SeaClone Skimmer question

[gtruslow]

I just installed a new skimmer (seaclone 100)and it seems to create tiny air bubbles in my tank. I followed the directions ( comletely close and open about 3/4 to 1 1/2 turns). If I do the opposite ( completely open .. and close about 1 1/2 turns) it seems to spill very few bubbles into the tank and the water column in the tube looks like a tornado with a strong center colum leading upward, isnt this the desire effect ?

[ledford1]

Grrr... makes me think how much I hated my SeaClone.

Yeah, you want the storm of bubbles in the column.

[Jounior]

gtruslow,
I hate to be the one to tell you this but that skimmer is JUNK.. I had one on my 75! Yeah yeah I know that it seems to be doing its job for now but trust me in a few months it wont be. You will be tweaking and tuning for hours everyday and it SUCKS big time. Save your self some headache and spend the extra money on a Remora or EuroReef.

[gtruslow]

now you tell me, I had a CPR hangon, but it was causing problems .... much the same as you just described .. tweak, tweak ...
I'l see if I can take this one back ..... :o(

[less]

for the money its not that bad, you will have to play with it to get it right. i did a couple of mods to mine and got it working pretty well i think but if i could do it again i think id buy a better skimmer,i get about 1/2 cup a dayhttp://photobucket.com/albums/v283/lesrat/tank/th_ea65c4c6.jpg

[AJP]

hey what mods did you make to yours less, can you describe them

[Archer772]

Was just wondering what seems to be the biggest problem with the seaclone skimmers. I dont realy here a lot of good things about any of the hang on skimmers.

[Neurosis]

well, being a former seaclone owner... you constantly have to adjust the venturi valve to dial in the aeration that you want...... did I say constantly? It became such a routine, that as soon as I came home from work, the first thing I'd do is open up the stand to see if it's still foaming. 50% of the time, the venturi quit and all that was going through the skimmer was just water, the other 50% of the time, I'd have to retweak it cause the bubble size was too large. The only good thing on a seaclone skimmer is the maxijet, which you could now use in the tank as another powerhead when you ditch the skimmer;)

[Benny Z]

contrary to everyone elses' experiences, i've found mine to be satisfactory for my system.

i removed the venturi device altogether and just have an open air line going into the intake attachment.

if you have the maxijet 1200 powerhead (i think all of the newer ones come with this pump...), you should be ok.

[loverofsalt]

Benny Z I'm with you. I have not any problem with my Seaclone either. I don't constantly adjust anything. Only thing I have to constantly do to mine is unplug it when I have to dump the cup. :smokin:

[TC3modena]

i just got the seaclone 100 in my 30 gallon, and nothing is going into the skimmer on top, idk wuts wrong with it?

[BradL.]

Dont own a seaclone myself but I love these threads

[TC3modena]

also, how often should we clean the filter?

[kenny77]

Originally posted by loverofsalt
Benny Z I'm with you. I have not any problem with my Seaclone either. I don't constantly adjust anything. Only thing I have to constantly do to mine is unplug it when I have to dump the cup. :smokin:

im with you 2 guy too. mine works like a charm, i just change the valve and put i found in my garage and do nothing. maybe i adjust the valve every 2 week or so. and the skimate doesnt come very liquid. is is a thick brown $H!T

[jer77]

I had a love-hate relationship with my seaclone- until the shotty black coupling dripped unnoticed until a much more noticable ball of flames almost cooked a $500 exotic breakfast. From then on skimmers went inside a tank, and the guilty seaclone was sentenced to life as a canister filter. I mean it does work, just like an old car works-stubbornly. It just wasn't meant to be in the class of the skimmers.

Anyway, for you believers check this out. I personally haven't tried it, but I've heard many say changing the venturi value helps. I think because it lessens the need for adjustment, which def helps on all skimmers.
seaclone DIY modifications (http://reefcentral.com/diy/seaclone_modifications.htm)

[TC3modena]

i feel like my seaclone isnt tuned right, all it makes is a tornado of water, no bubbles, and there is nothing in the collection cup. i kno how to make an adjustment on the intake valve to make some bubbles, but then it makes a very loud water noise, idk how to describe it, any1 else have a problem like this?

[jer77]

Its probably-mostly- caused by the vavle itself. Its shape amplifies the sound of the rushing air. Try taking the valve piece off to compare- I know it wont work because the valve is essentually open all the way and there's too much air flow- but if there's no noise I'd look into a pinch valve. Seaclones do seem to rumble a bit too. Mainly, I think, cause the whole skimmer isn't supported, balanced, or secured cept for the outlet piece. But maybe its just plain noisy.

