Possable Berlin skimmer mod *pics*

[tabndust]

looks great GSerg2

 

[RichK]

I've been running a modded Berlin for about 6 years on my 75G. This is what I did:
1) Unscrew original inlet barb and remove the venturi cone inside.
2) Plug up original air inlet
3) Replace inlet barb and install a 3/4" external venturi inline with the output of a real pressure pump. I use a Little Giant 3MDQ-SC.
4) Make sure you have a valve on the output of the pump to control water flow.
It's a simple mod and really makes the skimmer work well. The smell and color of the skimmate resemble that of my 5 foot tall ETSS 1000 on my 125G SPS tank.

 

[tabndust]

any pics RichK

 

[GSerg2]

D your right it's not really a mod. It's more like a rebuild. The reason I used the Berlin was so I didn't have to make the cup and stuff.

 

[69vette]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6272496#post6272496 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RichK
3) Replace inlet barb and install a 3/4" external venturi inline with the output of a real pressure pump. I use a Little Giant 3MDQ-SC.
4) Make sure you have a valve on the output of the pump to control water flow.

This is what I did about 3 years ago, but I'm using a mag9.5. Works exceptionally well, comparable to many of the high dollar skimmers I've seen.

 

[sumphead]

Nice Job Greg, exactly what I what I meant. Yeah its a rebuild, but a simple and effective one.

R-

 

[johntbyrne]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6271893#post6271893 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GSerg2
I did what sumphead is talking about. Here is a pic if you are interested...

Any updates Greg? Did you get it in service? I'm sitting here trying to decide what to do about a skimmer and I have a Berlin screaming to do this too.

 

[EmergencyDpt]

When I used to sell motorcycles...

"You want your bike to go faster? Easy, just unscrew the gas cap, drive a new motorcycle under it, screw it back down. No problem."

 

[GSerg2]

It is working great. No problems so far.

 

[johntbyrne]

Sounds good. Do you think it would work better with a larger main tube for less turbulence? It wouldn't be hard to do a funnel to the top of the Berlin. Of course this is easier. Any pics of it in operation? Video?

 

[GSerg2]

A larger diameter riser would probably help. If you got some 6 inch tubing, you could do a stepped down riser tubing like Barr Aquatics does.

How big is your tank?

 

[johntbyrne]

Tank is a 75. I think I'm going to start from scratch on this one. I may play with the Berlin later but for now I'm not going to do anything with it. This way I can have a 6" tube, larger collection cup, and still have the Berlin for something else. No idea what this will be but I'll think of something lol.

 

[MadTownMax]

FWIW - you can always run two skimmers, so one is skimming when you clean the other and it needs time to build up a foam head again - and you'll be getting two different types of skimmate - which is a good thing.

 

[johntbyrne]

That is an interesting idea. I run the Berlin with a Rio 3100 and actually find it doesn't do a horrible job like many suggest it will. I'm not saying it is great either. With this said, it would be interesting to run it from time to time along with a decent skimmer and see if it will pull out anything. What would really be fun is to let the outlet water from the "good" skimmer feed into the Berlin and visaversa. Now that would be a fun experiment that would probably tell me nothing.... he he he

 

[dhnguyen]

The easiest mod for the Berlin would be to use a needle wheel pump. This alone will increase the performance by a lot IMO.



D.

 

[00nothing]

is the berlin a good skimmer with jsut the turbo pump added? i am picking one up with the turbo pump fairly cheap and wondering i should still consider doing mods to it

 

[donta42]

nice work looks clean !