diy gate valve setup for euro reef.
- Thread starter fishtk75
- Start date
reefkeeperrut
New member
check ASMskimmers.com They have a quasi-tutorial.
Is there any reason for the standpipe other than maintaining water in the skimmer when the feed is off? IOW, would just a gate valve on a drain fitting, like beckett skimmers use, work as well? I'm making a recirculating skimmer, and I plan on using a gate valve to regulate the water height, and I'm wondering if I need the durso arrangement as well.
10" Red Devil
New member
What does this gate valve do? Why would anyone want one? Thanks.
crab0000
New member
I don't know how familiar either of you are with ER's, so I will explain it from the standpoint that you are not very familiar with them. The standpipe is used to adjust the water height in the skimmer, you slide it up and down to raise and lower the water level respectively. The only problem with the stock standpipe is not having the ability to skim wet. In this case you could just lengthen the pipe to solve that problem, but this is not a very precise way of adjusting the skimmer. If you put a gate valve on the outlet you can adjust it much more precisely as well as run it as wet as you would like. I hope this answers your questions.
Steve
Steve
RichConley
New member
crab0000, you missed his point
with the gate valve there, the standpipe isnt doing anything. Its just maintaining level when power is off. You could just have the gate valve and it will work the same.
with the gate valve there, the standpipe isnt doing anything. Its just maintaining level when power is off. You could just have the gate valve and it will work the same.
RichConley
New member
yeah, crab, I forgot about that...bad siphon....
so the height doesnt matter, it just has to be vented.
so the height doesnt matter, it just has to be vented.
Ummmm...I don't understand about the vacuum part, as there must be an air vent in the collection cup for all skimmers. I've built many beckett skimmers, I have a very good understanding of how they work. In that case, you have a high pressure pump pushing water into the skimmer, and the gate valve regulates the height by adjusting the back pressure which is equalized by the water height in the skimmer. The only possible difference I see here is that the main pump is simply recirculating water within the skimmer, so the feed pump is responsible for filling and maintaining the level in the skimmer. Since this pump is not a pressure rated pump, (sometimes just gravity from tank) it kind of makes sense that the level would be best maintained by a "leveling" device such as the durso arrangement. Certainly if it's your intention to submerge the output in the sump you need the siphon break that the durso provides, as opposed to just a riser. That doesn't have anything to do with rising and falling levels in the skimmer, such as when you have a typical durso in your overflow with no vent, but instead is because if you submerge the output and have no vent, the skimmer level will simply fall to the level of your sump through siphoning.
It doesn't matter that much to me as I can easily install a durso after the fact, but I thought someone would know for sure what happens with a recirculating skimmer and a gate valve with no riser. Thanks for all the advice so far!
It doesn't matter that much to me as I can easily install a durso after the fact, but I thought someone would know for sure what happens with a recirculating skimmer and a gate valve with no riser. Thanks for all the advice so far!