[graveyardworm]

I have an unmodified seaclone 100 on my 35 fowlr, I think it works fine, pulls some really dark gunk. When its first set up itll take a few days to get going. All I do for maintenance is empty and clean the cup a couple times a week, Once a week I open the air valve fully ( take out the screw in thing ) and let it pull in about a cup of RO water to remove salt creep from inside the air line, I tossed the filter a long time ago now I can see the salt buildup in the air line, when I adjust the air valve I watch the bubbles inside the skimmer and turn the valve in or out until I see that the bubbles going down to the return dont quite make it out I leave it there and forget about until next weekend. This whole routine takes about 5 minutes and the skimmer works fine.

[Jounior]

well I am glad.... Not to be "hateing" on the Seaclone. All I am saying is that if you try another skimmer (remora, turbo floater, ect. especialy the euro-reef) then you will see the differance. Your tank will be cleaner, your water will be clearer and you wont have to "tweak" as much. I had the seaclone and now have a Euro-reef and I can honestly say if you see the S-H-I-T that the Euro-reef pulls out compaired to the seaclone it is amazing that fish can swim in that kind of left over crap that the seaclone misses! JMHO

[jeffb3t]

I love these seaclone skimmer posts. I have one and can't get it to work good but right now can't afford another one so I have to make due. It makes me wonder if there are two types of seaclones out there or if the ones that work were made after the ones that don't. Keep it coming!!

[Reefmaniac1]

Nope, only one type: Junk. I used one for a while on my old 20g. Wish I hadn't wasted the money. Yeah, it pulled stuff out but I was constantly fiddling with the venturi and the skimmate was usually fairly light colored instead of a nasty, dark green. I ended up replacing it on that tank with a HOT Berlin. That skimmer was 100 times better. On my 90g, I use an ASM G2X, which is millions of times better.

For those who are considering using a SeaClone on a small tank: DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!! You will end up spending more money replacing it. Save up the cash and get an AquaC Remora.

[less]

jer77 posted a link follow it, the only difference i maid was the instead of shortning theair lift tube i replaced it with a 1/2 piece of pvc tube about 3 inches long. like i said though if i had to do it again i would buy a better skimmer

[VoidRaven]

As a faithful SC owner, and a Aqua C Remora owner (yes, I buckled and bought one...the Remora Borg collective should be happy now), I must say that the SC's can do an ok job IF you don't mind fiddling with them. What you will find is many folks, not all, who complain about the SC's hate to fiddle with stuff (or used to have the "old" SC's). Now me, I'm a fiddler. I check on the tank and make any minor adjustments I have to before I leave for work, when I come home, and before I go to bed. I just love being around the tank and tweaking stuff. I know I shouldn't, but I do.

That being said, my SC100 pulls a nice, dark green sludge out of my 30gXH. My 150 did the same for my 55g. The only complaint I had was salt creep in the air line. I traded up because I have a very heavy bio-load in my 55g so I needed to pull out more gunk. Now I never had a micro-bubble problem with my SC, but I absolutely HATE my Remora because it pumps out a bunch of micro-bubbles (no, I don't use water conditioner). I've had it running for several weeks now, and yes I washed it first before using it, and it's still chucking micro-bubbles into the tank. Other than that, it's a great skimmer and much quieter than my SC.

It's your choice, but if you started with Prism you perhaps should have considered jumping up to something like a Berlin or Aqua C. Just a couple thoughts for whatever the may (or may not) be worth.

[Ebisan]

I have the Seaclone 100 on my 30g and it works well. I very rarely need to adjust it. However, I think I am going to replace it with an AquaC Remora since I will be increasing my bioload pretty quickly.

[BigJim]

Seaclone has revised their skimmer design. The earlier model is the one that everyone complains about. It didn't work properly and ticked off everyone who bought it. The new model works better. The people who say "mine works fine" are probably the owners of this new model. As for me, I have the new model and think it works fine. I get good skimmate and lots of crud in the cup. I've never owned a Aqua C so perhaps I have nothing to compare the seaclone to. I've never had to tweak it or had problems with the tiny bubbles going into the tank. The bubbles were there for a few weeks at first but once the skimmer established itself, it has worked fine. I do wonder what another skimmer would pull out of my tank but I've been happy with what I have and don't want to spend the extra $$$. My water quality has always been good so I'll keep with what is working. IMO, of course.:uzi: :bounce3:

[loverofsalt]

Same here BigJim, I don't have any problems with mine either and pulls a lot of crud out.:smokin:

[TC3modena]

well mine works like sh!t, it was like on the top shelt at my LFS and covered with dust, so im guessin i got the lemon. now im savin for the remora

[russ49merc]

I love these threads cause i have one of these and this is all I could afford at the time. I made 2 mods to it and this thing is the best.

But it drives me crazy everytime someone gets on here and saying it's a piece of crap. don't buy one get rid of it. or anything else. If someone asks me I tell them not to buy one. but if someone already has one then why not make an attempt to make it better when there are so many people out there that have gotten these to work. I just feel bad for anyone that posts any questions about a seaclone skimmer and everybody attacks them like a pack of wild dogs. well if you have one just do searches if it is ever up. :)


and for me the best thing I did was the Bio Ball Mod. actually the only two I did was the bio ball and the air valve. I went from about a half a cup of skim every 2 weeks in my 60 to pulling almost a full cup in 24hrs and I have to empty it every other day now. and has been doing that for the last 3 months. :) My 2cents

[kenny77]

as long as my water quality stays how is it now. i will keep the SC. but on my 125 im going witha Euro Reef.

