Building a Recirculating Remora

[prugs]

I have had this remora for a few years now. I have been tempted to sell it, but I thought I'd take a chance & give it new life.

Here's the venturi for the Genx 1000 NW pump.

Here's where I destroy the remora injector by drilling it out. The normal screw hole is then retapped to accept a 1/4" pipe plug.
The remora will now be fed by a maxijet 400.

Here are the 1/2" uniseals installed in the body of the remora.

Here is the pipe layout before install. Last chance to see it in all its glory.

And the finished product.

Any questions????

 

[prugs]

Lets try the finished recirculating remora pic one last time. SWEEET, if I must say so myself. Hope it works. I'll find out tomorrow.

 

[dhnguyen]

Nice work. Only thing I see is that you might have to deal with a micro bubble issue from all the extra bubbles generated.


D.

 

[hahnmeister]

I like it. My cuz did a mod kinda like that...he added a Oceanrunner needlewheel pump to the intake and cut the nozzle like you did.

Great stuff...

 

[dirtyreefer]

That's pretty sweet looking. You may need to mod the collection cup though since you're potentially gonna get a higher foam level.

 

[prugs]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7829517#post7829517 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dhnguyen
Nice work. Only thing I see is that you might have to deal with a micro bubble issue from all the extra bubbles generated.


D.

The solution for the micro bubbles would be to use a smaller feed pump. Thus giving the bubbles a longer dwell time. I'll see how the maxijet 400 works first.

 

[prugs]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7829936#post7829936 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dirtyreefer
That's pretty sweet looking. You may need to mod the collection cup though since you're potentially gonna get a higher foam level.

Yeah, the collection cup will need work.
I plan to make a different cup with a square riser. The remora has a square opening for the foam tower. They restrict it by putting a square flange on a round tube. Seems very inefficient to me.
I'll also be making the collection cup with a drain tube.

All this to keep my undulated trigger happy.

 

[prugs]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7829895#post7829895 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hahnmeister
I like it. My cuz did a mod kinda like that...he added a Oceanrunner needlewheel pump to the intake and cut the nozzle like you did.

Great stuff...

John,
Do I remember you telling me at a WRS meeting, that you built a tiny recirc skimmer that you called the "remora killer"?

 

[prugs]

Well its running, but not so good.
Don't have any leaks, but:
The remora is belching large bubbles in the foam tower. Thus disrupting the foam column. I have to remove this baffle from the remora, it's trapping & releasing the large bubbles.

Also the pump makes alot of noise in the configuration I used. I've seen alot of people do it this way. But it sounds like its running dry, no water around the magnet. Going to have to modify that, or is it just a crappy pump?

The best part is the stabilizer I added to the one side of the remora. With all the added weight on one side, I felt I needed this. The remora always wanted to tip to one side even before the added weight of the recirc pump.

And I have micro bubble coming out. I have some other ideas for that.

 

[hahnmeister]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7830529#post7830529 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by prugs
The solution for the micro bubbles would be to use a smaller feed pump. Thus giving the bubbles a longer dwell time. I'll see how the maxijet 400 works first.

I think he means more like 'too much foam for the riser/collection cup'...and if he doesnt, I do...lol. You might want to make a new (larger) collection cup...maybe... you'll see when you run it. Running skimmers with 'too many' bubbles can decrease performance with too much turbulence, and you just end up collecting yellow-water.

"John,
Do I remember you telling me at a WRS meeting, that you built a tiny recirc skimmer that you called the "remora killer"?" -prugs

Yep. The pics are on the other computer...which I have to transfer to the new one today anyways... give me a bit and I can slap a pic in my gallery. I did make a 'stubby' one to fit inside a 40B...under the glass cover in the integrated sump...thats here...

