Super Surface Skimming!!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ก.ย. 2024
- Find out why I had to replace the surface skimmer in my Aquascaper 600 planted tank nature aquarium aquascape.
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Super interesting video. Not seen anyone explain this so well before, thank you!
Thanks Paul 👍
Soooo I have the nano version of these pipes for my saltwater tank and was wondering why the skimmer was basically useless and what that bottom bit was for. Safe to say after this very well put explanation I have no more surface scum and my skimmer actually works! Huzzah!
Great video, I have not seen anyone else explain this better than you. I wish we had aquarium stores in the USA that were dedicated to nature aquariums like you have in Europe, you all are so lucky to have that. We do have some great stores, but not many that are dedicated to freshwater planted tanks. Any specialty aquarium stores we have are dedicated to saltwater reef tanks.
So satisfying seeing that skimmer doing its thing
George! I have a Eheim 2217 classic which has a 12/16 outflow and a 16/22 inlet with all the ugly green pipes and fittings which I've been wanting to replace to clear tubing ect...I also have a 13mm glass lily pipe set lying around and your demonstration of the pipe work conversions has saved me from buying a seperate 17mm inflow pipe. All I have to do is buy a clear 16/22 hose and and using your method fit the 13mm inflow pipe on with a inch of the 12/16 hose. Thank you so much!
Yes, should work fine 👍
Awesome video.
Lol love your driving, you signal and everything most people in Canada can’t haha.
🙏👍
What I fund most interesting is making a reduction adapter out of 16 mm hose. That has stuck in my head. Thanks, George.
Yeah very handy tip I feel
That was a great tip on converting from 12 to 16mm tubing.
I enjoy theses long videos, thanks George.
I'm new to all this and I have wondered what that castle-looking thing was in other viseos. Now I know. Thank you.
George did not show the tiny wee archer that goes with the kit. Next time.
Just installed a surface skimmer and a lily pipe today,very good tutorial...thanks.
Glad to help 👍
Very informative as usual, love your videos George...👍
Thanks Jim 👍
Hi George glad you put the skimmer back on tank looks fantastic. Be careful not to break this one.
It was amazing seeing how fast it cleared the surface. These don't seem to be very popular in the states. I wonder why.
from what i can see its cause people here in the states use inline co2 and by doing that it doesnt cause the seltzer water that leads to the surface scub
also finding the perfect balance of co2 in the water is all part of the hobby
I lived in a place where I had no surface scum. I moved a 2 miles away and now I have surface scum. I don't like it and will have to get a skimmer.
One reason is because they’re unreliable. Lee’ makes them and they make too much noise if a snail gets caught in them and then the pump will start sucking in air.
Awesoommmeeee. Really like the unboxing, setup, usage, and the camera angles to film it all. Showing us the surface of the tank from underneath and the light on above the water really showed the effectiveness of the surface skimmer attachment. We need more videos like this for every item that humans create lol.
Cool trick with the 12 to 16 adaptor
Hi George, I've got my 16 mm surface skimmer mated to an Eheim Pro 4 350 canister filter. The pump is too strong for the current design even with the lower intake fully opened. The overflow is unstable, gulping air from time to time, and eventually will get sucked underwater completely. So this system as-is isn't safe for my fish. But it makes the water perfect so I want to keep it if I can. One option is to put some sort of mesh over the overflow so fish can't be sucked in, but I really should balance the system too so the overflow isn't sucked down. I'm considering restricting the pumps draw on the surface skimmer with a gate valve on the intake line to the Eheim, or somehow increasing the flow at the lower intake. Maybe a few holes drilled in the acrylic bottom piece at the lower intake to allow more water in would work. I don't really like the idea of putting restrictions on the pump, but maybe it's not such a big deal as I imagine. Or maybe replacing the lower acrylic piece completely with just a plug on the botto with holes drilled through. Any other ideas or thoughts you can share?
Hi, i am very similar with your problem did you could fix it?
My experience with that sort of skimmer is that it's fine as long as you don't have small shrimps in the tank. Even if you add a stainless steel mesh to the bottom part of the skimmer, shrimps can also get sucked from the skimmer top part. I found a few shrimps stuck in my pre-filter some time ago. I have since then added a small fabric mesh to the top dented floating skimming part. I am glad I had a pre-filter else they would be all dead.
