Removing the Pinwheel from Sicce Pump
- Thread starter ai-reefer
- Start date
dan223
Custom User Title
in your third pic you need to turn the volute or grey insert piece counter clockwise untill the lugs are free then wiggle it out, its a very tight fit with the oring and be carefull not to break the ceramic shaft, I would replace the oring with a thinner one for the future.
Use the padded handle ends of a large pair of pliers or channel locks to turn the gray piece counterclockwise. Like dan stated, its very tight. Once you get it off slide the pinwheel and magnet assembly off the shaft. The Pinwheel is held onto the magnet assembly with the push in bushing in the center of the pinwheel. Dry the magnet and pinwheel so you can get a good grip and basically you pull the pinwheel off with brute force. But try and hold the pinwheel at the center, not the ends so that you dont crack it. Careful because that center bushing can go flying when you get them pulled apart. I use two fingers under the pinwheel at the center and use my palm or thumb over the top of the pinwheel over the bushing so the bushing doesnt come flying off. Its a tight fit but it will pop off.
When you put it all back together, use some silicone grease (potable water safe, NSF approved, fda approved etc silicone or teflon lubricant,grease) on the O-ring so the gray piece will come off a little easier next time.
As dan said, be very careful of the ceramic shaft. I would put the pump back together before twisting the gray piece off so the shaft isnt exposed while you do it. Also, they sell smaller diameter Orings to allow that piece to twist off easier in the future. MS or SWC sells them.
When you put it all back together, use some silicone grease (potable water safe, NSF approved, fda approved etc silicone or teflon lubricant,grease) on the O-ring so the gray piece will come off a little easier next time.
As dan said, be very careful of the ceramic shaft. I would put the pump back together before twisting the gray piece off so the shaft isnt exposed while you do it. Also, they sell smaller diameter Orings to allow that piece to twist off easier in the future. MS or SWC sells them.
hummermaniac88
New member
Sorry, I am a noob but I just got a Reef Octopus extreme 300, where doy ou put the mesh? And what is the yellow knob for?
Thanks!
ai-reefer
New member
The yellow knob on top? Its for holding the Pinwheel in place on top of the impeller, that part is inserted into the plastic casing which then goes into the pump.
I cut the mesh out in the middle part so it won't have any startup issues. I'll post some more pictures in a little while.
I took the skimmer out, im waiting to get the fishing line to i can tie the mesh down to the pinwheel, which i forgot to do.
I cut the mesh out in the middle part so it won't have any startup issues. I'll post some more pictures in a little while.
I took the skimmer out, im waiting to get the fishing line to i can tie the mesh down to the pinwheel, which i forgot to do.
hummermaniac88
New member
So thats where it goes.....Still a little confused with the yellow knob thing. Does the reef octopus come with the PPW? Thanks for the quick responses!
Ernest
*Edited*
So is the yellow knob a tool to put the PPW in its casing?
No it doesnt come with the purple pinwheel ... dont you have the skimmer?
The mesh usually goes on the yellow impeller. The skimmer should come with pinwheel impellers and the standard yellow impellers with fins. The dealers dont always do the mesh mod for you and the yellow impellers are often sent with the fins still on them. You have to cut the fins off the yellow impellers and grind or cut the remainder of whats left of the fins down so that they are flat discs (Dremel tool works good for this). Where the fins are removed they dont have to be cut down to perfectly smooth flat but the fins need to be removed enough so you basically have a flat surface on top. You then drill small holes in pairs (3 pairs, some do 4) in the yellow impeller that you just removed the fins from. The holes will be used to feed fishing line or tie wraps through to hold down the mesh. You can have startup issues with the Coralvue branded skimmers if you use tie wraps and may need to use fishing line because no mods are done to the sicce motor block to add clearance.
Most use 3 layers of Enkamat flatback mesh tied down to the yellow disc and trimmed around the edge of the disc as evenly as possibly so the meshed impeller is balanced. The more the mesh protrudes past the edge of the disc the more air but also the more potential for startup issues. So it usually needs to be trimmed so it is just slightly protruding beyond the disc edges.
Thats the basics of it. There are pictures of the process posted by some on the web as well as on this board. Search for mesh modding a sicce pump and you shoud turn up some detailed info and pictures. They will be alot more helpful to you than my worded summary.
ai-reefer
New member
My skimmer is made by ATB not CoralVue
The purple pinwheel is an ATB pinwheel which is a lil bit better than the factory white one. I bought it from Reefspecialty.com and bought the skimmer from them aswell.
First remove the pump and the Air Inlet thing and you will see this
You have to turn the plastic grey piece to get to the pinwheel below
See the yellow arrows, thats where the rubber grips of the pliers will go and turn in the direction of the red arrows.
This grey piece is very hard to move by hand. Use the rubber grips from Pliers to turn it, it will pop out automatically.
Remove the Impeller. Pull the Impeller and Pinwheel apart by using Brute Force. Some parts will fly out if you are not careful
.
Once you do the mesh mod, put everything back. Make sure you tie the mesh down with fishing line through the holes in the Pinwheel so that the mesh will stay in place.
Hope this helps.
The purple pinwheel is an ATB pinwheel which is a lil bit better than the factory white one. I bought it from Reefspecialty.com and bought the skimmer from them aswell.
First remove the pump and the Air Inlet thing and you will see this
You have to turn the plastic grey piece to get to the pinwheel below
See the yellow arrows, thats where the rubber grips of the pliers will go and turn in the direction of the red arrows.
This grey piece is very hard to move by hand. Use the rubber grips from Pliers to turn it, it will pop out automatically.
Remove the Impeller. Pull the Impeller and Pinwheel apart by using Brute Force. Some parts will fly out if you are not careful
.
Once you do the mesh mod, put everything back. Make sure you tie the mesh down with fishing line through the holes in the Pinwheel so that the mesh will stay in place.
Hope this helps.
Last edited:
hummermaniac88
New member
I have the skimmer but Im scared to open up the pumps because of my bigginner status, I don't want to break anything. Thanks for all the info, Octopus instructions weren't very detailed. Your info is top notch!
Ernest
hummermaniac88
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14806129#post14806129 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ai-reefer
My skimmer is made by ATB not CoralVue
The purple pinwheel is an ATB pinwheel which is a lil bit better than the factory white one. I bought it from Reefspecialty.com and bought the skimmer from them aswell.
First remove the pump and the Air Inlet thing and you will see this
You have to turn the plastic grey piece to get to the pinwheel below
See the yellow arrows, thats where the rubber grips of the pliers will go and turn in the direction of the red arrows.
This grey piece is very hard to move by hand. Use the rubber grips from Pliers to turn it, it will pop out automatically.
Remove the Impeller. Pull the Impeller and Pinwheel apart by using Brute Force. Some parts will fly out if you are not careful
.
Once you do the mesh mod, put everything back. Make sure you tie the mesh down with fishing line through the holes in the Pinwheel so that the mesh will stay in place.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for all the pictures and explanations! I completely understand now about the impellers and how they operate, do you think its worth the investement into 2 PPW for the Sicce pumps that come with the Extreme 300? I feeling more confident about opening my pumps now with your pictures and the previous post's guidance. Thank you!
Ernest
