are far too many variables, tank load, size, feeding schedule, skimmer setup, salinity........

One must use some amount of subjective data to compare skimmers.

Yes, skimmers are very similar.......but....it is the subtle differences that seperate the top performers. It's not simply a matter of measuring airflow in X size. One factor is turbulence which can greatly impact the performance of a skimmer. Another is headpressure - is the body exactly the right size for the pump? Has the design be maximized? Some of the companies have spent a great deal of time testing & refining the design = maximum performance.

Check the DIY forum, there are members who are constantly testing & tweaking skimmers - refining designs, if it were a simple matter of plugging X pump into Y skimmer they would have already achieved optimum results.

An example of subjective - I've seen & used some bargain skimmers like ASM & Coralife. I've also seen & used skimmers like ER, Deltec, H&S, and Bubble King. It's only subjective but I can say with certainty that the higher priced models with the exception of ER were performing better (more & denser bubbles). In the case of ER, ASM, and Deltec I've had more experience - the more expensive unit was the better performer. It pretty well ranked out by price.

But it's completely subjective

One must also factor in the manufacturer, I've not used a Octopus skimmer but I have had products by that company - they produce decent performing products, but they are in no way upper tier (& I don't think that's their intention either).

Again, subjective

[Roland Jacques]

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The biggest difference which control give you on the recircs is dwell time. That varies skimmer model to skimmer model. my in- sump stock, ran 260 gph though the body not bad for a 4 gallon skimmer the contact time was about 1 min. not bad. Now the same skimmer body flows 500 gph (as of 15 minutes ago ive doubled the air flow and the water flow) that equates to around 30 second contact time. The more stubborn waste will not be removed. So smaller body skimmer that even higher air/water will have far less contact time. You can see that recirc models will have more advantage in these cases.

So now it is more important that i spend $9 on parts to do a recirc mod.

[pperez]

Anybody have a link for modding an ER cs135? Like a listing of all the parts, etc that is needed? Thanks.

Going to keep reading this though to determine if it's worth it for me.

[tacocat]

Ricirculating skimmers give you:

More control over your skimmer's adjustments.
Greater efficiency
More mounting options.
Remove heat from the sump
They can achieve more consistent performance when fed with a
steady supply of water.

I have used both types and I prefer recircs because of the heat reduction, placement options, and more stable performance. I always fed mine with a powerhead, and I placed a coarse prefilter on the feed pump to cut down on the service intervals and to protect the impellors from snails.

When you feed your fish particulate food like cyclopeeze, all you need to do is shut off your feed pump. I miss being able to do stuff like that.

I think the recirculation skimmer is a better bet, because you have more options available to you.

Oh, yeah, recircs are generally quieter because the skimmer pump isn't resing on the bottom of the sump creating vibration noises.

[Serioussnaps]

HYPE, i oversize my skimmer on any tank i run so doing mods is like putting an extra bullet in the chamber----not needed----i dont miss

[tacocat]

Originally posted by Serioussnaps
HYPE, i oversize my skimmer on any tank i run so doing mods is like putting an extra bullet in the chamber----not needed----i dont miss

Have you used one?

[nemo g]

taco,

thanks for the quality post. thats what i like, an opinion followed with premises we can either debunk or prove.

i do agree that properly set up the recirc will have better performance. however, it does take a bit of work as well as more space as those recircs can be a fair bit larger/taller than their non recircs brothers.

then comes the telling question, even if you have the proper set up, how would a recirc compare to a much larger standard skimmer that is usually much cheaper. even the manufacturers rate their standards and recircs the same, even with the big price increases for them. makes you wonder how much it really helps, no?

anyone have a lab where we could do some super strict tests measuring nutrients on a molecular level? then be able to remove and replace and count them precisely?

i think we could all agree on one thing, no atter what you may believe:

there is no reason for recircs to cost much more than a non recirc. all it is an extra hole or two, drilled in a different area, ie the asm recirc mod. it can be done in 5 minutes by the user for pennies. no reason why the manufacturer cant do the same, faster and better for a modest price increase.

this in conjuntion with the manufacturers own ratings lead me to believe, that although it can be slightly better that this is mostly marketing hype and wishful thinking.

after all, when you spend $xxx you want performance. and how can you ignore the fact that a larger standard skimmer is cheaper and performs better (according to the manufacturers own ratings) than a recirc that is smaller and more expensive?

things that make you go hmmm.

[RobertK]

Hey,

Does anyone still care about this topic? Just found it in the archives.

I would think the best way to tell the difference would simply be if anyone did the DIY recirc mod on their own ER or ASM skimmer and reported on changes in skimmer output before and after - same skimmer, same system, no other variables (and no more expensive!).

Have any of you done this? Am I missing something?

Thanks,
Robert

[USC-fan]

legitimate, no question about it.

[RobertK]

bump