[slief]

Originally Posted by NorwayEagle

Slief; I read this post:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...2578925&page=2

and would like to hear your or any other opinions about the following:

I may order a Aqua Driver skim clean unit as supplement to my BK 200 Deluxe skimmer.
I have today a Avast Swabbie unit which do a great job of cleaning the necks inside, but a buildup of gunk on the swabbie itself I imagine reduce the effect of skimmer, and leads to more frequent cleaning than I hoped to gain with the Avast investment.

In other words a clean neck is good, but dirty swabbie is bad.

So today without any swabbie mounted I must clean the skimmer cup at least each 5th day, with the swabbie I do it every second week, and it is much more inconvenient to handle.

On the Aquadriver can I expect the spray unit to keep the complete wiper unit clean without any build up of gunk? Meaning the inside of the neck with all parts of the Aquadriver remains clean?

Further concerning the wash down unit as you write in above post:

"Then there's the optional wash down ring shown below that you connect to a water source via the 1/4" John Guest fitting on the lid. Turn the washdown on as needed to clean the outer neck and rinse the collection cup."

I understand it is an option to connect the wash ring to a RO unit, this is not possible in my setup.
Must it be freshwater/RO or can it be fed from the sump with saltwater?
If freshwater is recommended, can I feed it by a separate pump from my Dreambox water tank, or is it able to suck water by itself as the main Aquadriver?

The spray system in the Helix does not keep the wiper clean. The helix lid will still need to be removed and cleaned everyso often depending on how wet or dry you skim. The drier you skim, the more frequently the Helix should be cleaned. That said, unlike the Swabbie and other traditional neck cleaners, the helix blade is angled to pull the scum from the neck up to the lip of the neck instead of smearing it around and allowing some to fall back into the skimmer body like the other wipers do. The built in spray system pulls water up from inside the skimmer body as the wiper rotates and sprays the neck and the lid so that when the wiper rotates, the cleaning is much more effective. This results in better cleaning efficiency of the wiper.

I use the Helix and remove my cup every several months if that and even then, its not needed because the neck is always clean and my Helix only runs 1 time a day for 15 seconds. I skim wet and remove my helix for a quick cleaning every couple months. The Helix also has a wiper for the lid which keeps the area above the neck free of buildup. It’s designed to pull the buildup out to the edge of the ring on the lid and then drop that waste into the cup.

As for the optional collection cup washdown ring, I don’t suggest using salt water because the calcium and other stuff in it will clog the spray holes in the washdown ring. Fresh water is really what you want to use whether it’s tap water or RODI. That said, mine is connected to a tap water source and not RODI water. You could use a seperate pump from your dreambox water tank. The washdown ring accepts 1/4” or 6mm RODI type of tubing via a push lock John Guest style fitting. It cannot suck on its own and needs a pressurized water source such as a pump or tap water connection. Keep in mind that the optional washdown ring is designed for adding clean water to the collection cup to wash it. It sprays onto the outside of the neck through little holes in the washdown ring that are spaced apart every inch or so. The more pressure your water source has, the more powerful the streams will be and the faster they will fill the collection cup with clean water. This is something you use on an as needed basis to rinse the cup.

This is a good video that shows how the Helix works. It covers the construction, wiper spray system and the optional collection cup washdown.

https://youtu.be/Cm52tqfSovw