Know anything about skimmer pumps?

[aquaphilic]

Hi all.

I have an ASM G-1 skimmer with a Sedra 2500 pump. This pump goes right into the skimmer without an elbow.

The pump apparently died while I was on vacation (of course) and I need to replace it ASAP. Does anyone know if I can replace it with a larger Sedra (3000 or 5000) for more efficiency? ...or must I stick with the same pump as original? Will some other brand of pump work better?

I'm trying to look at this as an opportunity for improvement...

 

[Shaun120]

I bet the 3000 would be fine. Hook it up and if you cant adjust the skimmer correctly then you can add a gate valve to the pump before it enters the skimmer. You could then throttle it down as needed.

I am not personally familiar with the ASM G-1 but with most manufactures, if the pump is provided with the skimmer they use the smallest one that will work the pump to save money.

Skimmers usually have a minimum range of flow that they will work in, so bigger usually doesn't hurt unless it is bigger then the max that will flow through the skimmer body. If it is a Venturi driven skimmer, adding a pump that generates more flow will draw more air and more bubbles will usually result in more effecient skimming (more surface area of the bubbles contacting the water)

 

[aquaconnect]

You can try to do the mesh mod. Just google it or look it up here on RC. It makes finer bubbles and I've done it w/my G3. I wouldn't go to big though, because it isn't venturi really, it's a needle wheel setup.

 

[aquaphilic]

Thanks for the help, I finally just decided to go ahead and get a new skimmmer. ASM is the only skimmer that I have had, so I don't really have anything to compare it to, but I have been pretty happy with it. It is easy to operate and did the job until recently. I did order a more powerful one though, the G2. I'm not sure why because the G1 kept my tank in good shape... probably "more is better" logic.

I actually did the meshwheel mod a few months ago and agree that it made finer bubbles, but I didn't notice a big change in the amount or color of skimmate and soon after trouble started.

I recently have been battling cyano, which has never been in a problem in my tank before (except for briefly when my tank was new). I examined the pump when it quit working and noticed wear on one side of the magnet and in the housing. I think maybe the mod created an imbalance or something that caused it not to spin properly and actually reduced the efficiency of the pump (and ultimately the skimmer), thus the cyano and eventually the stopped pump.

I know a lot of people have had success with the mod, so maybe I did something wrong. I would like to see someone else do it in person. I worked off of an online video though, and mine looked fine.