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Glass surface skimmer issue!

lucaz koh

Member
Joined
17 Apr 2018
Messages
91
Location
United Kingdom
Hi all,

Got myself a glass surface skimmer set similar to the aquascaper glass pipe work set featured in one of George farmer’s recent videos and I’m having an issue.

Does the skimmer require a certain flow rate in order to work correctly? I can barely get the water to be sucked down the top of the skimmer, so much so that I can see the scum “float” back out of the skimming portion. And this is with the knob at the bottom turned fully closed for max skimming as well

upload_2018-5-5_1-2-1.jpeg


You can see where the water level drops to the skimmer. When I place a blade of hairgrass in the tube it gets sucked down into the filter after a while.


Any help please?

Thanks
 
Last edited:
Eheim Ecco Pro 200. 600 lph

If I dunk it into water it still floats above water line. I have to remove half the air in the gap beneath the floating bit to get it to balance out and sink a little for the water to even enter it

It’s adjustable, but I have it set to maximum now and I only get the minimal skimming.
 
I have read you need decent pull from your filter for this style skimmer to work, I used one with a 760lph filter and it was ok, but I had a very small head hight
 
Hmm, will have to have another play with it this weekend to see if I can get it to work right. Else it’s gonna be returned and reverted back to my normal glass lily inlet.

Came home from work today to see a noticeable difference in terms of surface scum, seems a lot less compared to before. Have opened the inlet a little more at the bottom to see how it goes before making a decision to return on Tuesday.
 
Hmm, will have to have another play with it this weekend to see if I can get it to work right. Else it’s gonna be returned and reverted back to my normal glass lily inlet.

Came home from work today to see a noticeable difference in terms of surface scum, seems a lot less compared to before. Have opened the inlet a little more at the bottom to see how it goes before making a decision to return on Tuesday.
Hi

I purchased the Aquascaper set that George showed in his videos.

As a backup, I also purchased a cheap set from China. This looked the same in the pictures but when I received it I noticed that the skimmer plastic top part was slightly taller and the pipes were slightly skinnier.

I installed this yesterday and no matter what I did, it didn't work. Bobbing up and down then sinking. It just won't balance.

I put the Aquascaper version back on and it's fine again now.

Looks like there may be a version out there that doesn't work?

Cheers

Will
 
Hi

I purchased the Aquascaper set that George showed in his videos.

As a backup, I also purchased a cheap set from China. This looked the same in the pictures but when I received it I noticed that the skimmer plastic top part was slightly taller and the pipes were slightly skinnier.

I installed this yesterday and no matter what I did, it didn't work. Bobbing up and down then sinking. It just won't balance.

I put the Aquascaper version back on and it's fine again now.

Looks like there may be a version out there that doesn't work?

Cheers

Will
Hmm, some food for thought there. I’ll give the aquascaper versions a go
 
Hmm, some food for thought there. I’ll give the aquascaper versions a go
Out of interest can I ask where you got yours? I got mine from Hinterfield. It was the cheaper of the two versions available...
 
@willsy So the one that doesn't work is from Hinterland?
Yes, the cheap one from Hinterland doesn't work.

The Aquascaper version from Evolution Aqua works perfectly!

My thoughts were that they are all made in China, so they are all the same. But I was wrong!
 
Yes, the cheap one from Hinterland doesn't work.

The Aquascaper version from Evolution Aqua works perfectly!

My thoughts were that they are all made in China, so they are all the same. But I was wrong!
Oh. And here's the Hinterfield version out of the tank and the Aquascaper version in the tank.

They look the same until you get up close!

d3f63c6cca16740a76b5d63baec22a8e.jpg
d6240aa9fa2506b4f81d4882421afcae.jpg
 
Out of interest can I ask where you got yours? I got mine from Hinterfield. It was the cheaper of the two versions available...
Mine is from co2 supermarket. I have to keep adjusting the height of the inlet to get the appropriate suction to stop the top bit from floating/sinking. In short, it works but as soon as the water level changes it needs readjusting.

I have ordered the aquascaper set direct from the evolution aqua site now
 
Simple way to solve the issue is to play around with the air gap that is created under the floating hat to moderate the buoyancy.

I have a syringe with a bit of air line on the end and suck out 50% of the air and the hat sits at the correct level.

This way you can use different strength filter with the all
 
Simple way to solve the issue is to play around with the air gap that is created under the floating hat to moderate the buoyancy.

I have a syringe with a bit of air line on the end and suck out 50% of the air and the hat sits at the correct level.

This way you can use different strength filter with the all
Thanks Papa Cee! Nice to know that I now have a spare skimmer! I'll give that a try...
 
Simple way to solve the issue is to play around with the air gap that is created under the floating hat to moderate the buoyancy.

I have a syringe with a bit of air line on the end and suck out 50% of the air and the hat sits at the correct level.

This way you can use different strength filter with the all
That’s what I’ve done, but still have to turn the knob at the bottom to fully close to get proper albeit minimal, skimming
 
So I’ve manages to get mine working but there are two requirements.

One - the bottom section has to be kept fully closed to maximise skimming from the top

Two - the air beneath the floating cap needs to be manually removed and tinkered with until the perfect balance is found

All in all it works as I can now see brown scum being sucked into the floating cap and clumping up.

The effects of minimal inlet suction from the bottom remains to be seen however. Am I right in saying that this doesn’t reduce the filter’s inlet flow as a whole, just reduces the suction from the bottom?
 
You can do a quick visual check on the flow by simply removing the floating hat and watching the flow from the outlet/return.

I haven't noticed any significant change on mine.
 
Good to know. I usually judge flow based on the microbubbles from my inline diffuser shooting out of the outflow Lilypipe. In any case it doesn’t seem to have reduced, plus I have a internal pump to aid circulation.
 
I feel like I should post an update. Managed to get it to work properly without having to tinker with the amount of air in the hat.

Problem was I had a 10mm outflow lilypipe sent to me in error and that limited the amount of water going out and hence the amount being pulled in. Once I got the proper 13mm outflow it works correctly.
 
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