Planctonite’s new BOT skimmer is pretty interesting. Think Berlin Triple Pass meets Seaclone, but a hell of a lot better. The skimmer uses a fan blade, dubbed the Dynamo, that is powered by the output of your normal Pinwheel fitted skimmer pump. This creates a cyclone effect within the reaction chamber.

It’s a novel idea. But where have I seen this before? I did some searching around and then it hit me. Tetra has a patent on a “Protein Skimmer with Stationary Fan”. The patent was filed back in February 2009, and granted in August 2010.

From the patent:

“The deflector causes the aerated water to swirl as it moves up through the reaction chamber by imparting a sideward or substantially horizontal water flow. The sideward, horizontal flow in combination with a natural vertical rise causes a rotational or swirling flow within the reaction chamber…the swirling action lengthens the flow pathway and increases the distance that the bubbles travel within the reaction chamber. The extend (sic) travel distance accordingly decreases the vertical speed at which the bubbles rise within the reaction chamber and increases the dwell time of the bubbles within the reaction chamber. This swirling action thereby desirably increases the reaction time between the bubbles and the protein in the water of the reaction chamber to improve the efficiency of protein removal.” [List of claims can be found here]

All that swirling talk brings back memories of the inefficient skimmers of the 90s! What is interesting in this design is that by forcing the deflector, or stationary fan, to move via the pumps output, the velocity of the air water mixture is drastically reduced–similar to the much employed bubble plate.

While we think Planctonite is closer to the mark with their design, Tetra’s patent may hinder the use of this stationary fan concept going forward. …And maybe, just maybe, we’re all trying too hard in the name of foam fractionation.

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What does Bubble Magus now have in common with the Supermarins, Sharks, and Powercones? Yup, that big sloped neck.

These are the new Bubble Magus Hero skimmers, arguably the best looking products from the Chinese manufacturer. BM has released three models shown here from top to bottom: BM Hero 180, BM Hero 220 and BM Hero 320.

The 180 model looks to be using an AquaBee 2000/1 pump, accordingly we’d expect 500-650lph. The larger 220 looks to be using an Eheim. Most likely their 1260 / 1262 which pulls just shy of 1,000 lph.

Meanwhile, the largest Hero 320 skimmer looks to be sporting an AquaBee 5000 which when tuned by BM pull upwards of 1,200 lph.

All else being the same the performance between a full cone skimmer and these slope style skimmers will be indiscernible. One feature we do like is the small foam dimple on the lid of the collection cup. [Reminds be of some old Amiracle skimmers I ran back in the day--they even had a 'mini bubble' plate in the neck!]

It’s been interesting watching Bubble Magus evolve over the years. They still have not shed their ‘knock off’ reputation, but with their progression they have become more relevant than some past skimmer heavy weights.

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In case you want to turn your community pool into a saltwater coral reef, ATB has conjured up this beast. Dubbed the ATB Supersize, it features dual Airstar 3000 pumps injecting into a double bubble plate. You’ll also notice that spray down system in the neck–saltwater washes down the inside, while the injectors actually inside the cup area can be connected to a freshwater source to flush out all that stank.

Measurements are 630x630mm with a height of 1160mm and it will be available as internal and external, out of sump use.

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I’m in the process of overhauling some of the basic filtration items on the glassbox, one of which happens to be the skimmer. Not because the current ATB Small External is not good enough, rather, I have a compulsion to try new equipment. I suppose it comes with the territory.

Victor at ATB USA has spoken very highly of the ATB Deluxe line, and it was something I’ve wanted to try. Except for the fact I couldn’t afford the large footprint.

I loved the form of the ATB Slim Line skimmmer, but wanted some of the updated features of the Deluxe. Leave it to Anton and Victor to combine the two. ATB USA sent us this ATB Slim Line that boasts some Deluxe heritage–namely the double bubble plate and float switch that when wired will shut down the skimmer pump before overflowing.

