ASM Skimmer Club!

[skidclan]

I am going to buy a gate valve for my asm g4+ skimmer. I believe I need a 1.5 in gate valve. Does anyone know of a good place to get one and also, does it need to be socket or threaded? I would think socket would allow the pvc to slide into it versus screw in. Any advice would be appreciated

 

[Charlie Davidson]

Slip (socket) would be better.

 

[mfinn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8217866#post8217866 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TracyZeuner
Two questions:
Does closing the gate valve raise the water level in the skimmer?
If it does how do you know how high to have the water level?
I have made adjustments and it looked good with just a little bit of scum coming into the cup, then come back in an hour or two and found the cup full. How do you regulate so the cup doesnt overflow?
BTW- MJAnderson
I changed my gate valve and it works great now, thanks for the link

Closing the gate valve does raise the water level.

Try closing it so the level of the bubbles is just below the top of the cup. Let it set for a 1/2 a day. If nothing goes in, close it a tiny bit more. Try that for a 1/2 a day or so. It takes a while to get skimmers dialed in.

 

[mfinn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8230623#post8230623 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by skidclan
I am going to buy a gate valve for my asm g4+ skimmer. I believe I need a 1.5 in gate valve. Does anyone know of a good place to get one and also, does it need to be socket or threaded? I would think socket would allow the pvc to slide into it versus screw in. Any advice would be appreciated

I haven't seen any place that sells them for less than $20.
I bought a 1-1/4" gate valve from savko.com and it was $28 delivered.
You could get the whole kit from asmskimmer.com but that like $37.

http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/8527/cid/2038

 

[mfinn]

This link says they are $15.90 at savko.
Wonder why I was charged more?
http://www.savko.com/PartList.asp?pgid=1&ptid=1&pid=6

 

[RickD1]

I bought mine at Ace Hardware they had them for about $12.00

Rick

 

[Charlie Davidson]

Our Ace only carries ball valves

 

[RickD1]

If anyone needs one I'm willing to ship you one at what it costs. I go by Ace every day.

 

[ultraxr]

i finally finished all my mods (recirc, gate valve, and feed). I'm about to let it run in some water and vinegar as recommended on previous posts. How long should i let it run for and rinsing... just simply give it a good scrub down?

 

[TekCat]

AFAIK, manufacturer reccomends 1 to 24 hours in fresh water. I guess that should be ok for vinnegar bath too

First, I'd wipe any dirt or whatever I can see on the skimmer with a cloth. Then bathe it in vinnegar for a couple of hours. Rinse with fresh water and let it dry.

 

[Charlie Davidson]

I would just get a clean rag, wipe it down with water from your tank and let her go! I have made some skimmers, and tried them while glue was still drying you met Jake yet?

 

[ultraxr]

okay... i have it running in some freshwater with some vinegar, not much though. Is there suppose to be a break in period for the bubbles to fine out? i mean, my bubbles are as fine as i thought they would be... fairly large bubbles. suggestions?

 

[mfinn]

The bubbles will remain large in freshwater.

 

[TekCat]

yep, you'll have some breakin period, that associates with building thin slime coat when you put it in "production" environment.

 

[ultraxr]

really??? in freshwater the bubbles are larger?? I mean i can see through my skimmer... its not cloudy with bubbles at all... i can post a pic. brb.

 

[mfinn]

That's just the way it is. I don't know why. physics of some sort
Set your skimmer up in a small tub of used dirty saltwater enough to fill the skimmer up and keep all the pumps under water and check it out.
I did that about a week before I had to install it on my new system. This way you can test all the mods.

 

[mg426]

I Just installed my new sump over the weekend. My G3 is now in 10.5 inches of water. I made a couple of stands to tweak the height of the skimmer if need be. It is looking like the skimmer performs better at this depth than at 8 inches. It does seem like the water level is a bit more touchy than before though.

On another note i just got my 1 inch uniseal to do the recirc mod. Be doing that it a bit. Where are most people drilling the feed hole ??

 

[ultraxr]

 

[mg426]

Awesome I see you did your recirc DELTEC style

 

[mfinn]

Like I said, do that with old saltwater, you'll see a big difference.