simple seaclone skimmer fix

[scuba_steve]

ok a simple fix for all you seaclone skimmers users ! drill a 3/16th inch hole right in the middle of the lid and i used the 3/16th hard plastic air tubing for undergravel filters and attached a small air stone(small enough to fit into the bottom uplift tube) to it and slide it all the way to the bottom of the skimmer!! using just the smallest air pump is enough to allow ya to back off the venturi and get a bit more water flow and a ton a foam !! first day i got a full cup mabe not as dark as most like but i like my foam alittle wetter !! kinda the same fix as the skilter filters but this skimmer isnt all that bad for 55 gallons or less imo but just needs a better way to mix the air water or just one size bigger pump would work as well !! to say the least im happy with its output now after ive drilled into it 100 times trying diff thangs lololol

 

[Biggen]

There are a few more modifications that can be done to the skimmer as well.

Go here: http://reefcentral.com/diy/seaclone_modifications.htm

BTW, do this stuff at your own risk. Don't blame me or AA if you damage or destory your skimmer.

 

[scuba_steve]

cool thanks never seen or heard of any mods !! just people saying they suck and leave it at that so ive drilled holes and filled em on one of mine just trying to get something out of it !!!

 

[Biggen]

Do a search on "seaclone modifications" in Google. You will find a ton of hits. I just posted that one as it was the first I came across. There are better ones that have detailed pictures.

 

[wseaton]

I may have been one of those who originated this 'hack'.

Yep, it works well. The problem with the Seaclone is it just depends on a rather poorly designed plumbing system that tends to clump bubbles before entering the reaction chamber. Shoving a wooden airstone down the throat and using the power head to simply moves water makes it vastly more efficient.

 

[Biggen]

I may actually try this when I get into work Monday. I have a Bak Pak that I was intending to replace it with, but it was shipped to me broken and now I am in a fight with PayPal and eBay to get my money back since the seller won't respond. Good thing I haven't left any feedback yet. If nothing else, since I payed for it with my Visa, they will take care of me if PayPal doesn't.

 

[scuba_steve]

its an easy fix for sure !! after reading these other mods this by far works and the worst damage ya will do is have a small hole in the lid (easily fixed)!! cutting the uplift tube would be a trick for sure !!

 

[Biggen]

Luckly, I bought the "improved" Sea Clone. They reduced the length of the uplift tube in my edition and put in a better quality air valve that I can actually tighten or loosen. The old Sea Clone had a cap on the air valve that was either on or off so you couldn't make any fine tune adjustments.

 

[wseaton]

Doesn't really matter.....

All skimmers like this are dependant on the quality of air bubbles getting into the reaction chamber, and those bubbles are made by the third party power head and not the skimmer. The smaller the bubbles and denser the bubbles in the reaction chamber, the greater the skimming efficiency.

You get longer dwell time with a fancy cylinder skimmer because of the intricate baffle arrays these guys come up with, but the simple fact is that a wooden airstone injects vastly greater amounts of air and a much finer bubble column. A dense mist of fine bubbles that fill up a reaction chamber will produce more gunk than a cool looking tornado of larger bubbles. Simple physics.

 

[biotoxin]

im not a physicist, but wouldnt bubbles be accelerated in a vortex and decrease dwell time?