Here you can see the adjustable wedge pipe output which draws water from the very bottom of the conical body. The pump injects the air / water mixture into the double bubble plate, which features a diffuser on the outlet pipe to help disperse water within that smaller chamber.

The pump on this skimmer is the new Sicce Syncra 1000 based ATB Mini Airstar 2. (It is possible to upgrade to the Laguna 900 based Airstar pro pump on this body).

Overall, it is a simple, extremely well made design that I look forward to punishing with multiple feedings a day.

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Austrian equipment outfit, ATB is out with their newest skimmer model: the ATB Elegance 200 Pro. At 550mm (21.6″) tall and a footprint of just 280 x 230mm (11″ x 9″) this skimmer is aimed at aquarists who require a large skimmer, but not the associated footprint.

By placing the ATB Airstar Pro pump inside the skimmer body, the Elegance 200 Pro can operate as a reduced footprint skimmer in sump, or external. ATB has intelligently placed a union on the pump’s input which makes plumbing the 200 Pro externally much easier.

To clarify, the standard in sump model is the ATB Elegance 200. The Pro version places the Airstar pump internally for a much more compact design.

The ATB Elegance Pro is tuned to draw 1,800lph of air, while moving 2,200 lph of water (580 gph) at just 37w of electric consumption. That’s over 8 parts air injected into the conical skimmer for every 10 parts water filtered through. The current estimated price is €620 or ~ $860 USD.

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The  PSK 2500 based ATB Mini Airstar is dead. The attractive little pump and huge volute was the best PSK 2500 based pump for its time, but has since been laid to rest–and rightfully so. Sicce’s new PSK 600 and PSK 1000 Syncra motor blocks are stronger, more reliable and better built than its past relative. Noting this, ATB has ditched the 2500 model in favor of the 1000 Syncra. 

Last weekend we had the chance to play with the new ATB Mini Airstar and it’s just as quiet, pulls just as much air, and is much more reliable.

ATB has incorporated a venturi, pinwheel and base to turn an otherwise normal aquarium pump into a serious foam machine. ATB 840 owners can expect a befitting ~800 lph of air draw at 22w from the pinwheel fitted pump. (With some minor tweaks some additional air can be pulled.)

With the added rubber feet and mounting base, you can kiss vibration good bye. Sicce owners can also save themselves from salty lips–the Syncra 1000 motor has significantly more torque upon start up, meaning it can operate at depths over 8″ and no more blowing into the air intake to start your skimmer.

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Dwyer obsessed ATI Bubble Master owners itching to squeeze a bit more air into their skimmers may just be in luck. ATI has said they plan to offer their new patented Gridwheel impeller as an upgrade for Bubble Master owners.  In reality the Bubble Master skimmers do not exactly need more air, this upgrade would be more for reliability than anything.

There has been no word if aquarists will be required to provide any proof of purchase information to be elligible to purchase the new impeller. If no requirements are made, the Gridwheel will likely become a new LPH experiment among the Sicce PSK crowd. [Update: Early pricing puts the gridwheel impeller ~ $40].

On a related note, ATI has said they will not be selling their new modified Power Cone Sicce pump which features a new enlarged volute and centralized venturi. Skim-heads wishing to try it will need to pony up for the entire PowerCone skimmer. Update: ATI retailers like Premium Aquatics have already placed the PowerCone skimmer pump available individually on their site.

[riff]

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The Hydor Slim Skim and Hydor Slim Skim Nano were on full display this past weekend at Backer. The column-like skimmers utilize a modified Ario pump to inject fine bubbles directly into the skimmer, with low velocity. The open Ario pinwheel design is also quite efficient. The Slim Skim sips just 6.5w while the Nano drops to 4w.