Good advice, thanks 🙏
Nice vid. Enjoyed watching. Love that B Role! Sweet aquarium shop. Great stock of fish and plants. Each tank is a work of art at that shop. I need a surface skimmer too, so this is like a tutorial on the subject. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks Jose 😊
George Farmer I got the information I needed, so thank you once again!
George, always love your videos and the time you put in to everything. But, when you show a tank or a species of fish or shrimp can you pause just a few seconds more for the camera to focus and so that we can get our bearings on what we’re looking at? Keep up the great work. Great stuff you are doing here!
Thanks so much. Point taken on livestock filming. 👍
I never fail to learn from your channel. Great stuff George.
Always something new to learn in every video. Thank you, George!
Great tutorial on surface skimmer. I can now relate to some of skimmer setup issue I have encountered recently. Thanks for the video George! As always, great stuff!
such a beautiful and elegant setup !!
That tank is amazing
It's so big it reminds me of a bong. I've seen little square cheap ones that do the same job only more out of my face.
Many thanks for this video. I've just received my JARDLI Lili pipe surface skimmer and was wondering how to make it work. You've enlightened me!
What a great video. I just bought one today .... 🙌🙌🙌
👍😊
Your videos match tanks .... Top Notch ! Always look forward to them. 👍🇨🇦😀
I have a waterbox 4820 with two fluval 407s. I just ordered 2 sets of the fzone glass lily pipes and surface skimmers. I hope it works out well for my system.
Thanks for sharing! Your scapes are super cool!🥰🥰🥰😇
That’s a neat bit of kit ! I’ll look into one for myself
Beautiful tank! Thank you for the video! I am going to purchase one but wanted to do some research first.
A useful tool. Very aesthetic.
I always wanted to see how it works,now I know thanks...👌🏻
You’re welcome 😊
Very nice video.
Daisy's ricefish. Very nice. They were always breeding in the morning in my tank.
Awesome video. Those fish remind me of Medaka.
that clear is so satisfying
thanks for the tips on surface skimmer!
lily pipe will actually works like a surface skimmer if used correctly the surface of water will have vortex and suck all those down, glass surface skimmer often break easily due to the different thickness of glass on itself, try stainless steel often more expensive, but a nice long term investment
This video proves that there is no elegant way to disassemble Lily Pipes without spilling. Now i feel better about myself
Wrap a towel loosely around the hose and let all the spilled water be absorbed into the towel. Not a drop on the floor.
You did well in lubricating the tube haha.😂
I don't have much problem with surface film in my 240-liter tanks since they have Juwel's internal filter which pulls the water in from top so it pretty much handles "skimming" for those tanks.
I also have Tunze Comline Streamfilter 3163 in one of my tanks which does pretty much the same. It's "meant" for saltwater but I like stream pumps in freshwater as well. They create a nice turbulent and wide stream that's not too difficult for fishes to handle while still giving exceptional circulatio. I mean 1800 liters/hour circulation for a 60-liter tank sounds like a lot water movement - and it is - but because it's a stream it doesn't give a heavy punch to fish. Even my rams have no trouble handling it.
By the way I found a few sellers of oase biomasters here. I'm sort of on the fence if I should get one since they are a tad expensive and it might be difficult to get spare parts.
The Tunze pumps sounds awesome !
Amazing thank you very helpful and you are so easy to listen to !
That 12mm to 16mm adapter trick blew my mind....
Yes, one of those cool tips! 👍
Same. And to think that I've been purchasing adapters from the local hardware store this entire time thinking that I was being impressively handy. Whoops.
In Poland we have one decent company making stainless steel skimmers, inlet and outlets. There are gorgeous, quality practically like ADA and cheap [50 GBP per set]. I never found any better steel product in europe even that the popular aquatic companies have some similar inlets/outlets.
The name is Aquastalka, the guy has his facebook page site when you can order. Sadly they can't be used in saltwater aquariums as I know.
PS:Ofcourse poor Poles don't appreciate this product and preffer shi^^tty DIY plastic, ugly sets made by themselves in garage, but you know :P I hope this guy get some recognition for his quality work.
