Protein Skimmer Production/Improvements

[fullkontact]

I have searched to no avail. Can I get specific tips on improving my coralife super skimmer 125. It's a hang on back, drawing water from about 1" under. It has an air intake(venturi?) to draw air into the needle wheel. I'm not sure if I have room for a gate valve, It already has a valve on the return to adjust the water level. I don't have a sump, but do want to get the most out of this skimmer. (needle valve? wooden air stones?) thanks

 

[ItsMee]

I put in a MJ 1200 in my sump to mix up the supplements better and to keep my macro algae rolling. I noticed right after turning it on my skimmer stopped skimming...should I take it out, or should the skimmer adjust?

 

[cidory]

I have set up dual skimmers in my sump, not getting darl skimmate but light green, I suppose betwen socks and skimmers comepting for junk the darker stuff just isnt present. take a look at pic

[/IMG]

 

[10810]

Cidory, the one big difference I can notice between the skimmers is the difference in bubble size in the necks of the two skimmers. The one on the right seams to be working fine, not so with the one on the left, or did you clean out the skimmer on the left just before you took the pic and the foam/bubbles are still trying to stabilize?

 

[DonJasper]

Cleaning tip:

I've got a DIY setup - so forgive me if my terms are messed up. When I clean my collection cup assembly, I add a capful of bleach to a spray bottle filled with water. I then spritz this water over the assembly. Good as new, no recovery time, blah blah.

I started this first because I wanted to remove any fingerprints / skin oil I may have left from normal cleaning. Low and behold - all that I really need to do is spritz this bleach-water and rinse. And rinse. Just to prove how irrational human beings are, I now clean the assembly wearing latex gloves! Because I don't want to get beach-water on my hands repeatedly.

 

[unkleJ]

air valve for needle wheel skimmers

air valve for needle wheel skimmers

So i put a needle valve on the air line to the venturi on my Turboflotor skimmer...I wouldn't say that it's night and day, but there is definately an improvement in performance, and I think it's a lot easier to adjust using this needle valve rather than the outlet flow control valves that come on this skimmer...

I think it's definately a worthwhile modification for anyone with a skimmer that uses a needle wheel impeller.

I haven't tried adding an airstone yet, and haven't re-worked my sump either, been too busy.

I got the needle valve I used at work, it's similar to the speed control valves on this webpage ( http://www.pisco.com/category.aspx?catid=5 ), and has push-type tube connections.

 

[Bill Shultz]

Needle Wheel vs. Factory Impeller

Needle Wheel vs. Factory Impeller

Hey everybody,

I'm getting ready to modify my above pictured Euroreef ES8-1 skimmer which is fitted with a Sedra 5000 pump.

Some of the modifications I will be making are the following:
1. Improve outflow from the skimmer with a gate valve (same installation as illustrated by "JustOneMoreTank" on page 17 of the old thread)
2. Add a needle valve for precise tuning of the airflow entering the skimmer.


In addition to these two mods, my big question is whether or not I want to add a Kent venturi and just replace the needle wheel impeller that came with my pump with the standard impeller that is fitted on all new Sedra pumps.

Wouldn't replacing the needle wheel with the factory impeller boost the pump's output (at least back to the advertised 500gph) and thus increase the drawing power from the venturi? Is a needle wheel still desirable in the setup?

Thanks for your comments.

 

[cidory]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6410379#post6410379 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 10810
Cidory, the one big difference I can notice between the skimmers is the difference in bubble size in the necks of the two skimmers. The one on the right seams to be working fine, not so with the one on the left, or did you clean out the skimmer on the left just before you took the pic and the foam/bubbles are still trying to stabilize?

Ive been fighting this skimmer since i bought it, dialing it in is like dialing in a calcium reactor. Seems once a day it produces junk, meanwhile the Euro skimmer next to it is like the Energizer bunny , it just keeps going and going and going. If I had it to do over i would but another Euro-Reef and still may if things dont get better

 

[JustOneMoreTank]

Bill Shultz:
Good luck with the mods. I really think that you will notice some improvements in the skimmate production with the changes that you have mentioned. It might be interesting to try the modifications one at a time to attempt to gauge the changes that each one has.
The Gate Valve on the skimmers exiting water is fast and easy to accomplish as long as you have the space in the sump to do it. This will give you excellent control of the water height in the skimmer and is well worth the small amount of effort to finish.
Fine tuning the air into the pump with the needle valve is another easy tweak that you can perform and I believe that will help the skimmate production. So yes go for the needle valve.
As far as swapping out the Sedra's NW impeller for a standard impeller and using an improved Kent Venturi.... I am not sure. It is certainly worth a shot. I have never done that. Maybe Anthony Calfo or someone else on this thread has tried that swap. I understand that the regular impeller will be more efficient and move more GPH than the Needle wheel. However I dont know which setup (Sedra NW vs regular impeller with Kent Vent) will give you the better skimmate production.
Be sure to let us know if you try it and what you think.
Good luck.

 

[Kenfuzed]

Anyone using a smaller (than recommended) pump on their AquaC EV-180 skimmer? I recently set up a used EV180 as a secondary skimmer using a smaller pump to obtain dry skimmate. Unfortunately it has yet to produce any bubbles or foam in the tower after 2 days. Also wondering if anyone has a link to any threads about modifying the EV with a becket injector?

