ASM Skimmer Club!

[Paul_PSU]

This is how mine is setup. My water level in my sump is higher than normal but I am getting excellent skimmate so I am not going to mess with it. The tube on the left of the gate valve mod has been removed and the 90 elbow is turned to the side so the output is just below the surface of the water. I have my water level in the skimmer set to just over the grey ring where the body tapers in. I get about a full cup a week. Oh mine is a G3.

 

[sivert55]

Morty, I'm ordering parts to do the bubble plate mod you did.
After 3 weeks, have you noticed an improvement i the skimmate production?

 

[Diveshaman]

Does anybody out there have experience hooking Ozone directly to the venturi of your ASM skimmer? I have a G3 that I have been using for years while also running a Pro-Calcium Ozone Reactor. After reading Calfo's last book I was thinking about hooking up my ozone exiting from the carbon filter canister directly to the venturi of my G3 in order to increase skimmate production. I get a half cup of dark skimmate every 24hr with a heavy bio-load and have been pleased. I wanted to know what others successes or failures have been with this method before attempting first hand. Thanks advance for your input.

 

[Diveshaman]

I have not done the gatevalve mod only because I don't see it as a mod that should improve performance unless I'm missing something. The only thing I see that mod doing is making it easier to adjust the water level within the skimmer. Is this correct or does it somehow improve performance? and if it does - how?

I am new to this tread but not to ASM skimmers. Wanted to know if anyone answered this questions posed above because I have a similar interest? Thanks again for your response.

 

[morty]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13540076#post13540076 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sivert55
Morty, I'm ordering parts to do the bubble plate mod you did.
After 3 weeks, have you noticed an improvement i the skimmate production?

It seemed like production went up, but I don't know how much of that was due to the bubble plate. IME it can't hurt. However, it's not working as well as bubble plates that are engineered for the skimmer, a la Bubble Master, Bubble King, MSX etc. I think the reason is because of the quantity of water that is being pumped into the plate chamber along with the air. There is not a nice even flow of bubbles that stream out of the holes, instead the ones closer to the pipe have a surge coming out of them, and occasional big bubbles come out from under the plate too. That said, I still think it helps cut down on turbulence in the rest of the skimmer, the water/bubble line seems fairly steady.

Here is a shot of about 3-4 days' skimmate. (I added a couple of Dwyer meters so I can monitor the pumps' air draw and see when they need servicing. I'm averaging 25 lpm combined,which isn't anywhere near the peak of what a Sicce can do, but I think this amount is about right for the skimmer/neck size):

(After taking this photo, I stirred up a ton of detritus in my sump and under the LR and filtered it out. The skimmate production rate has dropped off since then.)

 

[flfireman1]

I have a leak on the cone part of my G2. Anybody know how to fix this. I already took out the orange gasket and cleaned it out but its still leaking. Any ideas?

Also can you over skim a reef tank? I read in a post that someone was getting 1/2 cup of skimmate every 24 hrs? Could this be detrimental for corals removing too much trace elements?

 

[morty]

From what I gather ASMs almost always end up leaking from there. Mine does too. As long as it's in-sump it doesn't really matter.

IMO overskimming isn't really possible, even though it has been a frequent topic of debate.

 

[TIMMYE]

whats the bubble plate mod??

 

[Paul_PSU]

Mine leaks there also but I have mine in sump so no problem. I have seen a couple of people put silicone on it and ran it out of sump with no issues.

 

[Safedad]

Bubble plate details

Bubble plate details

I am going to put a cylinder inside the main body. I will run the recycle return into the body and have the bubble plate above it. What is the ideal size of the holes. I see that most people bevel the underside up to the hole. I have a drill press so I can use a large drill and put a depth stop on it to control the hole size. Should the bevel come all the way up to the hole or stop short and then the hole is drilled straight through the rest of the way?
1. Ideal hole size?
2. More holes better then less?
3. Should I put less holes towards the center because of the streaming you mention?
My skimmer is fed by my overflow the the return is pointed straight down. I don't plan on running it down through the bubble plate for now.
Thanks

 

[saltwatermadnes]

I'm sure this has been asked but i haven't seen it.. So is there another link to the mods since the ASM site is down? I hear about the mods but haven't how to do them. Please let me know.. thanks

 

[sayn3ver]

I second the last poster. I have an ASM MINI G and cannot find any specific info on modifications. I want to gatevalve and recirc it.

What size uniseal do i need?
What size gatevalve do i need?


i tried fitting schd 40 pvc fittings on the riser pipe but nothing fits properly(1 inch is slightly big, 3/4 not big enough). I realize the grey riser pipe is probably metric. Do you just use a butload of pvc glue when adding your "t" to the riser pipe for the gatevalve?

Also, want orientation should the pump be? i have the old style mini with the pump off to the side vs the newer bottom located mini.

 

[bbeck4x4]

when i had the mini-g skimmer what I did was to wrap the Teflon tape around the pipe until the larger elbow fit on the pipe, it leaked slightly but everything on these skimmers leak a bit, so I wasn't worried.

 

[jefftse]

I'm sure this is a repeated question. I just bought a G4. what type of mod can I do to it? is it worthy to do them?

 

[saltwatermadnes]

I recently finished the mesh mod on my g1x and it made a big difference, it took awhile for me to get it right with the size and all but glad i did.. you can get all the parts from meshmod.net for close to $5 shipped

 

[jefftse]

I heard about that. What does it really work and done?

 

[fsn77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13691410#post13691410 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by saltwatermadnes
I'm sure this has been asked but i haven't seen it.. So is there another link to the mods since the ASM site is down? I hear about the mods but haven't how to do them. Please let me know.. thanks

I'd be happy with a good picture of a gate valve modded G2. I orderd a gate valve mod kit for our G2 online, which apparently came with all the pipe, the valve, and the other fittings I need, but no instructions or picture of what I'm trying to acheive with these parts. The place I ordered them from online doesn't have instructions anymore since the ASM site is down.

Should it look like the picture Paul_PSU posted on the previous page of this thread (a G3)?

If someone with a gate valve modded G2 can post a picture of their G2 (or link me back to one somewhere in this multi-dozens of pages, multi-split thread, I'd very much appreciate it, because I haven't been able to find one.

 

[Konadog]

This was an old G3 I had, but it's done the same way.

There are a few configurations you can build to.

 

[Paul_PSU]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14099893#post14099893 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Konadog
This was an old G3 I had, but it's done the same way.

There are a few configurations you can build to.

I actually have mine setup exactly like this now. I just have the elbow under the surface of water. I took the down tube off. I also just got around to putting the mesh mod on and wow what a difference. I didn't change anything else and left the gate valve the same and the the cup overflowed into my sump with foam.

 

[Diveshaman]

What is the advantage to this modification? Do you notice more skimmate, coloration, any input would be greatly appreciated. I have a G3 I have been running for 2 yrs and I love it! Was trying to weigh advantages of this modification and appreciate your input.