Sicce pumps

[kentrob11]

Cool...my next skimmer is going to be a deltec AP851 clone but I was going to use a 6" neck on the 8" body with one of these SICCE's on it. I figured with at least 900LPH and the pump mounted as close to the bottom of a 20" tall reaction chamber it would work pretty well. I've been out of the skimmer building thing for a while though so any thoughts concerning these pumps in my application would be appreciated...thanks

 

[ostrow]

I assume you'll use a diffuser plate on there? I'd mount it close to the diffuser plate.

 

[kentrob11]

Yeah there will be a diffuser plate for sure...I'm curious as to what the air/wattage draw will be at about 20" of head...

 

[kentrob11]

Yeah there will be a diffuser plate for sure...I'm curious as to what the air/wattage draw will be at about 20" of head...

 

[ostrow]

My skimmer is 30" tall. 10" diameter total, with 2 pumps. I get steady 25lpm at 33 watts on both pumps.

 

[JCTewks]

I think 900lph is pretty low for one of these pumps kentrob11. 1200-1300lph is what they will typically pull. You could always use a smaller diameter of mesh...but i'm not sure how that wil effect the efficiency of the pump. My gues is that it will maintain efficiency though.

 

[ostrow]

Yes, Jeff is right. Modded properly you should get 25lpm or at least 23lpm, around 1300lph for sure.

 

[kentrob11]

Your skimmer is 30" tall but how much head is there on those pumps? You'll have to forgive my ignorance concerning these pumps...I've never touched them so I don't know how they respond to head pressure, etc. I've tried to stick to Deltec numbers since that was my bench mark last time I was building skimmers so that's where the 900LPH came from. I'd like to get around 1200lph or so into this skimmer...

 

[ostrow]

The pump output is about 6" above the base of the skimmer, if that helps. I'm not entirely clear how one properly determines how much head. It also depends on how high the water level is in the skimmer chamber, right?

Once the pumps are spinning they are fine. Whether they spin on their own when plugged in or need help depends, IME, entirely on how the mod is done, and not anything else. The 2 keys with these pumps are, whether the mesh extends beyond the plastic disc and if so, how far, and the further it extends, the less tolerance there seems to be for mesh thread extending upwards. Smaller mesh disc = taller mesh height and larger disc = shorter mesh height.

 

[JCTewks]

ostrow: Measure from the center of the output (or theimpeller, whichever is lower) on the pump to where the water level meets the foam head, that will be your total inches of head on the pump.

IME smaller dia, thicker meshmods tend to start better, while still producing as much air as a larger dia, thicker mesh.

 

[ostrow]

Jeff: thanks.

Type on your second to last word? The smaller dia, thicker mods also run at higher watts than the wider but thinner mods.

 

[JCTewks]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11418926#post11418926 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ostrow
Jeff: thanks.

Type on your second to last word? The smaller dia, thicker mods also run at higher watts than the wider but thinner mods.

Actually I have found the opposite to be true. The larger daimeter mesh causes greater resistance at start up and requires higher torgue to get going. IME the smaller dia, thicker mesh runs at lower watts and produces the same air as the larger dia, thinner mesh that runs a few watts higher and has startup problems due to the afore mentioned higher startup torque problem.

 

[ostrow]

5 different pumps modded dozens of times different ways, and for me every time wider has harder startup, but then runs for me at under 35 watts. Thicker runs at 40 or above.

Who knows?

 

[JCTewks]

Maybe it's the difference in pumps...i've never worked on a Sicce pump, only octo's and QO's Hope that all changes soon with marine solutions (ten minutes drive from here )getting in the new Xtreme skimmers with the Sicce pumps on them They will be selling the Sicce pumps by themselves too!

 

[JCTewks]

What's everyones thoughts on mounting some large aluminum heatsinks on the body of a sicce and running it external? I'm thinking about using the Sicce's on a new skimmer i'm working on, but it will have to be recirc and external. We need to figure out how to use these external without melting them :lol:

 

[hahnmeister]

My PSK was run for a good 5 months external. It ran hot, but it didnt melt. No leaks either.

You COULD mount the pump inside the skimmer, and then just have the skimmer external (run the power cord through the standpipe at the bottom).

 

[JCTewks]

That is a feesible idea Jon...but whenever I see skimmers with internal pumps I think to myself..."man, what a lot of wasted space with that pump in there!"....The new BK mini's are case in point for that thought

Do you think that mounting a heatsink to the pump would work? Will the heatsink even remove any heat from the pump body with it being plastic?

 

[hahnmeister]

True, it can be considered wasted space, but a sicce is a tiny pump compared to a Red Dragon mini/Laguna 1500. You could mount the pump sideways in a skimmer and it would take up very little room.

Thats how I would do it if I had to at least. As it turns out, the PSK isnt the quietest pump either, esp when external. Mounting it in the skimmer kills two birds with one stone...

Just make the skimmer 3-4" taller to make up for it if you want the space back.

 

[pescadero]

oops.

 

[pescadero]

interesting idea about internal mounting. although doing that does take up some internal volume, i think it could be easier to mount the inlets/outlets lower with an internal pump than with an external pump. lower mounting would give you a longer bubble path in the same sized container. if you end up with a lower mounting point and a longer path length the only volume that you would have lost would have been functional dead space at the bottom.