CSS65 Mesh Mod!

[NeveSSL]

Well... I got a little spunky after remembering I bought some enkamat from Angela at least 8 months ago or so and decided to mesh mod my skimmer while cleaning it (since I have to slide my sump out to even get it out! Believe it or not, this is easier done with the tank on so there's not as much water in the sump. ).

I really didn't do anything super spiffy... just took the thing apart, cut it up, zip-tied some mesh on there, cut to size, and put it back together! So far I'm pretty happy with it. I think I may try to get those zip ties off of there and attach it with fishing line to reduce weight and drag next time. Its skimming really well, but I have to admit I think the fact it got cleaned completely is half the reason at least.

Anyway... pics.

A look at the stock impeller.

Here's the enkamat... sorry for the shallow depth of field.

A nice, clean, uncluttered workspace is a must. :eek2:

 

[NeveSSL]

After cutting the top part of the needles off. (I cleaned up some of these cuts before the next step)

Sizing up the piece of enkamat... got this one just right...

Its attached!

Trimmed to size.

Quick sink check to make sure all is well... not too bad for freshwater! I was worried it was going to be too thick!

 

[NeveSSL]

Couple of hours later (after a bit of break-in... it wasn't too promising to begin with), skimming like a champ! Notice my 1mm clearance on my stand. That part of it, anyway... I have to tilt it backwards to get that lid off.

The above picture is just about an hour of skimming. I had already emptied it once. Tomorrow if all goes well I'm going to tweak it. Probably cut all of the bottom layer of needlewheel prongs off except 4 since thats all I need to attach this to and maybe do the fishingline thing. If I'm feeling really spiffy, I may bore the venturi out, but I doubt I'll get that far. That may be something good to do later in the summer.

Also, FWIW, I think these are great skimmers for the money. I've heard the Octopus skimmers are a bit better, but this size Octopus skimmer won't fit under my stand, anyway... which may be a good reason to build another one!

Anyway, just wanted to share with you all!

Brandon

 

[NeveSSL]

Oh, and FWIW, all advice and constructive criticism is greatly welcomed.

Brandon

 

[crumbletop]

Looks cool, Brandon. I've always wondered what the longevity of the gains of the meshmod are -- i.e. does it require cleaning more often to get the benefit. A slime layer builds up and so do particles and those may hang in the mesh over time degrading its performance. Anyway -- cool project!

 

[sandalscout]

Good job and nice pictures!

I too have wondered about the build-up of slime, that's about the only thing that's stopped me from mesh modding mine. I bought mine with the fishing line mod already done, and it's worked GREAT since I got it. Everyone complains about constant tweaking, etc, but I can let mine go for weeks without touching any of the adjustment dials.

 

[Angela Short]

LOVE The uncluttered workspace Looks like my whole house!

Anyways, my mesh mod skimmed like a mad man for ever then suddenly the pump stopped working about 2 months ago and I have never took the pump apart to check it out. From what it "looks" like to me and the sound of the pump the enkamat has maybe degraded or caught a partical and jammed up the pump. The pump sounds like it is trying to turn but just jammed.
FWIW I could tell a big increase over the unmoded pump and it worked great for at least a year and will probably just need new enkamat put in to get it back going again.

 

[NeveSSL]

Good point, Jack and Matt. Its kind of like NO2 on cars... if you use it, you're going to have to rebuild more often! I am betting that will hold true. BUT, the cool thing is that I found out I can just slide my sump out a bit to get my skimmer out. I was thinking I was going to have to shut everything down, take all the water out of the sump, etc., etc., so this time I won't go a whole year between complete cleanings.

I thought about doing the fishingline mod, Matt... but I already had the enkamat, so I figured why not?

I'll keep an ear out for it, Angela. Needless to say, that 8x11 sheet you sold me should last a WHILE.

It looks even better this morning. Its starting to skim much drier, which is what I prefer.

I still think its about on par with brand new stock skimming, but thats still awesome because it hasn't done hardly anything over the last couple of months and I was beginning to get worried that my nutrients may be adding up.

