Neck Cleaner?

[Overboard]

Scott,

Looking down the road a little as I just started to add livestock to my 360 gallon display. I have two skimmers (Alpha 200 and 250) and still torn between which to set up. I need to get the DC pump that you recommended still, but I am considering selling these and making the switch to a Supermarin 200.

Do you still use a neck cleaner? I do not see them on the RE website, so are they after market?

Thanks!
Mark

[slief]

I use an Aquadriver Skimclean Helix (http://aquadriverusa.com) on my Supermarin 250. They are made in Germany and VERY high quality unlike the cheap ones on the market. These have a high speed gear driven motor that rotates very fast. They have a dual wiper system and cleans both the neck and lid. They wiper blades are angled to wick the scum up towards the edge of the neck instead of just being vertical like the other neck cleaners on the market. They have a built in sprayer that automatically draws water up from inside the skimmer body as the motor rotates and sprays it on the inside of the neck and lid which improves the cleaning performance by insuring that the neck and lid is good and wet when the wiper motor rotates. I run mine once a day for 15 seconds and my neck is always clean. There is also an optional collection cup wash down ring. You supply the optional wash down ring with a water source via the 1/4" John Guest fitting on the lid. I use a hose spigot with a solenoid attached to it to supply water to the wash down ring. I have one in the closet next to my tank where I used to have my RODI filter. When the water source is turned on, it sprays the inside of the collection cup so you can rinse the cup without ever removing it. You can see the red 1/4" RODI type tube that feeds the washdown in the picture below. The other thing about these neck cleaners is that the underside of the lid has a conical cnc cut cover over the wiper mount that improves the skimmers efficiency by pushing the rising foam out towards the top edge of the neck inside of the lid just being flat. You can see what I am talking about in the 2nd picture.

Having used Aquadriver neck cleaners for the last several years on my skimmers, I can tell you that unlike the cheap ones on the market, these are built to last. My original Aquadriver served me great for nearly 6 years until I upgraded to the new Helix and the original one was still in perfect working condition. These are built like tanks and are made out of PVC instead of cheap acrylic.

http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo347/shleif/Tanks/IMG_4224_zpsiqzpvany.jpg

You can see the conical domed underside of the lid here as well as the optional wash down ring.
http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo347/shleif/Tanks/AquaDriver/image_zpsq5dohgji.jpeg

You can also see the conical underside as well as the lid and lid ring wiper.
http://i390.photobucket.com/albums/oo347/shleif/Tanks/AquaDriver/image_zpstgmnz8i2.jpeg

[Overboard]

Very helpful!! Thanks Scott!

[slief]

Very helpful!! Thanks Scott!

:beer: