Kregg
New member
Wouldn't it be great if we could have a effective skimmer without another water pump! We would save on energy by not having another big pump sucking up juice and it would save even more cash by not needing a high dollar pump! Keep an open mind and read on....
I may be all wet with this one, but hear me out and please give me your input. I have had a few positive comments and a few negative ones. I have a 75 gal sump in my basement attached to my 120 display upstairs. My 1.5 inch drain is moving about 1600 gph with a 12 foot drop. Just look at all of the natural foam I'm getting and this is not even trying!
This section of my sump already collects a substantial amount of natural skimate in short order, but I can not remove it easily and a lot of bubbles are escaping through the current baffle set up.
My 2 overflow drains are joined in a 3 pronged Y with the top center line plugged. I might be able to get even more aeration / bubbles in this water by adding a vent hole in the middle plug where the 2 drains are mixing together. This vent area could have a simple air valve or even a air pump or injector for more foam manufacturing and regulation? Here is a view of the upstairs plumbing Y (the one with the 2 gate valves).
Do you think it is worth trying to harness this natural foam/skimate that I'm already getting in my sump? We have several options and maybe more.
Option 1. Simply add my powered PM Bullet-3 skimmer in this area and take advantage of extra aeration before the skimmer even takes it in. This could be helpful, but will not save electricity and requires another costly pump.
Option 2. Build a DIY skimmer in this sump section and acquire skimate from the natural flow and aeration. Would this DIY skimmer running on the drain flow be as effective as my Bullet-3 skimmer running off a pressure rated pump? If not the same, then how close?
Option 3. Run my Bullet-3 skimmer with this drain flow and not even use another pump on the Bullet? Would this pumpless set up be equivalent to making a DIY skimmer in this area? I was told that my current drain pressure was not enough to effectively run the Bullet. Perhaps it would just back up my drain up into the display and not allow the proper flow into the sump. We could have a overflow on the drain if required. However, I do not know how to calculate my current drain pressure and compare it with a pressure rated pump.
I appreciate everyones thoughts, assistance and experience in this area. Could this be a breakthrough Idea? Bomber has already gotten my mind spinning about this. Help me out!
I may be all wet with this one, but hear me out and please give me your input. I have had a few positive comments and a few negative ones. I have a 75 gal sump in my basement attached to my 120 display upstairs. My 1.5 inch drain is moving about 1600 gph with a 12 foot drop. Just look at all of the natural foam I'm getting and this is not even trying!
This section of my sump already collects a substantial amount of natural skimate in short order, but I can not remove it easily and a lot of bubbles are escaping through the current baffle set up.
My 2 overflow drains are joined in a 3 pronged Y with the top center line plugged. I might be able to get even more aeration / bubbles in this water by adding a vent hole in the middle plug where the 2 drains are mixing together. This vent area could have a simple air valve or even a air pump or injector for more foam manufacturing and regulation? Here is a view of the upstairs plumbing Y (the one with the 2 gate valves).
Do you think it is worth trying to harness this natural foam/skimate that I'm already getting in my sump? We have several options and maybe more.
Option 1. Simply add my powered PM Bullet-3 skimmer in this area and take advantage of extra aeration before the skimmer even takes it in. This could be helpful, but will not save electricity and requires another costly pump.
Option 2. Build a DIY skimmer in this sump section and acquire skimate from the natural flow and aeration. Would this DIY skimmer running on the drain flow be as effective as my Bullet-3 skimmer running off a pressure rated pump? If not the same, then how close?
Option 3. Run my Bullet-3 skimmer with this drain flow and not even use another pump on the Bullet? Would this pumpless set up be equivalent to making a DIY skimmer in this area? I was told that my current drain pressure was not enough to effectively run the Bullet. Perhaps it would just back up my drain up into the display and not allow the proper flow into the sump. We could have a overflow on the drain if required. However, I do not know how to calculate my current drain pressure and compare it with a pressure rated pump.
I appreciate everyones thoughts, assistance and experience in this area. Could this be a breakthrough Idea? Bomber has already gotten my mind spinning about this. Help me out!