Fajnie że reklamujesz polską firmę, szkoda, że dodałeś ten PS - DIY to nie jest tylko polska specyfika i czasem niektórzy wolą sami podłubać mimo, że ich stać...
Kretosyt - doskonale to rozumiem, sam czasami coś zaimprowizuję czy podłubię. Problem jest tylko taki że spora część Polaków posiada pewną paskudną cechę - "ja wiem najlepiej", "panie a czemu tak drogo? za połowę ceny biorę dzisiaj" i to podsycone niezwykłą pychą, przerośniętym ego i pewnością siebie i paskudnego dzieła.
I nie było by w tym nic złego gdyby nie ta bezszczelność i męczące zachowanie wobec sprzedawców, innych osób prywatnych czy ludzi którzy zarabiają na chleb starając się dać innym trochę szczęścia. To jest zachowanie nieuczciwe, skąpe, pazerne, w dłuższym terminie szkodliwe.
A że ja nie znoszę tych cech które wymieniłem wyżej, to bezpośrednio nazywam takich ludzi "biedakami" czy "chamami".
Skróciłem tę myśl trochę w tym angielskim komentarzu ale myślę, że rozsądny człowiek sam się obroni, a mądry odbiorca nie będzie piętnował i stygmatyzował jakiejś grupy tylko dlatego że ktoś inny ma do konkretnej jej części jakieś uprzedzenia. :)
Pozdrawiam.
You guys in Europe are so lucky to have these specialty stores dedicated to Nature Aquariums. I am from US and we have practically zero stores that are dedicate to Nature Aquariums. All we have is just normal aquarium stores and if the store is a specialty store it's probably dedicated to saltwater reef aquariums. I have about 6 aquarium stores that are close to me (ranging from 10 to 30 minute drive) and I WISH so bad, that I could walk in to one of these and get the type of product you are talking about.
That glassware set looks quality. I was wondering why you use the 12mm version.. it's because the 17mm out of stock. Thought I was missing a trick for a moment :)
Could also be the 12mm set is smaller takes up less real estate in the tank
Another great video :-) Ordered my Aquascaper 600 today!! Opted for the ultra gloss Japanese Pear finish :-) Will be contacting AG to order the Twinstar 600s on Monday :-)
Nice!!
many thanks from here in Canada, as you say a great bit of kit, the speed of the clean up was impressive but why did you not get a 16/22 mm set if that is the size tubing you have.
Thanks. Out of stock on the 16mm set
Hi George, just wondering if this glass pipework set would be suitable for a Juwel Rio tank? What's the maximum distance from the top of the tank to the top of the water that this is suitable for? I can't find measurements anywhere to check it.
Love watching your videos, planning a full rescape soon using your tips and ideas.
Cheers.
I think it wouldn’t fit a Juwel unless you removed the hood (I have done this myself but it’s at your own risk due to the brace strengthening).
I want one of these so badly BUT in clear plastic insted of glass so I dont have to worry about breaking it easly ^^
Maurice Matla hi
I have the same issue with my tank, but only since I replaced my very basic and weak T8 bulb with a 2400 lumen LED light above my 60l. Unfortunately the only skimmer I can find where I live is a very unsightly monstrosity from EHEIM that would take up a very large space inside the aquarium.
beautiful tank :)
That was a high quality plonk when you dropped the surface skimmer in the water. that HAD to be added after, haha! Was it?!?!
Those skimmers work OK unless there’s a snail that gets stuck in them or a leaf or any obstacle then it will mess-up and start making noise.
0:52 It's a ricefish of some sort. I have the Japanese Ricefish and they reproduce on any temperature and eat almost anything. Mine act as a clean up crew and will even eat algae if left without food.
George, I'm curious as to why the inlet and the outlet are next to each other as I'm used to having them (standard fittings, not lily pipes) at opposite ends of the tank?
Hi Richard. Having them next to each other promotes better all-round circulation, assuming your flow rate is sufficient. 👍
Great video, I dont suppose you know or could measure how much of a gap is needed to fit these please? Ive got limited space between the rear of my tank and the wall!
