How do you hook up a skimmer externally?

[mnestroy]

Okay I've about had it with my Remora Pro skimmer.

I plan on upgrading my 40 Gal tank to a 90-150gallon by summer.

In the meantime I wanted to purchase a new skimmer, I was thinking a EuroReef Skimmer.

The problem is my 20L Sump is to small even the smallest ER Skimmer, (height is my problem) so I was wondering what is all involved in running the skimmer externally?

I'm a bit nervous cause I've heard stories of other skimmers overflowing onto their carpet (not sure if this is a problem with an ER)

Thanks.

PS.
If you have Pics that would be a huge help!

 

[rustybucket145]

Look into the recirculating ER skimmers for external hookup. I combat overflowing skimmer syndrome (OSS hehe) by having an overflow on my skimmer cup. This overflow line, which is just air hose, can be overflowed into a milk jug, coke bottle, 5gal bucket or, in my case, outside into a flower bed.

 

[Andrew]

First, the skimmer must have a Rec. pump to run and must be water tight. Than you can sit besides the tank or by the stand. Than just run the drain line back into the sump and have the feed pump feed from the sump.

 

[mnestroy]

So it has to be a Recirc model?? why is that?

So can you give me a little idea of what feeds what?

The drain line from the overflow goes where? into my sump?
Then do I need to drill a bulkhead or can I get away without one?
(If overflow is going into sump, how do i get it to skimmer?)

Also I'm not sure about the Rec Models, its basically just taking water from the top portion of the skimmer and pumping it back to the lower portion of the skimmer?

And then i'd just have the output of the skimmer with a flex hose go back into my sump?

Would doing all this effect the skimmers projection? I even though skimmer is less than 2 feet away i'd imagine there is some added head pressure.

When I get a larger thank i'm moving my 40breeder below to my sump and I should have plenty of space.

 

[rustybucket145]

I would suggest 'T'ing the overflow of the main tank to feed the skimmer instead of using a pump from the sump. If you T the overflow you can let gravity do the work for you instead of having to add another pump to your system. You will probably have to put a valve after the T leading to the skimmer to regulate water flow.

 

[mnestroy]

Hmmm I was always told not to restrict the flow of the overflow drain... I mean isn't that just an accident waiting to happen?

Plus my overflow isn't turning over that much water, my return is an Eheim 1250 which around 317GPH before head loss...

Ugh so confusing so if i'm running it external where am I feeding the water into? I mean the skimmer comes with a pump right? are you saying i would not use that pump?

 

[Andrew]

You just cant put a pump on the ground and have it pump water... A rec. skimmer has a pump attached to the skimmer which pulls water from the bottom of the skimmer and puts outs tons of bubbles at the top of the skimmer. ( very effective way of skimmer ) Than you have a feed line and you run say 200gph through the skimmer.

 

[mnestroy]

hmm I'm just having a hard time visualizing this,.

1. The Recird pump is not included in the purchase correct? and alls it does is like u said remove water from the bottom of the skimmer and pump it to the top of the skimmer?

2. The Skimmer comes with a pump right? How do i hook my overflow to that pump? it would be less than the 317GPH rated for my Ehiem Return pump... so are you saying if i feed it directly to my skimmer I wont need to utilize the pump that comes with the skimmer?

 

[Andrew]

Yea, water is taken from the bottom of the skimmer body and moved to the top after passing through the pump. The ventrui is attached to the pump which creates the camber to be filled with bubbles. The Rec. pump comes with 98% of the skimmers out there. Here's a picture if this helps:

 

[mnestroy]

So unlike a standard skimmer the bubbles are not introduced in the feed portion? the fed is strictly for feeding the skimmer?

If I plum my from my overflow would my eheim 1250 (rated for 317GPH no head pressure) be able to provide enough water to the skimmer?

I would also think having the skimmer being fed directly with water from the overflow would be ideal.. since the overflow is skimming the water surface and that is where the concentration of proteins are right?

 

[davidryder]

most any skimmer can be connected externally.

i have a pump in my sump which is connected to the input of the skimmer. the output of the skimmer goes up to the display tank and outputs it with the function of a powerhead. as long as you skimmer doesn't require the pump to be connected directly to the skimmer body (with a specially fitted connection), you can run PVC or flex tubing to accomplish what you want. the fact that it is a recirc skimmer should have nothing to do with it... unless i'm missing something. most skimmers $200+ have standard 3/4" or 1" input and outputs. and many even have knobs to control the flow into the skimmer.

check out the MRC MR-1 :

http://www.aquadirect.com/store/product.php?productid=21008&cat=797&page=1

It has an input and an output. How you arrange where it comes from and where it goes it completely up to you. The point is, the pump can be 20 feet from the skimmer if you want, even in another room.