[Neurosis]

I've seen the MaxiJet mods in which someone used a bioball that was cut to work similar to the needle wheel in the EuroReef skimmer pumps. I'd be curious to know if this would improve the foaming power of the SeaClone; either that or just stick a Sedra w/ the needle wheel onto the SC? Just a thought.

[MaryBebo]

"and for me the best thing I did was the Bio Ball Mod. actually the only two I did was the bio ball and the air valve. I went from about a half a cup of skim every 2 weeks in my 60 to pulling almost a full cup in 24hrs and I have to empty it every other day now. and has been doing that for the last 3 months. My 2cents"

russ49merc, Can you explain this a little more?
I too have the seaclone in my 85 gal. and I too have been told I need to get something better. but my space is the issue. It does skim but I too have to tweek (ajust the valve.clean it out move the sc around ) I didn't understand about the bio-balls????
Thanks:)

[Neurosis]

poo... didn't read russ49merc had already mentioned the bioball mod..

MaryBebo: Here's a link on how the do the bioball mod

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=458654&highlight=bioball+AND+needle+wheel

[russ49merc]

Here it is had to do alot of searching. BUT I FOUND IT WWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO :celeb3: :celeb2: :celeb3: :celeb2: BEST MOD YOU CAN DO TO YOUR SEACLONE (http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=332391&perpage=25&pagenumber=40) Hope this helps you as much as it did me. I also opened the holes on the venturi to get more air and water into it. and actually a newer one that my buddy got had very small holes on the venturi. I opened them as big as they could go. His is a HOB and is working awesome. "Right Dave" :wildone: :hmm3:

[jer77]

Now that looks like fun, WOW.

[russ49merc]

took about 10 mins the second time around. LOL

[MaryBebo]

Thanks SOOOO MUCH !!! :)

[Saltz Creep]

Originally posted by jer77
seaclone DIY modifications (http://reefcentral.com/diy/seaclone_modifications.htm)

I think this one is more helpful than Clinton Yiu's article:
http://www.reefsuk.com/Marine%20Aquariums/Articles/Seaclone.htm

[seahunter]

My advice to you would be, if its still pretty new and you got it from an LFS bring it back and get something else, you will tank me in the long run.

[MaryBebo]

Saltz Creep

THAT'S A GOOD ONE TOO! :)

[AJP]

Originally posted by seahunter
My advice to you would be, if its still pretty new and you got it from an LFS bring it back and get something else, you will tank me in the long run.

Ok not to be a jerk but, the whole point of this thread was how to make a seaclone better. We all know that there are better choices out there, but we have a seaclone. Thanks for the "tip" but next time please try to be constructive. Sorry if i offend, just sick of people that say stuff like that.

[russ49merc]

I agree if the thread was called "hey what do you think about the seaclone skimmer" but it's not



Originally posted by adamjonpeterson
Ok not to be a jerk but, the whole point of this thread was how to make a seaclone better. We all know that there are better choices out there, but we have a seaclone. Thanks for the "tip" but next time please try to be constructive. Sorry if i offend, just sick of people that say stuff like that.

[russ49merc]

maybe from now on we just ignore them if we do maybe they will go away. ..................... probably not

[seahunter]

Hey just giving out the same advice that was given to me!! I didn’t know what i was buying when i got mine, thankfully I read and posted and got the same advice I just gave out, it was new enough so I had no prob bringing it back to my LFS and BOY am I happy I did!! or I would be looking for mods on something I paid good money for!! I believe that when you buy something it should work without having to modify it! and what i said was IF IT IS STILL NEW AND CAN BRING IT BACK, DO SO.

[jer77]

I think this one is more helpful than Clinton Yiu's article: http://www.reefsuk.com/Marine%20Aqu...es/Seaclone.htm

Ya, I haven't tried it personally, and more pics would help. Looks like this one has potential to make more bubbles, plus good pics. Have you tried it? More mod experiments the better I think. Thanks. Time to dust off the seaclone and start tweakin.

[Saltz Creep]

Originally posted by jer77
Ya, I haven't tried it personally, and more pics would help. Looks like this one has potential to make more bubbles, plus good pics. Have you tried it? More mod experiments the better I think. Thanks. Time to dust off the seaclone and start tweakin.

http://www.reefsuk.com/Marine%20Aqu...es/Seaclone.htm

The mod really works well, however I would advise against using a wooden airstone as they clog soon. The 2" Rena Microbubbler (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3722&Ntt=rena&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&N=2004&Nty=1) works better and doesn't clog nearly as quickly. If it does, just soak it in hydrogen peroxide overnite and it's good as new. Get two so you can rotate them.