Accidentally tumbled on your video.. very beautiful explained and I liked that I explored... The shop was beautiful.. when you visit next time.. give them best regards from India 💌🕶️ .. what's the music playing.. tell me that.. Awesome video Thanks for making... Wowwwww
Try not to break this one 😉😂. Scape looks great
Ha! Cheers Jackson 👍
Hi George ! May I know what kind of lights are you using? They're so bright !!
Thanks !!
You just made my day! Was going for a Oase Filter too, but did not want the huge 17mm in- and outlets. Am I right you just use 12/16 mm stock Standard Hose as an adaptor?
Hi George, Hope you are doing great!! I have a quick question. Will this also suck the dirt under water or just only the surface? Basically I am looking for dual one which does both the job by just connecting it to one canister filter.
I want the water to be calm. Am not a great fan of the skimmer which blows air innthe water which in turn spoils my plants.
There are the 13mm and 17mm versions for tubing with 12 and 16mm I.D respectively. Wouldn't you want to match correctly so you don't impede intake flow? If your canister tubing has an intake with an ID of 16mm, you would need to retain that minimum width until you get to the impeller - as that is how it's designed to work.
True. But in this case the filter is massively overrated so a reduction in flow is actually welcome! 👍
@@GeorgeFarmerStudios Regardless, it's a beautiful tank you have there! I'm very jealous. :) What filter are you running? I'm in Canada and I think perhaps angelfins.ca carries what appears to be the same product under a different name. Every distributor wants their own name - lol. I used to work in Manufacturing (computer geek) and keeping all the product line labels straight could be a pain.
I JUST ordered an Eheim surface skimmer, the plan being able to modify it to take CO2 just above its foam and really diffuse that in. I'll post a vid if its successful. This glassware is beautiful, but I can't imagine trying to drill it or adding an unsightly tube.
Oase Biomaster 600.
Could it damage the filter over time?
Hi George i notice you have two set of lily pipes on there do you have two filters too
Thank you! That's why I can't get the top part to stay up! I know what I'm doing tomorrow.
Awesome video George. Do you get any leaks with the 12mm hose adaption??
No 😃
Curious as to why you are using a 12mm inlet/outlet and not a 16mm considering your hose seems to be a 17/22mm? Maybe I missed something.
Scrap that. I see you answered that very same question to someone 8 months ago :D
I bought the smaller one by accident, wish I'd seen the hose adaptor idea before buying the right size one :D
Nice video. Well made. Cheers
Very nice setup first time seen this and how do u get clear water like that?
Good filter and regular maintenance
Hi George.
Thank's for this great video.
I am glad you got a new one.
I just uploaded a Shout Out and you are in it!
Balloon mollys! I love them! I am starting a planted aquarium, can they be kept with other fish? I thinkI read they like brakish water so could only be kept with brakish water fish. I love them and dalmation mollys, i red dalmation could go either way, maybe I will do just ballon and dalmation, but I dont want baby fish and I dont want o see them eaten either so that could be a problem.
Problem I have so far is that the skimmer "bounces" so it with doesn't skim or sucks in a big chunk of air.
Filter is a fluval 407, rated up to 1400 lph
Hi George, I have a hang on back filter on my 150 ltr planted tank. I also use 2- 600 ltr power heads for circulation. I want to try a surface skimmer but I don't know if that will decrease the water flow if I use the skimmer in place of one of the power heads. Do you think the Ehime 350 would do the trick??
Randy it shouldn't have much affect on circulation, as the outlet will still be blowing the same amount out, it's just that the inlet is now pulling water from two sources.
George, do you not still use pre-filter foam to help protect baby shrimp from being skimmed?
No, they don’t seem to venture to near the inlet.
Good video!
Hi George! I really appreciate your videos and you as a person. I am going to buy an aquascaper, but as an old time aquarist, I fail to understand why people use open aquariums? Doesnt it create too much humidity?
And furthermore, are there any advantages with not covering it with thin glass - except for the light to be better for plants?
Could you use this with a sump filter, any chance of covering how to set up sump filters. Great feeds super helpful Thanks
Thanks Tom. I’ve very little experience with sumps. Sorry 👍
The problem I got is algae growing and preventing skimmer to move up and down and gets stuck in same height. And also some leaves blocked the skimmer. So If you have any other options, let me know.
