cee
New member
The mesh mod will do wonders for the amount of air the skimmer draws in and is EASY to do yourself. I have plenty of small cable ties and gutter guard if anyone's interested.
The volute mods were done for a different pump, but the concept is the same for all. It basically involves enlarging the pump output as much as possible so there are no restrictions and radiusing the corners with a dremel and sanding smooth on the inside of the volute where the water leaves the pump.
Most of the venturis are quite restrictive in the amount of air they let in. Depending on how they're built, they may be capable of having the holes enlarged to allow more air intake. Some even use rigid airline tubing, fittings, etc. to locate the air intake portion of the venturi as close as possible to the pump impeller for even better air draw. On the pump I have (basically an Ocean Runner), I was able to go from about 8 SCFM to somewhere around 12-13 SCFM of air intake. This translates into more bubbles, a higher bubble column, and more efficient skimming.
Now, some words of warning. You must be careful doing these mods, or you could permanently damage parts of the pump and would require replacement parts or a replacement pump. Depending on your pump, it could be a $100 mistake, so they're not for the "faint of heart".
Dave
The volute mods were done for a different pump, but the concept is the same for all. It basically involves enlarging the pump output as much as possible so there are no restrictions and radiusing the corners with a dremel and sanding smooth on the inside of the volute where the water leaves the pump.
Most of the venturis are quite restrictive in the amount of air they let in. Depending on how they're built, they may be capable of having the holes enlarged to allow more air intake. Some even use rigid airline tubing, fittings, etc. to locate the air intake portion of the venturi as close as possible to the pump impeller for even better air draw. On the pump I have (basically an Ocean Runner), I was able to go from about 8 SCFM to somewhere around 12-13 SCFM of air intake. This translates into more bubbles, a higher bubble column, and more efficient skimming.
Now, some words of warning. You must be careful doing these mods, or you could permanently damage parts of the pump and would require replacement parts or a replacement pump. Depending on your pump, it could be a $100 mistake, so they're not for the "faint of heart".
Dave
The meeting will have to be at your house, because we'd be rotting before we actually got to see some pics of your tank and scooter... You learn to ride that thing yet???
