Reef Central Online Community - Terminator II skimmer (by D&D marine)

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Terminator II skimmer (by D&D marine)

Does anyone have a reviews or know of the Terminator II Protein skimmer by D&D Marine?

What you compare it to? ASM G1x? Precision Marine?

I spoke to the tech rep at D&D, and he said this has been out in Europe. There company specializes in commercial skimmers. They are based in Kentucky. Of course he raved about it. I would just like to get some independent opinions.
Thanks

The rep also said this is the only skimmer that is self leveling (no adjustments are needed)

I am looking at the pic but I just don't like the top drainage. It seems to be if the skimmer does make a lot of bubble via the venturi there is going to be spillover of skimmate either in your sump or your stand.

The technician from d&d claims that it never overflows because it is self leveling. Also the slanted collection cup has a cover. The pic looks as if it is open on top.

Has anyone ever used the Terminator skimmer or know of anyone?
How would you review it?

We had one in our shop to evaluate. It is not a bad skimmer. We were running it next to a ASM Mini and a Coralife Super Skimmer 220. Of the 3, the CSS 220 skimmed the best.

The Terminator 2 has a lot of plumbing involved to make it work, it just seems to me that with that much plumbing, there is bound to be something that will go wrong.

The Terminator 2 needs a pump to feed it. Because of this you could use it external to a sump or in sump (if you have enough room).

Thanks Rob. I'm eliminating the Terminator as one of my choices.

Rob- did the automatic self leveling work as the manufacturer specifies?

I used one of their Titan skimmers. It skimmed well for sure, but the plumbing is a mess. If you had to go hang on it is a good unit. If you have a sump I would look elsewhere for sure.

anyone try the sumpless kit? thats what has me interested in it.

Quote:

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6559401#post6559401 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Larrytke
Rob- did the automatic self leveling work as the manufacturer specifies?

I honestly did not know that it had this feature. We just set it up, adjusted it, and let it run. It has been in place for about a month now.

you had a css 220 for a 220gallon tank vs a mini?
how would compare to a G3 that is asm rated for 250g?

Hi folks,

I just wanted to see if I can help with some of the questions I am seeing here.

I am with D & D so I am not claiming to be anything else.

The angled top on the unit is sealed, it is a one piece molded acrylic with a waste port at the top. A hose connects the waste port to your waste container under the tank.

The "plumbing" referred to is the "closed loop venturi". Yes there is a bit. The reason for it however is important. The venturi loop is driven by a pump mounted on the unit itself. In earlier years when we all ran airstone driven units we pushed the process water through the units much slower allowing more contact time. When we all went to venturis the water had to speed up to drive the venturi. This however reduced contact time. The Term II is set up so that the mounted pump drives the venturi, it is a 800 GPH pump. Since it drives the venturi the process water can come in at any rate you wish, say 250-300 gph. This means that you get water passing through the unit three times on average before it returns to the tank, or a 3:1 contact ratio.

The little extra plumbing is what accomplishes this.

The self leveling question.

The unit is made with a tube up the side. This tube is the overflow point. Since water seeks level raising or lowering the side chamber tube sets the level in the unit. I can tell you that you can increase or decrease the input water more than 100 gph and not effect the level in the foam chamber.

Remember also that ANY skimmer should be allowed to "season" itself. You should allow on any brand skimmer three to four days for this.

Also please make certain that you understand on our units that the foam you get ( dry 0r wet / lots or little) is controlled by you. You adjust the water level up or down in the slanted top chamber. This changes the actual surface area of the foam. The best explanation I can give for wanting to do this is as follows.

I cook two pancakes, one the size of a lunch plate, and one the size of a trash can lid.
If I want to be able to put my hand (or air pressure) under them and lift them up (to the waste port) the bigger surface area one must be more cooked (or dry) or my hand will just go through it. By changing the surface area of the foam you control the density of it when ejected. These units can be made to put out a small amount of very dry foam, or a large amount of wet foam, it is your choice.

I hope some of this helps answer questions. You will also find video clips on our web site of a functioning foam chamber to view.

I hope I am not treading on the "NO commercial posting" we just want to answer your questions if we can.

Best wishes,
D. Gauss
D & D Marine

Quote:

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6562764#post6562764 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by robsmith32
you had a css 220 for a 220gallon tank vs a mini?
how would compare to a G3 that is asm rated for 250g?

The ASM G3 smokes the CSS 220.

yet no one answers my question what about the sumpless kit? also would the unit fit under a 55 gallon tank?

How tall is your stand? Unless you have a particularly short stand, I am sure that it will fit.

Sumpless Kit - Sorry I did not give any info on it. You will not get very many replies on this as of yet. We only put out a very few of them to test the market before we went to the expense of making molds. To date about 50 to 75 kits were sold simply giving us a chance to check feedback.

Three of the kits came back with an indication that the customer found them complex. Indeed they are. These are NOT a good option for someone who has a sump and does not need to go this way. On the other hand if you have no options other than a hang on and you want a higher end unit than most hang on's, then it is a very good option.

The kits will be available before too much longer in the general market. Molds are being completed currently.

I apologize that the market exposure to date has been limited but the cost to produce the molds runs into many thousands of dollars, so a test marketing was in order.

The best I can tell you at this point in time is that Drs Foster & Smith sold several of them. They have a VERY liberal return policy, meaning that if customers were displeased we would have gotten them all back and did not.

What the kit does is provide safety systems to allow the unit to be run as a sealed system ( like a canister filter) not requiring a sump. One hose down to the skimmer and one back up to the tank.

If you need this set up I have been told that Foster & Smith still have "some" stock (limited).

Have a great day!!

thanks for the info. i dont have a sump and i wanted the sumpless kit for a bare bottom 55 gallon tank. the stand is a standard aga wood stand. i will try the sump less kit.

I hope it helps, if you have any questions feel free to call.

Quote:

We had these on a system to test them out. We have found this is a great way to display skimmers and really determine how well they perform.

There's too much plumbing for my sump. I'm considering a Kent Nautilus TE skimmer.

Hi,

I bought one of these today from ACI (www.acicorp.us) ..I think. Hopefully I'm going to get a production mold model, but its no biggie. I run exclusive canister filters, so I need the sumpless kit. My home made sump leaked alot, so its worth it IMO to go sumpless.

cya,

Paul

How much did you spend? Foster and Smith has them on sale for a very good price. Actually aci corp has the same price.
I ended up buying a used Euro Reef w/pump from a local guy getting out of saltwater.