It runs with only a MJ600 (the kill-a-watt says 4watts!), and it actually gives the taller version of the same thing a run for its money. I still havent figured out why...less height = more air? I think that the MJ1200 I use on the 22" tall version just causes too much turbulence and thats why the smaller one can outdo it. That might be a concern here as well...thats why I mention it...sometimes more it too much and you end up taking a step back rather than forward. That, and the fact that it gets water fed directly from the overflow rather than from the pump in the overflow. The skimmate in that pic is from about an hour of skimming after I hooked it up...not bad eh?

 

[hahnmeister]

Oh, wait, I do have a pic in my gallery of the first one I made. Since then I reversed the pump orientation and added a baffle, and experimented with adding bubble plates...but the original is still the 'killer' that I put up against a Mag-3 powered Urchin...side by side...and it did about 2x as much in the same week.

Its not running, but you get the idea. MJ1200s run as needlewheels make about 2x as many bubbles as when on a venturi/injector like a remora. It made so many bubbles that the whole body fills up...but they are all recirculating so it doesnt matter. They cost me only $20 in parts/acrylic to build (plus the pump of course).

 

[dhnguyen]

prugs-


I was afraid of that and this is why I stated micro bubbles will probably be an issue. The thing is the Remora's body is pitifully small for the GenX pump you're using. You might have better luck using a smaller pump like Hahn did. Maybe DIY a needlewheel out of a bio-ball for a MJ400 or MJ600?


D.

 

[quangtam7]

Here is my fun project, not recirculating though, Berlin skimmer that I removed venturi and installed a mj 1200 nw.

 

[hahnmeister]

wow quangtam7, thats funny.

dhnguyen, FWIW, I dont even use needlewheels or mod the impellers with MJs...the bubbles are very fine as is. The impeller blades are so small and spin at 1800rpm in that little shroud...thats alot. The blades on the MJ400 and 600 are smaller than most needlewheel pins anyways...

 

[prugs]

You guys have a very good point, about the genx1000 being to big for the tiny remora body. Bigger is not always better. That pump is kicking out some fine bubbles, but the noise from the pump, & the excess micro bubbles are too much.
I will need to remove that baffle plate, if I keep it as a recirculating setup.
I'm going to think this over & with a maxijet 400 or 600 for the recirc pump.

Thanks for the help!!!

 

[hahnmeister]

Even the amount of bubbles from just switching out the Mag3 to a oceanrunner 1700 (and removing the nozzle) was really making too much, and yes, some bubbles were coming out of the overflow....

Then my cousin bought a real skimmer.... An Aquamedic 5000.

Anyways, with a short body like that, a MJ900 would be plenty...even a 600 maybe. Injectors just waste so much of the pump on producing pressure (something that smaller pumps arent very good at anyways), that just going to a needlewheel of the same pump can be overkill. You can see that the actual collection area of my skimmers are more like a Deltec MCE type than the narrow pipe that a remora has.

IMO, these days the only good remora is a sold remora. I know Im being biased, but these days you can buy a Reef Octopus or a Coralife Superskimmer that does more for less.

 

[prugs]

hahnmeister,
What are you using for a venturi on a maxijet 600?

 

[hahnmeister]

Its section of 3/8" ID hose inside of the intake's 3/4" intake pipe. I drill a hole in the hose & pipe for the airline, and then the airline 'T's right into them both and they all hold each other in place. I can post pics later... I took closeups.

 

[itstheantitang]

I did the same thing for a "venturi" by shoving a 3/8 inch vinyl tube into the intake of a maxi-jet 1200 for my bak-pak. It produces a LOT more bubbles than it did with the stock venturi.

 

[prugs]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7840858#post7840858 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hahnmeister
Its section of 3/8" ID hose inside of the intake's 3/4" intake pipe. I drill a hole in the hose & pipe for the airline, and then the airline 'T's right into them both and they all hold each other in place. I can post pics later... I took closeups.

Let me make sure I understand. I read that over a few times, but I'm just a bit confused.

So you drill a hole in the pvc, so that the 3/8" ID hose fits snug in the pvc pipe. That keeps it from leaking?

The 3/8"ID hose goes to the bottom of the pvc pipe, that's why you drill a hole in the 3/8" tubing?