Bullet 1 - what's similar

What would be a skimmer that's similar to the Bullet 1 - in other words, the same skimming power and capacity?

This skimmer is great, but I've found that I have to mess with it on a daily basis to keep it skimming properly. Either the water level becomes too high, or too low, and needs adjusted, or it needs the injector cleaned, or the air needs readjusted, etc. etc. Maybe I'm missing something. I have a valve to adjust water level, all works properly, it just ... requires tinkering to keep it foaming and producing skimmate. Sometimes it foams and doesn't go into the collection cup. Then I have to shut off air, look at water level, readjust air, blah blah.

I travel frequently and while I can have someone dose and top off my tank, I can't have them working on my skimmer. This is a great piece of equipment but I need better consistency. I.E., set it and forget it, and clean once a week when I get home.

 

Often times, mine doesn't skim either, then it detects, skims a bit, drops it into the overflow and then sits again. Foaming but not producing. To me, it just means that there is not enough waste in the water column to really cause the skimmer to react. It sounds to me like you are overadjusting it. I would just let it go. It's not going to skim a lot of the time.

And I gotta ask what part you are cleaning. If it is the main tube, I wouldn't touch it. Just let it get all oogy. I have found that if I clean that part, then I have to wait for the skimmer to reprime.

If you are wanting another skimmer and wish to ditch this one, it will definitely have some resale value. Here are two ideas for other skimmers with completely different technology.....

**E.T.S.S. 600XR
**ASM G-2

I have never used an ASM, but the ETSS is a great skimmer. Just takes a little bit to dial in.

 

I had this thought as well. Then I left I left it alone for a couple days. No skimmate. However, after re-adjusting, it starts skimming away happily. I actually left it alone thursday, friday, saturday. I got sick of it foaming and producing gunk into the riser. I cleaned and broke it down and readjusted everything, and literally (not joking) 30 seconds after I kicked the pump back in, it started foaming, and about 1 minute later, I'm getting skimmate. It does need readjusted.

I'm cleaning the cup and the riser. If the riser gets oogy, the bubbles in this one pop in the riser and actually never makes it into the collection cup. If I keep the cup and the riser clean, then the skimmate makes it into the separate waste container.

Don't get me wrong, I love this skimmer, and if I'm just doing something wrong, I would much rather readjust my care for this one and keep the Bullet than buying another skimmer. My experience just is showing for some reason this one needs daily maintenance. When you leave a skimmer for 3 days and it doesn't skim, then you clean or readjust it, and immediately it kicks in pulling gunk .....

 

I may be off base.... my skimmer only produces skimmate sporatically. I just figure everything is clean. Needlewheels do need less adjusting. Once I got the water level right, I don't mess with it.

Having said that, I tend to stay on the wetter side of skimate. Seems if I get it too dry, it just stays in the neck. At least when I keep it wetter, when it needs to, it produces skimmate, and when it doesn't, it still stays close to overflowing, or has no head at all. (after feeding)

Seems like on the AquaC, I could get it adjusted good, then it would fade. I was not messing with it everyday, it was just hard to have cosistency long term. My Bubble King needs no adjusting. I assume that is a trait of the needle wheel, not necessarily the maker. I adjust wate level and thats it. And I rarely do that. It has been nice not messing with the AquaC.

Having said that.... my Bubble King is siezed up right now. I will have to take it apart tomorrow after shift to see what is up. Hopefully it is only some foreign debris.

Try parking it on the wetter side and see if it goes any better. (As long as you don't overflow your waste container)

 

How long is the output of water from the gate valve??

Plus if the output under water or above??

 

Output is above water. You mean the stream of water? It's a fairly strong output, a few inches maybe?

 

I hope mine doesn't act like that. I have one for the 180, but I'm not even going to set it up for at least another month probably.

 

You'll like the skimmer. I keep wondering if I'm doing something wrong, but I can't imagine what I could be doing wrong. It's pretty simple. Adjust water level to what they tell you, adjust air, watch it skim. It foams like crazy. Pulls large amounts of gunk. I stretched some pantyhose on the end of the gate valve output to break micro bubbles, and then adjusted the levels, but I thought may be causing the issues and I took it off and just run it without. My tank is a cloud of micro bubbles as a result which sucks. I need a sump with bubble trap, but can't fit a bubble trap in this. So since with hose / without it made no difference, I will probably put the hose back on the end.

It just requires constant tinkering. If I don't adjust every other day at least, it doesn't pull skimmate. As soon as I adjust, it does pull skimmate, so I know there's crap to pull.

 

http://www.3reef.com/forums/protein-skimmers/vertex-100-review-63499.html

no tweaking for me, they make all sizes of this skimmer.

 

I'm thinking about getting one of the new I-Tech 200 cone skimmers. I've met the guy who makes them in Oldsmar, FL (Fish and Other Icthy Stuff), and one of the guys locally bought one and likes it. Pretty impressive skimmer.