Great video. Are those the same as the Fzone lily pipes? They look identical. Just purchased a pair for them for my fluval 407s. Hopefully the flow rate isnt too much for the intake of the lily pipe intake.
How does the the skimmer get the water to run through it I want to know how because it looks so clean without a hang on filter.
Thank you
Looks like your intake and outtake tube are right next to each other for your filte. maybe putting one on the other end would help with the water circulation and the surface skim
Hi, I always put my outlet and inlet together. This promotes better all round circulation. If you place them opposite the flow tend to be unidirectional.
Love the vids. Many years ago I tried a skimmer but did not like the “slurping” sound from the top. I tried adjusting the suction, but it still was making that annoying sound, so I returned it.
My question is that was a while ago. Do the newer versions still do that sound??
I think the sound is more to do with the suction rate that’s determined by the power of the filter. You could try turning the flow rate down slightly
George Farmer I’ll give it a try one day again. Thanks again;)
When setting up glassware like this, is it best to have them inlet and output next to each other? I ask because my tank has a glass lid and the inlet and output wouldn't really be able to be side-by-side. Currently the tank is outfitted with a spraybar but these glass fittings are so beautiful. (I live in a desert so evaporation would be too much without the glass top)
I prefer it together but you can experiment to get best results 👍
George Farmer Thank you George!
I have the same intake/skimmer attached to a fluval fx4. The filter is too strong and pulling down the skimmer even when I fully add air under the skimmer with a pipet.
Hi George,
Just wondering why you opted for the 12mm set instead of the 16mm the Aquascaper 600.
I have an aquarium the same dimensions and am confused whether I should get 12 or 16mm lily pipes for my Fluval 406 filter.
Thanks =D
Hi Corey, I think the 16mm were out of stock. They are also more discreet 👍
Is it recommended to put inlet and outlet next to each other? I currently have one either end of a small 2.5 feet tank.
Why do we need a skimmer? just about to set up a roma 240 tank with co2 and airstone. Do I need a skimmer as well? and what size? benefit?
they way you took that outlet out i thought it was going haha
Really enjoyable informative video George, I had no idea surface skimmers made that much difference! Presumably the surface scum would deplete the amount of light reaching further down in the tank as well as the gas exchange? Would a surface skimmer be as important in a planted nano tank using co2 injection i.e. the 55L Dennerle Scapers tank (similar to Jurijs's beautiful diorama at Aquarium Gardens)? If yes would the Aquascpaer 12mm fit please (the height of the tank is 34cms)?
Hi Glenda, it does block a small amount of light but minimal. The inlet would be too big for the Scapers Tank unfortunately
Thanks as always George!
finally got one of these skimmers with a new lily pipe set after I accidentally broke a hole through my lily pipe by pulling a pipe cleaner out too quick, figured that thing on the bottom was for the flow but came back here to confirm. It kind of looked like you set the surface skimmer to 100% for the initial clear, presumably you turned it back to 50% or something after?
I love ur java ferns! So healthy!!! How old are they? Mine is only 6months old and I cant wait for it to grow that strong and healthy like urs!
Hi George,
Do you only need a skimmer if injecting co2? Thanks Aengus . Ps clever idea using the hose adaptor.
A skimmer will help any aquarium. It promotes oxygen exchange, which is always a good thing.
I'll add that it provides more oxygen to the filter bacteria, allowing them to do a better job. Lots easier to keep ahead of bba with a skimmer. For that and many other reasons, I agree with George that it should be standard equipment.
Hey, nice video. I have the same product but it doesn't worki! I wonder, maybe my filter is not powerful enough to suck properly from the surface?
George, PLEASE tell me that hack of adapting 2 different pipe sizes has always worked! I fear water leaks. Can I do this for inlet and outlets? I use Fluval FX4 here in the USA and can not locate lily pipe set to fit. You may have just solved it for me!
It works!
George where do you buy inlets that will stretch to 2ft in a large tank..? Thanks man...
Hi there. I have a similar setup on a reef tank, same 850 canister filter and lily pipe set but I get constant micro bubbles. Tried reseating everything and lubricating o rings, etc. Let me know if you’ve had to deal with this also. Thx!
Nice Ford Ranger UK spec at 1:54