Since day one, ATB has been at the top of the cone skimmer pack. With the accompanying fanfare, it has developed a large following by users and non-users across the forums for its effective design and terrific customer service. At this early stage I cannot give a final conclusion, but my experiences so far are beginning to [...]
Since day one, ATB has been at the top of the cone skimmer pack. With the accompanying fanfare, it has developed a large following by users and non-users across the forums for its effective design and terrific customer service. At this early stage I cannot give a final conclusion, but my experiences so far are beginning to support the popularity and attention these skimmers have received.
The ATB Skimmer most appropriate for the glassbox is the External Small Cone. This model is powered by an Eheim 1260 Needlewheel for quiet, but effective air intake. I will stay away from the technical specifications on this first part of the ATB review, instead I’d like to provide more insight into the design and quality of construction.
Many times you see skimmers online, but in person they appear much different than how you imagined. My intention is that these higher resolution photos will help mitigate that effect. At the very end of the article is a small gallery. Click any photo to enlarge them too their 900x size.
The Eheim Needlewheel (Truthfully it is a Pinwheel, NWs are blade like e.g. Aqua Medic) is extremely well balanced. It spins freely and evenly on the polished ceramic shaft, and comes complete with two washers to prevent any rubbing. Unbalanced needle wheels and magnets create noise; as you would expect from a company like ATB the operation is quiet. To help reduce noise further, an effective air silencer is used. This piece is constructed with CNC machined red PVC and slides on top of the skimmers standpipe.
Because pumps do vibrate, ATB inserts four small green foam pads on the underside of the pump to reduce any rattle. Here you can see the ATB NW fill up the volute nicely. To increase air intake and performance, the Eheim’s volute cover cover has been slightly modified.
With the pump assembled we can see the venturi and feed for the skimmer. Because this model is external, the Eheim is recirculating the skimmer’s volume and an external pump will be needed as an input. For initial testing this will be a a Maxi Jet 1200 for 295gph of water throughput. In the future this will change to a Tee off of a larger return pump.
Although pumps are tremendously important for needlewheel and meshwheel based skimmers, what truly sets this line apart is the conical body. ATB makes these cones from a single sheet and hot air welds them to create a rigid and watertight body. This takes considerably more time and skill than using a traditional piece of cylindrical acrylic, but there are benefits. Cones create one large smooth transition to the collection cup. This reduces turbulence and burping and allows a much larger “stacking effect” than traditional skimmers do. In addition, the shape reduces back pressure on pumps allowing them to draw more air.
Traditional needlewheel skimmers have drifted towards a short and fat design because with less height there is less backpressure to choke and reduce air intake. Because cones naturally taper at the top, when compared to a cylindrical body, the back pressure will be less minimizing the effect on air intake. Now that is a generalization, but typically as back pressure increases, air intake and processing decreases.
ATB does not use glue for the majority of their construction, instead nearly everything is welded. Not only is this extremely strong, but it adds a hand made quality that you have to see in person to appreciate. At the larger seams a small plastic “rod” is welded and leaves a clean bead. Between this welding technique and the CNC machining it’s obvious the amount of time taken to make these skimmers.
In particular the collection cup and neck are examples of this fine machining. The cup sits directly on top of the body and is sealed thanks to some CNC work and a large O-ring. ATB USA includes a small care pack with every skimmer that contains some nice touches such as silicone lubricant for the O-ring a a very nice cleaning brush to keep your skimmer in tip top shape.
For the neat freaks out there, you will be extremely pleased with the assembly of these ATBs. The very bottom consists of two pieces. With a large O-ring and numerous stainless screws the base is completely water tight, while allowing access to the entire skimmer for cleaning. This means the bubble plate can be removed and every square inch of the skimmer can be cleaned. (If you’re thinking you would never actually take your skimmer apart, but are still interested in cone skimmers ATB has released the Econo line that features the same effective cone shape, but lacks the removable base plate.)
The attention to detail on these ATB skimmers is impressive and I am looking forward to installing the unit and giving it a real world test. If there are any questions you have, feel free to ask.
