Neat bit of kit.

[esoxlucius]

I've been getting a little bit of unsightly surface scum in my little hex tank. My usual method to remove it was to use sheets of tissue paper, unscented of course. I'd momentarily lay them flat on the surface, then lift quickly and put them in a jug for disposal.

This method got rid of most of the surface film, but not all of it, i needed a better method which ensured the surface was crystal clear at all times, with minimum effort of course.

I was looking on line and I came across this cheap as chips aquarium surface skimmer called the "skim2", made by All Pond Solutions. It was only £12. I didn't expect much from something which was do cheap and so tiny, it's very small.

But within half an hour of installing this little guy the surface was crystal clear. I love it. The best feature is that the toothed plastic top loosely floats within the housing so it's self adjusting depending on tank water level. It has a venturi return set up on it too if required, which I don't need.

I don't have a filter as such in this tank, my algae alone keeps my parameters in check. I just used an old small sun sun filter without the media which acted as a powerhead for water movement. I have now taken this out and my new little unit doubles up as a surface skimmer and powerhead.

It's a great little piece of kit.

 

[Caperguy99]

Cool! I always get scum on the top of my betta tanks - because I keep the flow so low. Maybe this would help.

 

[jjohnwm]

Esox, I don't understand what this little gizmo is doing. I see that the surface film is drawn into the serrated cup; I see the outlet under the surface, complete with the nozzle for the venturi air injector tube; I assume there is a pump built into it.

So...where does the scum go? Is it trapped in some kind of filter medium? Is it somehow removed from the tank altogether? The thing seems to be a protein skimmer without any collection cup or even a way to create foam.

And if that's the case...what does it achieve that a simple airstone would not do as well?

Do you perchance own stock in the company that manufactures this little technological marvel?

 

[phreeflow]

Upon recommendation from another hobbyist, I put a single molly fish in one of my smaller tanks and surprisingly, it did a great job keeping both the algae and surface scum controlled.

My fish are too large to keep a molly with now but if I had that issue again with a small tank, I’d try it again.

Never tried that gadget but good to hear it works

 

[esoxlucius]

Esox, I don't understand what this little gizmo is doing.

I knew, out of all the members on here, that there was one who I'd have to go into greater detail for....you....I just knew it, lol.

You're trying to piss all over my party aren't you, downplay my new found surface scum destruction gizmo? Lol.

The motor is at the bottom. This drives a small impeller. So the water, I suppose, is not only gravity fed into the teeth, but also sucked down to some extent by the impeller movement, and then blasted out through the Venturi port.

You can't tell from the pics but this little thing gives a fair bit of water movement, plenty of surface oxygen exchange.

There is indeed a little section for media, and this is where the surface scum is collected. To clean you just need to lift that plastic telescopic thingy right out, and with some tweezers you can reach and grab the filter media below. Remove and clean, or replace completely.

I realise I haven't singlehandedly actually come up with something that is going to change the lives of hobbyists forever. These things, and similar contraptions, have probably been around for years.

What can I say, I just love this little bit of cheap plastic crap. In fact I was so stoked about it I had to create this thread. And you know what? As I was creating said thread I thought to myself, "John's going to take me apart on this one". Lol.

Oh, and by the way, and this is highly controversial. IMHO, airstones belong in kiddies tanks along with those plastic diver dudes. I can't do with them, hate them!

 

[jjohnwm]

Hey! Them's fightin' words!!!

I realize that perhaps some less experienced aquarists might pooh-pooh the lowly airstone. Airstones are the epitome of efficiency: no moving parts, extremely inexpensive, easy to use and replace, infinitely adjustable (by means of a valve to control airflow), capable of impressive water movement and circulation. In terms of what they do for you, with respect to what they cost and how easily an airstone or ten can be added to any tank or fishroom if one already has the required air pump...they have no equal. Their only flaw is their simplicity; many folks today equate "good" with "complicated" and/or "expensive" and thus the lowly airstone is scorned. But an airstone belongs in every tank, alone or inconcert with a sponge filter, either as the primary aeration/filtration motivator or simply as an emergency backup.

But I am still stinging from the loss of my little diver dude, and won't stand to hear him bad-mouthed. My wife and I were returning home from town just a month ago when I hit the brakes and wheeled into the driveway of a farmhouse having a yard sale. We bought nothing...but I made a point of carefully inspecting the little 10-gallon aquarium set-up on one table. She scowled as I did so. Finally she said "You're looking for another one, aren't you?"

I gaped at her. "Of course I am! You tossed aside a little part of my heart when you threw that thing away! Don't try to minimize it; I would buy this entire kit right now if it contained another one, just to get that one thing!" And I would have done that, too, but of course...there was no diver.

I am going to milk this forever.

But, carry on with plugging in yet another whirring, buzzing little electric pump, made for pennies in China, snapped into a cheap plastic case...and then dropped into the water and plugged in. What could possibly go wrong?

 

[esoxlucius]

What could possibly go wrong?

Well, as I see it the situation with my cheap little chinese crappy plastic gizmo, which I'm over the moon with, is going to pan out one of two ways.

In twenty years time you may find me making a smug entry in the "how long as your equipment lasted" thread bragging how my cheap little plastic thingy is still going strong.....or.....

.....tomorrow I may be making an embarrassing entry in the "how long as your equipment lasted" thread informing everyone how it started smoking, short circuited, electrocuted my fish and burnt the house down!

I wager neither, but I will definitely definitely let you know how long I get out of it. If it brings me half as much joy as your little diver dude brought you, RIP diver dude, then I will be stoked, lol.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Oh god...another aeration debate is brewing. I refuse to take part in another one of these until i have a DO meter in my hand.

I had a similar eheim gizmo for awhile that i really liked. I would keep it in sumps and temporary tanks to clear the surface.


The gizmo you have looks superior in almost every way though.

 

[esoxlucius]

Oh god...another aeration debate is brewing. I refuse to take part in another one of these until i have a DO meter in my hand.

I had a similar eheim gizmo for awhile that i really liked. I would keep it in sumps and temporary tanks to clear the surface.
View attachment 1529080

The gizmo you have looks superior in almost every way though.

Thank you Backfromthedead . At long last, someone else who appreciates cheap and tacky, yet extremely useful gadgetry.

Now just report your findings back to that grumpy old piss on my parade Canadian! Lol.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Thank you Backfromthedead . At long last, someone else who appreciates cheap and tacky, yet extremely useful gadgetry.

Now just report your findings back to that grumpy old piss on my parade Canadian! Lol.

Whoa whoa whoa. I won't be joining your airstone-bashing coalition. Thats where me and the old canuck form a strategic alliance to multilaterally spread air bubbles to every nation on the planet.

The old canuck is set in his ways. Tasteless ham and maple syrup for his breakfast, plywood and airstones for his tanks. He has airstones at his house, why would he drive the 1300 miles to the nearest town to pick up this new gadget? Im pretty sure hes snowed in for the winter at this point anyway.