The $135 full sized Slim Skim measures in at 17.5″ tall with a 4″ x 4.5″ footprint. Hydor currently rates the Slim Skim for 65g with moderate stocking and 48g for heaving stocking. Typical of most skimmer manufacturers we find these numbers inflated. In fact, given the small neck on the Slim Skim, this model can likely be used on tanks as small as 10g without suffering from a collapsing foam head as is often observed on grossly oversized skimmers.

We’re not big fans of the tough to clean slot  neck–but with limited options the Slim Skim is a welcome addition.

Both the Slim Skim and its smaller 12″ Slim Skim Nano are very quiet. On the tradeshow floor they were only audible with your ear right next to the air intake. This is in part due to the recirculating air intake which drawing direct from the collection cup, acting as a silencer.

The Slim Skim Nano skimmer takes up just a 3.5 x 3.5″ footprint and is priced at $105. Given their small rectangular footprint and fair pricing, we believe the Slim Skim line to be ideal for the all in one nano crowd.

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The ATI Powercone, featuring their unique Gridwheel impeller, will be unveiled to U.S. Aquarists at MACNA 2010. Greg Morgan and the Reef Geek crew will have the new PowerCone on display; we’re looking to seeing how quiet that 3,000 lph @ 35w really is.

Gridwheel diagram from ATI’s patent

While researching the new PowerCone skimmer, we have dug up German patent applications on the new Gridwheel design. This is an important step for ATI to retain their intellectually property and will hopefully slowdown the copyshops. If the Gridwheel performs as well as we believe it will, 3rd party licensing may be a viable option. For those fluent in German you can find the patent under application number: DE202010003425U1

Additional information from the ATI Press Release:

ATI PowerCone 160 w/ Pump – Coming Soon

• Up to 150 Gallons
• $399.95

ATI PowerCone 200 w/ Pump

• 100-250 Gallons
• $459.95

ATI PowerCone 250 w/ Pump

• 250-500 Gallons
• 10.0″ x 18.1″ x 21.7″
• $529.95

The ATI PowerCone Skimmer combines several new innovations

to produce a skimmer with unsurpassed efficiency and exceptional performance. At the core of the design is the innovative Grid-wheel impeller that combines the stable performance of a needle-wheel with the superior performance of a thread/mesh-wheel impeller.

This Grid-wheel impeller combined with an improved air injection nozzle to increase air intake and an optimized pump housing to improve water flow produces a skimmer with unmatched performance. The ATI PowerCone is the perfect merger of modern advances in skimmer technologies and affordable pricing making it a truly unbeatable value.

Unmatched Performance: The high-volume of air flow combined with the Grid-wheel impeller to chop it all up produces an incredible amount of tiny, waste removing bubbles resulting in an extremely dense and uniform water air mixture. And the design of the skimmer body allows these bubbles to remain in contact with the water for a long period of time resulting in a skimmer that easily outperforms much larger skimmers. The significantly higher surface area of the Grid-wheel impeller easily outperforms traditional needle-wheel impellers.

Stable Performance: Grid-wheel impeller produces consistent, long-term performance as it won’t break apart and wear out like thread/mesh-wheel impellers.

Energy Efficient: Uses just 35 watts of energy while pulling in 3000+ lph of waste removing air.

Easy To Use: Built-in water-level adjustment valve allows for easy and precise fine-tuning of the skimmers performance. The base of the skimmer can be adjusted to change the position of the water outlet and many parts of the skimmer can be easily taken apart for cleaning.

Quiet Operation: Produces minimal noise due to innovative pump and skimmer body design and built-in air silencer.

Excellent Build-Quality: Constructed of high-quality materials and assembled using modern production techniques.

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Typically reserved for their larger Industrial Sized Skimmers, MRC has added their triple cone washdown system to their popular and powerful Orca Pro III skimmer. The wash down system relies on its own dedicated external pump and MRC’s slick LCD timer to provide intermittent spray downs for the collection cup and neck.

MACNA 2010 attendees will be able to see the MRC Orca Pro III with the triple cone wash down system at the Aquarium Specialty display.

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