Help identifying equipment

[hexy]

Hello all, I've always had planted aquarium but picked up a used salt water set up recently and need some help identifying models for these parts of hardware, to understand what they are and if i'm missing any parts.

thank you in advance!
hey

 

[Colin_T]

They look like protein skimmers. These have aquarium water flowing through them and have a wood airstone or venturi from a water pump to create very fine air bubbles that the water flows through. The air bubbles help to strip protein from the water and cause it to collect in the collection cup at the top of the skimmer. The more protein that is removed, the less ammonia that is produced and the cleaner the water remains.

 

[hexy]

Thank you Colin! Would you (or anyone) happen to hazard a guess to which brand / model they are so can find instructions online? I can't find this Reef Octopus one anywhere....!

 

[Colin_T]

http://reefoctopus.com/products/skimmers/

The Reef Octopus skimmer is an older model and not one of their brand new models. No idea what the other brand is but they sometimes have a name on the lid of the collection cup (top) or on the bottom of the unit (underneath the base).

There are lots of different brands out there including AquaOne, Eheim, Tunze, etc. If you do a google search for protein skimmers and look at the images, you might be able to find that model. Alternatively take a picture of the skimmer to your local pet shop and see if they can identify the brand. Different countries have different brands and the shop might know what is commonly sold in the area.

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All protein skimmers work on the same principle. Water goes through a chamber where fine air bubbles are passed over the water. The fine bubbles stick to proteins in the water and force them up into the collection cup at the top. Over time (a few hours to days) you get a dirty brown/ black liquid collecting in the collection cup and that is the protein from the water. The protein is from fish food and waste. The collection cup should be carefully removed from the skimmer unit and the black liquid tipped out and the cup rinsed with freshwater before being put back on the skimmer. The collection cup should be empty when put back on the unit.

On your unit the airline is where the air gets taken into the skimmer unit. It is probably a venturi style that sucks air in when the water is pumped in. However, you can run them on an air pump to get more air in. You can carefully remove the airline from the unit and wash any salt out of the fitting where the airline goes. Be very careful when trying to remove the airline because the little nozzle might break off.
Soaking the airline and unit in warm water for a few minutes might soften the airline up so it can be safely removed without breaking the nozzle off.

Water is pumped into the unit probably through the smaller grey hose attachment near the airline.

The bigger grey tube with the corrugations in is presumably the return pipe when the clean water that has been skimmed to remove protein, is returned to the filter or tank. The skimmer is an external unit that sits outside the aquarium or in a sump.

The skimmer unit has 2 clear tubes. One tube tapers to a narrow end at the bottom. The other tube is the same diameter all the way down and is the outer tube.

The water gets pumped into the smaller grey fitting and flows down through the inner tube with the tapered end. It mixes with airbubbles in this section before going out the bottom and into the bigger diameter corrugated tube. The bubbles with protein will go up the top and slowly creep over the edge of the collection container where they build up and eventually need to be removed.

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If you take the unit outside and stick a hose on the smaller tube, you will be able to see how the water flows through it. Give it a good wash and put it on a marine tank if you want. If you have a tank with lots of filter feeders in (mussels, clams) then skimmers are not the best because they remove plankton as well as protein.

If you have a marine tank with lots of big predatory fish, then skimmer will keep the water cleaner for longer and reduce the number of water changes you need to do.