Put down on a piece of paper a design that will allow a pump to deliver water from one place to another, and from that place to another place. IE from the sump to skimmer, and skimmer to display tank.

Make sense?

Worry about how the skimmer works after you get a design down.

 

[mnestroy]

Well, I am not after making anything complicated, my my issue right now is my current tank and stand is established, I have a 20L sump/fuge under the stand. The problem is two.

1. I didn't make the skimmer chamber large enough to hold a decent skimmer (it has my remora pro now)
2. The current stand does not give me much clearence, I think i have about 20inches tall...

My main object is this, I plan on buying a larger thank.. which means i'll need a larger skimmer (my remora is horible, barely handles a 40, and i know it wont do jack on a 90-150gallon) so either I buy the skimmer now or later...

I figured i'll buy the skimmer now.. and I was going to put the skimmer next to the tank.

If I am understanding things right, it should not be very complicated, I would run the drain from my overflow to a T connector, 1 end would go into a ball vale and then into skimmer. Other end to sump.

and then run a hose from the skimmer out to the sump (the ideal position of skimmer may require to be raised a little, but that shouldn't be an issue, I can use an milk crate if need be, hehe)

Does this sound right?

Will my overflow provide enough flow/pressure for an ER skimmer? and back to my main question, which model, ehhe

 

[Jim_S]

Running a hose from the pump to the skimmer only works well for beckett style skimmers. If you try that with a needle wheel pump (like the ER internal), the head pressure from the hose will sevely reduce your air intake., and result in poor performance.

If you go with a beckett, then this won't be a problem.

With a beckett or an external/RC needle wheel skimmer you must have an exaust/drain from the skimmer to the tank.

An RC needle wheel skimmer needs a feed supply of water. This can be accomplished via pump, or from your drain. But the skimmer will not come with the pump in any situation.

The reason they can be run externally is because of the re-circulation design. On a standard internal needle wheel skimmer, the pump draws water from the sump. On the RC/external models, the pumps draw the water from inside the skimmer body in order to maximize contact time, while there is a seperate feed so that you can control the flow rate into the skimmer.

Generally, you want to run 1-1.5 x times your system volume through your skimmer per hour.

Here is a pic of my RC skimmer. It is fed from my overflow, and the skimmer drain back into my sump.

 

[davidryder]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9281355#post9281355 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jimdogg187
Running a hose from the pump to the skimmer only works well for beckett style skimmers. If you try that with a needle wheel pump (like the ER internal), the head pressure from the hose will sevely reduce your air intake., and result in poor performance.

If you go with a beckett, then this won't be a problem.

With a beckett or an external/RC needle wheel skimmer you must have an exaust/drain from the skimmer to the tank.

An RC needle wheel skimmer needs a feed supply of water. This can be accomplished via pump, or from your drain. But the skimmer will not come with the pump in any situation.

The reason they can be run externally is because of the re-circulation design. On a standard internal needle wheel skimmer, the pump draws water from the sump. On the RC/external models, the pumps draw the water from inside the skimmer body in order to maximize contact time, while there is a seperate feed so that you can control the flow rate into the skimmer.

Generally, you want to run 1-1.5 x times your system volume through your skimmer per hour.

Here is a pic of my RC skimmer. It is fed from my overflow, and the skimmer drain back into my sump.

ahh i was not aware of the different operation of skimmers.


so jimdogg... i see that your skimmer requires the drain to be higher than the sump wall or plumbed into the sump wall. is the flow out of that skimmer very low? what type of pump runs that skimmer?

 

[Jim_S]

The drain must be higher than the sump wall, yes. Thats why I built the stand. The flow is in fact very low. Right around 250 gph.

Beckett skimmers work differntly because the pump does not create the bubbles. The pump pushes water through 1 or multiple injectors that mix air and water. So the pump can be far away from the skimmer as long as it is powerful enough to push through that much head.

My skimmer runs on an eheim 1262 retrofited by Euro-reef as a needle wheel pump. They come stock now on the RC180 and up. The RC180 is what is pictured.

HTH

Jim

 

[JD52]

This is how I did mine, its a huge beckett on a 60 gallon bare bottom reef tank. It was designed to me a hang on but I decided to build support underneath it because it ended up being much larger than aticipated, about five gallons...



Sorry, for some reason the vids not working.