# Lily Pipe water surface skimmer



## blurry (May 10, 2010)

I saw this on ebay and was wondering if anyone ever used this before? Its a surface skimmer to remove the oil?
Aquarium Lily Pipe water surface skimmer remove oil film planted tank 12/16mm us | eBay


----------



## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

Not really a skimmer but outlet that creates some water movement to dissuade scum build up and encourage gas exchange


----------



## neven (May 15, 2010)

If you look carefully you will see a vortex Formed above the spout, it sucks down the oils so they won't form. Really badly maintained tanks would probably still be oily, but it is considered a form of fresh water skimming/extraction

Sent from my SGH-I897 using Xparent Green Tapatalk 2


----------



## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

Awesome! I didn't know it actually 'skimmed'



neven said:


> If you look carefully you will see a vortex Formed above the spout, it sucks down the oils so they won't form. Really badly maintained tanks would probably still be oily, but it is considered a form of fresh water skimming/extraction
> 
> Sent from my SGH-I897 using Xparent Green Tapatalk 2


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Yeah, what Neven said. Not skimming, but works the same way to some degree. They also increase the air/water contact area, so it's a nice tool for CO2 injected tanks to minimize splashing but still enhance gas exchange.


----------



## Algae Beater (Apr 21, 2010)

in any system, a build up of lipids / proteins naturally occurs. water movement from a powerhead, lily pipes or various surface extractors will do the job (eheim, fluval, the ADA vuppa ...).


----------



## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

I had something like this before in my 33 and the intake kept sucking air bubbles into my canister making lots of noises and even stopped it from working on occassion so I stopped using it. I am sure I was doing something wrong but not sure what.


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

That's not an intake. That's an outlet. The intake would be more traditional looking slotted pipe. Like this set: Aquarium Glass Inflow & Outflow Lily Pipe 13mm HSL-Li | eBay

If your skimmer setup was sucking air it wasn't functioning properly. Was it a Fluval one? The Fluval and Eheim surface extractors (skimmers) are designed to "float" with the water level so it doesn't suck air and gurgle.


----------



## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

Yes, it was a fluval. and yes, it gurgled, drove me nuts.LOL
i thought he was referring to the slotted parts in the intake which acts as a skimmer?


----------



## blurry (May 10, 2010)

If you look at my like and scroll down to the pictures it shows the intake of it, where the water line is there is a opening or a foam thing

You cannot see the picture on the mobile site, Pictures of the skimmer below

http://i866.photobucket.com/albums/ab228/ubarn/Slide1.jpg

http://i866.photobucket.com/albums/ab228/ubarn/1495758026242289078.jpg

http://i866.photobucket.com/albums/ab228/ubarn/762234236934431489.jpg

http://i866.photobucket.com/albums/ab228/ubarn/1841127822666013954.jpg


----------



## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Hello Mike.

I have used this exact skimmer. I found that because of a variable a water level (due to evaporation and top-up) the skimmer mechanism would need daily tweaking (up or down). I found it easier to adjust the outflow up or down to break the surface tension. I now do NOT run the skimmer attachment on the intake.

Respectfully,

Stuart


----------



## blurry (May 10, 2010)

Thanks for the info Stuart


----------

