Gen-x 1000 is LOUD!

dr_rick

Premium Member
I just got a gen-x 1000 needlewheel yesterday, and tested it out to see how it worked. I could not get over how incredibly loud this thing was. I mean, even holding it in my hand (submerged, of course), it was loud enough to be heard two rooms away. I fiddled with the air intake, took it off, tried a whole bunch of different things to see what was making it so loud. Does anyone have any ideas? I think that the impeller shaft might be seated wrong, because (if I recall now) when I took the impeller cover (or whatever that's called) off, it quieted down a lot. I'm at work now, so I can't look at it, but if anyone has some direction for when I get home, that'd be great!
 
I got mine from thereefstop.com and it was pretty inexpensive. My concern is that inexpensive will, in this case, translate into "cheap". Other versions of the Gen-X NW pumps seem to get decent reviews though, and I think that ASM is using the Gen-X NWs in their larger skimmers now.
 
i'm looking at buying a used coralife superskimmer from someone.
they said it doesn't have the needle wheel pump. do i have to have a coralife needle wheel pump or can i use any?

what skimmer are you using yours for?
 
As of yet...I'm not. I don't have my tank set up yet, and am in the equipment gathering stage. My plan is to try to build a DIY skimmer, and my goal was to use this as a recirculating pump for it. As far as it working with the CSS, I don't know. I would imagine that it would work, or could be made to work with a little effort, but I haven't actually had my hands on a CSS, so I can't say for sure. If I can't figure out how to quiet this one down though, I can't say that I'd recommend it for use outside of a fish room.
 
very interesting mr. bond...

perhaps if the wheel were to be enclosed in the bubble chamber it would quiet it?
 
Well, one can hope that it would muffle the noise, but with the racket that it was making last night, I'd have to use some really thick acrylic to dampen it. I have to think that the impeller shaft isn't seated right or something like that.
 
Keep fiddling with it, It should hum at worst.
Make sure it is actually getting enough water in to it, if you try it in a couple gallons it will just chew the water up insted of actually pumping it.

Never run it dry.
 
Well, I'll see if I can try it in a little more water and also fiddle with it some more. It's encouraging to know that it shouldn't be making that much noise, and that a slight hum is more the norm. So, do you think it would run ok as a recirculating pump? My thought was to run it like the HOB Deltec (I don't remember the model), but instead of using the pump to feed the skimmer, feed it from the overflow and just have the pump inside for recirculation. Does that sound like it would work, or will it "just chew up the water"?
 
If Im understand you right.
Only use a needlewheel for the skimmer, if you want a circ pump, get one with a regular impellar.

Never starve a pump of water, they will not work right.
You can restrict the out put, never restrict the intake.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7157364#post7157364 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Letmegrow
If Im understand you right.
Only use a needlewheel for the skimmer, if you want a circ pump, get one with a regular impellar.
I thought he was saying he was going to make the pump be the recirc on a skimmer. Just moving the water from the skimmer back to the skimmer adding air at the same time, like everyone does with the ASM.
but instead of using the pump to feed the skimmer, feed it from the overflow and just have the pump inside for recirculation.
If I'm following him right it should work fine like this.
 
Ok, Lon, I think you are describing what I'm trying to. The Deltec MCE600 has a pump inside the skimmer, which, if I understand correctly, pulls water from the tank into the skimmer body. It is a NW, which floods the main chamber with bubbles. Water then flows out of that chamber, then out of the skimmer. My thought is to do something similar (not a standard recirc, I suppose), but feed the skimmer from the overflow, i.e. no pump to pull water in from the tank. The pump inside would basically just be running with the water already in the skimmer. So this would serve as the source of bubbles, hence the NW. In my mind, it's kind of recirculating, since the pump isn't what's determining how fast the water flows through the skimmer, but the overflow is. Ok, so am I totally off my rocker on the way I think this works? Also, if I have appropriately described my thoughts, will the pump basically choke in there? Thanks for your help guys!
 
How big is the inside of the skimmer? How will the pump be fed air if it's inside the skimmer? IMO it would work better externally pulling water out of the skimmer and pushing back into the skimmer. But I could be wrong to have not known anyone to set one up like this.

http://www.asmskimmer.com/mod2.htm Here they show how they do the recirc mod., but this is on an ASM. It is fed from the tank over flow, or by smaller pump your choice, then the Sedra pulls water out of the skimmer and pushes it back in mixing with bubbles.. Slower water movement going through the skimmer gives more bubble contact time with the recirc pump. IMO that should make a great skimmer.
 
You have the idea down correctly though some who feed from the overflow have some issues water level fluctuation. I used a MaxiJet 1200 for my feed pump.
 
Well, at this point, this is all kind of just in my head. I've drawn out a rough diagram as well, but it's all theoretical. Lon, what you showed is definitely the standard recirc, and I've thought about that, but was trying to find a way to buy myself a little more room in the sump. My idea was to have the pump sitting inside the skimmer (did I mention it would be rectangular, like the deltec?), and then running an air line out through the top of the skimmer to feed the venturi for the NW. In my mind, it would work in a similar fashion to the ASM recirc, but instead of having a pipe running from inside the skimmer, to the pump, then back to the skimmer, I would just put the pump inside the skimmer. Otherwise, I think it would be similar. Again, I haven't actually tested this or attempted to assemble it yet, so maybe I'm missing something. I may try to get a picture up sometime later tonight.
 
if you use that pump for a diy protein skimmer you probally wont have much of any flow


ask kentrob

i have the mc 500 model deltec the only differnce between this and the mce600 is there is a tube that runs up and over into the tank.


suggest something bigger than the 2400 pump remember the needle wheel moves less water normal power heads


if you want to come see the mc500 let me know
 
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