Glad to see this thread still going despite the forum's name change. This thread should be a must read for anyone who has ever had a problem with their skimmer (which is just about everyone).

 

[ajm-vfr]

Kenfuzed, I had difficulty getting the EV180 working with the AquaC recommendation of a MAG 7, and I have read a lot of posts where people have had the same problem. I sort of got my EV180 working with a mag9.5. I really don't know if a smaller pump would generate anything.

I was thinking about adding a becket injector to my EV180. but the EV180 has a 3/4 inch water input. I did a fast look to see if there where any small beckets available, but the ones I found where too large for the 3/4 inch line.

If I could find a small becket injector I would love to try it.

 

[Kenfuzed]

I'm going to open a new thread looking for the beckett mod to my EV-180. I'll post back if I find anything.

 

[melev]

My Aqua C EV-200 used a Mag 12 and worked great. I think a weaker pump will not produce the volume those injectors need to produce the bubbles you want.

 

[Awright]

Re: Needle Wheel vs. Factory Impeller

Re: Needle Wheel vs. Factory Impeller

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6443979#post6443979 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bill Shultz
Hey everybody,

I'm getting ready to modify my above pictured Euroreef ES8-1 skimmer which is fitted with a Sedra 5000 pump.

Some of the modifications I will be making are the following:
1. Improve outflow from the skimmer with a gate valve (same installation as illustrated by "JustOneMoreTank" on page 17 of the old thread)
2. Add a needle valve for precise tuning of the airflow entering the skimmer.


In addition to these two mods, my big question is whether or not I want to add a Kent venturi and just replace the needle wheel impeller that came with my pump with the standard impeller that is fitted on all new Sedra pumps.

Wouldn't replacing the needle wheel with the factory impeller boost the pump's output (at least back to the advertised 500gph) and thus increase the drawing power from the venturi? Is a needle wheel still desirable in the setup?

Thanks for your comments.

Bill,
That is what I did to mine CS8-2, I also added ozone with an Enealy ozonizer and an additional air pump to add more air volume. That to me was easier than adding another recirculating pump.
My biggest inmprovement was when I built a sump like Melev has on his webpage. Keeping the water level constant in the skimmer chamber really help tune in the skimmer. I also now have my additional air pump turned way way down, I could probably remove it all together but everything is staying in check. I have no sign of hair algea at all. Just my 2 cents.

 

[cidory]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6444036#post6444036 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cidory
Ive been fighting this skimmer since i bought it, dialing it in is like dialing in a calcium reactor. Seems once a day it produces junk, meanwhile the Euro skimmer next to it is like the Energizer bunny , it just keeps going and going and going. If I had it to do over i would but another Euro-Reef and still may if things dont get better

Finally I may be getting there

[/IMG]

 

[Bill Shultz]

Looks like your persistence is paying off

 

[unkleJ]

Heres a bump for a good thread....and a little bit of an update.

I run a turboflotor multi on my sump, and was having trouble getting good skimmate consistently.

I added a needle valve to the air intake to the needle wheel, and I also tried plumbing my overflow directly to the inlet for the skimmer pump. I had some plumbing issues with this setup, and since I wasn't able to get good, consistent water feed to the pump, I had to go back to just pulling water out of the sump to skim.

However, the needle valve has been a big help, and now I do get quite consistent skimmate, good quanitity and concentration, as well.

I actually very rarely make any adjustments to the water flow valves (for adjusting the water outlet flow), I do almost all of my adjustments with the needle valve.

Just thought I'd share, it's sortof a success story, thanks to AC and everyone else on here who contributed to the 40 pages or whatever this thread is now...Thanks all.

 

[unkleJ]

Heres a bump for a good thread....and a little bit of an update.

I run a turboflotor multi on my sump, and was having trouble getting good skimmate consistently.

I added a needle valve to the air intake to the needle wheel, and I also tried plumbing my overflow directly to the inlet for the skimmer pump. I had some plumbing issues with this setup, and since I wasn't able to get good, consistent water feed to the pump, I had to go back to just pulling water out of the sump to skim.

However, the needle valve has been a big help, and now I do get quite consistent skimmate, good quanitity and concentration, as well.

I actually very rarely make any adjustments to the water flow valves (for adjusting the water outlet flow), I do almost all of my adjustments with the needle valve.

Just thought I'd share, it's sortof a success story, thanks to AC and everyone else on here who contributed to the 40 pages or whatever this thread is now...Thanks all.

 

[Dakota_reef]

I'm still confused on how a needle valve helps a venturi skimmer when the neele wheel chops the crap out of them.. won't that make the bubbles smaller anyway?

 

[unkleJ]

sorry 'bout the double post.

I think the needle valve helps me in that it allows me to really fine tune how much air is going into the needle wheel. This does 2 things - it effects the bubble size, and it effects the height of the liquid inside the skimmer.

Once I set the outflow valves so they were in the ballpark, the needle valve really allows me much finer control over the skimmate than just using those outflow valves alone.

I guess there an optimal amount of air for a needle wheel, more is not necessarily better. It can only handle so much air flow.