Serious Reef Keeping Equipment for the Serious Hobbyist

Frequently Asked Questions

Here you will find answers to the most commonly asked questions about the DB ReefTech product range, plus some general information of what Calcium Reactors and Protein Skimmers are, and what they do.

If the answer to your question cannot be found here, then please do not hesitate to ask by send an email.

• General
• Protein Skimmer
• Calcium Reactor
• Fish Trap
• Refugium

1. What are the prices of your products?
2. What is the delivery time on your products?

DB ReefTech is only a manufacturing, wholesale business. Therefore, sales are not made direct to the public and purchases need to be made through a retail business. To purchase or enquire on the price of any of the DB ReefTech products then please contact a Retail Outlet.

However, if you have a question relating to any of the products, enquires about customisation or comments, then please do not hesitate to Contact Us.

If the Retail Outlet that you purchase it from has a unit in stock, then it is as soon as you pick it up or they send it to you. If this is not the case, and DB ReefTech has a unit in stock, then it will be approximately 1 week more (allowing delivery time from DB ReefTech to the Retail Outlet). However, if a unit has to be constructed (all of the DB ReefTech products are hand made) then please allow 2-4 weeks.

Please note that these times depend on a number of factors and may be more or less than the values quoted here. Therefore, do not hesitate to Contact Us or to contact the Retail Outlet for further information on delivery time.

1. Which protein skimmer model/size should I get?
2. Which protein skimmer configuration should I get?
3. How noisy are the protein skimmers?
4. If I use gravity feed from the overflow, will I need an airstone or something similar?
5. What does a protein skimmer in operation look like?
6. Can I use a pump other than the recommended Pond Master?
7. How much clearence above the protein skimmer do you require to remove the collection cup?
8. What is the delivery time on your protein skimmers?

You will regularly hear it quoted that it is recommended to get a protein skimmer that is rated at twice, or even more, of your total aquarium system volume. However, this is not the case with DB ReefTech Protein Skimmers. Simply select the size the covers your system total volume, i.e., system volume < protein skimmer rating. For example, for a 450 litres system go for one of the PS-5 models and 600 litres a PS-10 model is recommended.

The rating of each skimmer model/size is applicable to the vast majority of cases. Of course, not all systems are quite that clear cut and there are some methods of selecting the correct model. If the system is to have a light bioload and the volume is near the boundary between two sizes, then the smaller size will be more than sufficient. The converse is also true, if it will be a high bioload and the volume is near the boundary then go for the larger size. Another situation is the case of a system is to support species that come from low nutrient areas, such as Acropora spp. from the reef crest or fore reef zones. In that case it may be advantageous to move to the next larger size.

The configuration of DB ReefTech Protein Skimmer that is suitable for a particular aquarium system depends on the constraints on the placement of the protein skimmer. This includes the space available for installation around the system, with the aquarium stand, if it has a sump and height clearence. To assist in seeing how each configuration can be installed, see the installation page. It contains diagrams of the various ways in which each configuation can be installed on an aquarium system. Browse though these diagrams and look for a situations that is what you are aiming for.

There are several noises generated by a DB ReefTech Protein Skimmer. For the aspirated pump units, these are (listed in approximately decending order of loudness);

• chopping the air into small bubbles by the impeller
• vibration of the pump operation
• water exiting the protein skimmer outlet
• and air suction into the airline

The actual volume of the Protein Skimmers is difficult to quantify since loud and quiet means different things to different people. As a rough guide though, the sound of water exiting the outlet and air entering the airline should not be heard above the other noises of a reef aquarium, i.e., circulation pumps and overflow. The volume of the Pond Master pumps tends not to be as quiet as say an Ehiem pump, but they can still be classified as quiet. This can be a variable between units though, as there have been reports of some being very noisy. The noiseist part of the protein skimmer is the action of chopping the air up into small bubbles by the impeller. If the protein skimmer is tuned correctly, then this will by only a little louder than the pump operating with just water passing through it. If too much air is used, then the pump will make an excessive amount of noise and vibration, and this can be used to assist in tuning of the unit (as described in the instructions).

For the foam jet protein skimmers the majority of the noise comes from the suction of air into the skimmer, due to the large volume of air. The air suction volume can be can easily be reduced by a significant amount. The recommended technique is to attach a length of flexible tubing to the air inlet and running it outside. This has the added advantage of bring fresher, external air into contact with the reef aquarium sysetm water, which will assist in maintaining oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations in the water at their suitable level.

For the operation of a DB ReefTech Protein Skimmer each unit requires one pump for its operation, no matter which configuation or model that is selected. The pump is what drives the protein skimmer, producing the small bubbles that make them work. For example, with the External configuation there are two methods of delivering water. One is by having the unit located within the sump and utilising the valve at the base to let in water. The pump attcched to the protein skimmer sucks the water directly into it. The other method is to have water fed to the protein skimmer; either by an additional dedicated pump (only purpose is to feed water to the protein skimmer), a bleed line off another system pump (for example the return, chiller or refugium pump) or gravity feed from the overflow (depending on the flowrate it may be required to direct some of the flow to the sump, rather than all to the protein skimmer). However, the protein skimmer pump is still required for operation.

Generally, the appearence of a DB ReefTech Protein Skimmer that is correctly operating is such that there is enough small bubbles to make it difficult, if not impossible, to see through sections of the column. The water takes on a milky, white appearence, with bubbles around 1 mm in diameter. Below, the image on the left is a representation of what the column will look like. At the top, the water is white and totally filled with bubbles. As you progress down the column the density of bubbles reduces, until when you reach the bottom section there are very few.

Schematic representation of the appearence of the protein skimmer column.

It is possible to use pumps other than the recommended Pond Master pumps on the DB ReefTech Protein Skimmers. There are some factors that need to be considered, including that they may not have been tested or operated with a different pump. So the performance of the protein skimmer is an unknown. However, if the pump has similar performance characteristics to the Pond Master pumps then it should be suitable.

Additionally, some of the configurations are constructed so that the pumps can be fitted directly to the protein skimmer column and the rubber feet sit flat. Therefore, a different brand of pump may not have the correct dimensions to fit and you run the risk of not being able to fit the pump to the protein skimmer or cause a breakage. These dimensional differences can be accomodated during construction as long as notification is made when ordering of the desire to use a different pump. And in the case of the Foam Jet configuation the pump dimensions is not an issue since they are not attached

For all the DB ReefTech Protein Skimmers smaller models/size, excluding PS-30E and above, the collection cup with only 5-10 mm in clearence. The collection cup simply needs to be lifed a short distance to disengage it from the main column then can be removed in any sideways direction. Even if there isn't this amount of space they can still be removed using the technique details below for the larger models. For the larger models essentially zero clearence is required. Once the nylon bolts have been removed to detach the collection cup from the column it can be slide out to the side to be removed, it does not have to be lifted. However, to make the removal and re-attachment process fair easier, around 50mm is more than sufficient space.

Australian Owned and Operated Business

© May 2005 Dallas Warren
DBReefTech.com
Melbourne, Australia