Factors Affecting H&S performance

[zeotz]

I am running a H&S 110 insump skimmer and was wondering that it may be a good idea to pool feedback from users on things that significantly contributes towards its efficiency or merely a matter of preference (may apply to other skimmers too i guess). Some of my more immediate queries are below, and would welcome input from anyone with info to add to the list.

1. Minimum water level in sump (30cm?)

2. Variation of water level in skimmer compartment(is it important to keep it stable?)

3. Effect of Ozone. Using seperate ozone reactor or direct connect to skimmer's airtube is better? What is the recommended dose O3 (mg/l of air) per 100l tank volume if ozononizer is running 24/7.

4. Cleaning the neck and collection cup (cleaner means easier for scum to stick?)

5. Putting "bubble stopper" at outlet, such as sponge (will it affect skimming performance?)

6. Location of skimmer. i) Raw unfiltered water, ii) after prefiltering with pad/wool, iii) after biomedia, iv) after refugium, v) just before returning to main tank.

7. Location of outlet pipe. i) in same compartment as skimmer, ii) compartment after skimmer, iii)compartment before skimmer.

8. Frequency of Start/stopping skimmer for maintenance or others (such as during feeding or dosing additives). I find every time the skimmer is stopped and restarted, it needs time to stabilise itself again, so is it better to alwyas leave it running?

9. Dry vs Wet skimmate. Any advantage or just a matter of preference? My take is that wet skimmate should be more conservative than dry setting as it will take out what dry skimmate would take out, plus more. Only disadvantage is need to clean more often and check salinity and top up SW sometimes.

10. Other additives or media that helps improve efficiency (permanent solutions)

11. any other things that affects efficiency. a) putting hand in tank, using epoxy glue, c) ?, d)?

PS: In this thread, I suggest taking the meaning of "Efficiency" as "ability of skimmer to take out gunk and keeping nitrate in check." & many THANKS!

[somebody]

i also wonder, coz of the air intake, if the pump is nearer to the surface, wouldn't it take in more air. and hence a better mixture? =)

[aquabeAnz]

the air intake for most or all NW pumps will affect the size of the bubbles produced and mixed in the reaction chamber and hence the overall performance.

[somebody]

so higher better? lower better?

[somebody]

so how?? =)

[zeotz]

i suspect aquabeanz means the air intake opening or size, not the location whether higher or lower... correct me if i am wrong aquabeanz.

any tips on how to tune air intake opening?

Regarding putting the pump higher or lower, I believe there is normally a minimum water depth for any water pump to work optimally. if put too high, it might create a vortex effect.

but i see somebody's point in that if the pump is in too deep, is it more difficult for the pump to suck in air? wats optimum?

[blueheaven]

I'm not a needlewheel user but this is what I've observed with my Beckett

During rainy days where there are barometric pressure changes, I noticed that the bubble size in the skimmer becomes quite inconsistent and skimmer performance is affected

Maybe you might want to consider that too

[aquabeAnz]

i suspect aquabeanz means the air intake opening or size, not the location whether higher or lower... correct me if i am wrong aquabeanz.

any tips on how to tune air intake opening?

Regarding putting the pump higher or lower, I believe there is normally a minimum water depth for any water pump to work optimally. if put too high, it might create a vortex effect.

but i see somebody's point in that if the pump is in too deep, is it more difficult for the pump to suck in air? wats optimum?

should be the size of the air intake..

imagine the ideal situation where air is sucked in at the optimum rate (this you gotta fine tune and observe the bubbles) and the pump is constantly fed with this amount of air, thus optimizing the performance. im currently not using the stock air controller for my H&S, rather i choose to use a small valve which is more accurate, and i try to distance it from the sump, as evapoartion of SW will eventually clog up the controller.

how deep you put the NW pump inside the pump so it won't affect performance?

i'm not 100% sure but i think if your sump is not 2 ft high, then forget it, i don't think will make much difference in the pressure.

but theoretically, the deeper you go the higher the pressure is, so might bring down the suction capacity of the pump.

optimum? for me, i place it high enough such that it does not create a vortex lor hehehehehe