Water flow in skimmer

[silverwolf72]

Should the water flow in the same direction as the bubbles or aginst them to be more efficient?

[dodge41]

What your refering to is a co-current or counter current skimmer. Co-current skimmers flow from the bottom up while counter current flows from the top down. A counter current skimmer allows for more reaction time between the water and the bubbles to allow for better skimming in an air pump driven skimmer.

[DSB]

Check this out. http://www.hawkfish.org/snailman/skimmer101.htm

[silverwolf72]

I've been looking at several designs of skimmers that say counter current, but the main reaction chambers the water is still moving in the same direction as the air bubbles, the water is only going down when it leaveing the main body and not the reaction chamber. was designing a DIY skimmer with 2 pumps 1 injects water at the top the other air/water at the bottom with return to pump. Wasnt sure if it was more contact time with the water or more with the bubbles. If I'm understanding this right if you could get the downward movevment of the water colum to be close to the upwards motion of the bubbles you sould increase your efficancy.

[DSB]

Originally Posted by silverwolf72

I've been looking at several designs of skimmers that say counter current, but the main reaction chambers the water is still moving in the same direction as the air bubbles, the water is only going down when it leaveing the main body and not the reaction chamber. was designing a DIY skimmer with 2 pumps 1 injects water at the top the other air/water at the bottom with return to pump. Wasnt sure if it was more contact time with the water or more with the bubbles. If I'm understanding this right if you could get the downward movevment of the water colum to be close to the upwards motion of the bubbles you sould increase your efficancy.

The water comes in the top and out the bottom. The air comes in the bottom and travles up. The water is also pulled down by the air in mine, I put the stones in a chamber on the bottom that has openings on the bottom of that chamber, drawing water down as the air flows up.