Anyway, a morning after pic.

Thanks!

Brandon

 

[eyebedam]

Nice job!

 

[NeveSSL]

Thanks Jason!

Brandon

 

[NeveSSL]

I have to say, this thing is breaking in nicely!

Check this out... this is the 24 hour mark (almost exactly):

Skimming a bit drier, which is what I wanted.

It has now for sure surpassed stock skimming. Sweet!

Now to see how often I have to clean it... I'm betting every two weeks, but thats ok. Hopefully my tank will be better for it. I am going to keep my eye on my corals, though, as they're growing pretty well now. We'll see if it slows any.

Brandon

 

[sandalscout]

Brandon, does it take two weeks to get to the point that the neck is coated in gunk? It takes mine about a week to get that way, but I think it may be because I set my water level lower than most people. I can't help but think that it might be because of this that I never have the problems everyone else experiences. I figure I'd rather clean it weekly than have to clean up overflows every other day.

Looks good though, that foam looks great, I only get foam that dense when I don't stick my hands in the tank for a day or more.

 

[NeveSSL]

To be honest, I have never had mine overflow at all. Its been quite the model citizen.

Brandon

 

[sandalscout]

I have had VERY little "problem" with mine, it overflowed once, and it was entirely my fault. I've been pleasantly surprised with mine, and I'm even running it HOT.

 

[DMBillies]

I lost about 10 gallons of water onto my floor because of a CSS65. I blame myself because of the way I had it set-up, but even since I've fixed it I've had quite a few problems with it just going crazy. Then, I hear of people with no problems. I have one sitting around right now and I just don't really know what to do with it (I hate to get rid of it because it skims good when it skims right...great for the size when it is doing its job right).

 

[NeveSSL]

Hmmm... thats very interesting. I've honestly just set mine up and left it. I've never had a problem with it. Which is nice. I got it at the Critter... maybe supporting LFSs gave me some luck.

Brandon

 

[NeveSSL]

Well, its been a little while, and I'm happy to say it doesn't seem to get dirty any quicker than before hand! I cleaned it today and it really didn't seem any dirtier than normal.

At the same time, I have to admit I'm not super consistent in my cleaning, but regardless its skimming extremely well and I'll probably only clean it every 2 weeks or so... maybe 3.

This mod is definitely worth it and I highly recommend it. I was thinking about replacing this skimmer at one point... Now I definitely will not. Its working great!

Brandon

 

[NeveSSL]

Hey Brian... out of curiosity, how deep was the water you were running your CSS65 in, assuming it was in sump and not hanging?

Brandon

 

[NeveSSL]

Just FWIW, I had to take my skimmer apart this evening. I think trimming out the middle part of the enkamat so that it was flush around the center hub of the needlewheel was probably a mistake. When I took the pump apart, the whole enkamat had come kind of unraveled and apart and was only being held on by two of the zip ties!

I simply put new enkamat on, this time attaching it with monofilament (fishing line) as was suggested the first time around and hopefully it will do better. It has returned to skimming like crazy and is doing a great job! Also, I took the middle piece off (the valve) between the pump and the skimmer body because its obviously not needed and simply makes the pump deeper. Thanks for that tip, Matt!

One last note. I tried putting an air pump on it, but it seems to just cause the pump to lose its prime sort of. It stops wanting to pump. I may have been doing it wrong... it may have needed to have been regulated or what not, but it does great without it so why have anything else consuming electricity I don't need to?

Ok, I lied. This is the last note. I will definitely say the skimmer gets dirtier quicker... but its really quite simple to clean it so I don't mind. It skims well and thats what I care about.

Brandon

 

[NeveSSL]

Sweet... Now that this thing has broken in again, it is skimming like a beast!

I love it!

Compared to the pics of last time, it seems as though its doing better. I think that could be due to moving the pump up higher so its not as hard to get air down to it.

Thanks again, Matt! :thumbsup:

Brandon