volcano skimmer help

[ninjazx777]

i bought a used volcano skimmer. its 48" tall 19.5"x19.5" foot print and 16" diameter body. it uses a reeflo dart gold for recirculating pump.

i have a 1100 gal system medium stocked and i can not get the skimmer to produce foam unless i have the water level way up into the neck of the skimmer.

it came with a alita 40 air pump but if i hook it up it creates lots of turbulance and large bubbles to the point it doesn't create any foam

does anyone know of any mods to make these skimmers work better?

or should i just do my original plan before i bought this skimmer and buy a SRO xp8000 external?

 

[Nanook]

i bought a used volcano skimmer. its 48" tall 19.5"x19.5" foot print and 16" diameter body. it uses a reeflo dart gold for recirculating pump.

i have a 1100 gal system medium stocked and i can not get the skimmer to produce foam unless i have the water level way up into the neck of the skimmer.

it came with a alita 40 air pump but if i hook it up it creates lots of turbulance and large bubbles to the point it doesn't create any foam

does anyone know of any mods to make these skimmers work better?

or should i just do my original plan before i bought this skimmer and buy a SRO xp8000 external?

I sent my base into GEO and he added a beckett feed which adds an incredible amount of air in combination with the NW pump. Amazing modification

 

[Rwinfrey]

I would love to see that in action

 

[bernie lyons]

skimmer

skimmer

i bought a used volcano skimmer. its 48" tall 19.5"x19.5" foot print and 16" diameter body. it uses a reeflo dart gold for recirculating pump.

i have a 1100 gal system medium stocked and i can not get the skimmer to produce foam unless i have the water level way up into the neck of the skimmer.

it came with a alita 40 air pump but if i hook it up it creates lots of turbulance and large bubbles to the point it doesn't create any foam

does anyone know of any mods to make these skimmers work better?

or should i just do my original plan before i bought this skimmer and buy a SRO xp8000 external?

sorry to hear about your dilema, however if you can't get anything resolved I would suggest a more compatible skimmer to handle your very large reef over and above the SROxp8000 external. I have literally seen this skimmer in action and sold one to a client of mine.

Cheers
bernie lyons

 

[Psionicdragon]

You could clean the impellar, put a valve on the alita, and make sure that the water level in the chamber does not fluctuate.

Its one of the best skimmer I ever used, but its a bit of a cry baby as you have to make sure you meet its needs. Is it a shortie or full size?

 

[ninjazx777]

its the 48" tall version. i was thinking maybe if i changed the dart to a hammerhead or a baracuda with a needle wheel impeller it would work better.
nanook i sent you a pm i would love to get some more info and pictures of the mods on your volcano skimmer

 

[Nanook]

its the 48" tall version. i was thinking maybe if i changed the dart to a hammerhead or a baracuda with a needle wheel impeller it would work better.
nanook i sent you a pm i would love to get some more info and pictures of the mods on your volcano skimmer

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1642684&highlight=skimmer

So, give GEO a PM or an email. If he has time, he will have you ship a part of that skimmer, then he will drill a hole in the base, add a uniseal and then plumb a beckett injector to it. The feed pump I use is an Iwaki 100 which is overkill, but a 70RLT feed pump screams too, just didn't have one handy. Even with an Iwaki 55RLT, the increase in SCHF is substantial. The skimmer becomes a beckett and needlewheel combined....best of both worlds and a lot of skimmate to deal with

 

[ninjazx777]

Do you think adding another dart gold NW pump with a venturi would work? Or would two dart NW pumps cause too much turbulence in the skimmer? Cause I can do that myself and save a ton in shipping.

 

[viggen]

Fwiw I sent geo a email via his website 1-2 weeks ago and never heard anything from him. I am sure he was to busy to give me a guesstimate on building a skimmer for me. Thus not sure he wold have time to do the mods mentioned above. I was hope ring to work something out with him since he's 70 miles from my house.....

If it was me I would start with a valve on the air pump. If its making lots of large bubbles then i woukd think the dart can't shred the extra flow from the air pump. Turning it down should eliminate that problem. Or possibly just crimp the air line and see if that helps.....

Reef dynamics uses a barracuda or spa pump on their largest skimmer, possibly see if Jeff would be willing to sell you one of those vs a 2nd dart to the other options.

 

[biecacka]

Send him another one. He was busy finishing up my skimmer and calcium reactor. I was just over there yesterday talking to him. He has some free time as we speak.

Corey

 

[slief]

sorry to hear about your dilema, however if you can't get anything resolved I would suggest a more compatible skimmer to handle your very large reef over and above the SROxp8000 external. I have literally seen this skimmer in action and sold one to a client of mine.

Cheers
bernie lyons

What the heck skimmer is that? Do I see 6 Mezzei injectors on that thing???? Wow, I bet that skimmer is a beast!

 

[slief]

i bought a used volcano skimmer. its 48" tall 19.5"x19.5" foot print and 16" diameter body. it uses a reeflo dart gold for recirculating pump.

i have a 1100 gal system medium stocked and i can not get the skimmer to produce foam unless i have the water level way up into the neck of the skimmer.

it came with a alita 40 air pump but if i hook it up it creates lots of turbulance and large bubbles to the point it doesn't create any foam

does anyone know of any mods to make these skimmers work better?

or should i just do my original plan before i bought this skimmer and buy a SRO xp8000 external?

Have you given the skimmer time to break in? If not, break in time will help the skimmer settle in and when it does, the turbulance should subside. Also, you should have a small valve between the air inlet and the pump. You may need to gate it down some.

I know Spazz who designed and built those skimmers used to be active here. Not sure if he is around anymore. Looks like he hasn't been here since 2008.
He had a website called aquaticacrylics.com but I don't think its alive anymore.

Here is a link to an archived Volcano owners thread. If nothing else, you could reach out to some of the users in that thread.
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1123517

If nothing else, I can't help but wonder how a 1.5" mezzei venturi injector would work inline on that thing... It would take some redoing of the pump plumbing though.

 

[Nanook]

Do you think adding another dart gold NW pump with a venturi would work? Or would two dart NW pumps cause too much turbulence in the skimmer? Cause I can do that myself and save a ton in shipping.

This won't help. You need to add a beckett or other injector to get a lot of air...GEO's mode works wonders. He modified my skimmer and rbaker's.

 

[bernie lyons]

MTC mazzei skimmer

MTC mazzei skimmer

What the heck skimmer is that? Do I see 6 Mezzei injectors on that thing???? Wow, I bet that skimmer is a beast!

Yes sir ! Six x Mazzei injectors in a re-circulating design from MTC in fact ! The skimmer stands 60" tall with an 30" x 8.5 " diameter reaction tube and a counter-current water feed tube 3/4's way up inside the reaction chamber for a thorough mix . I saw this beast at Absolutely Fish in new Jeresy last week and next to it was a bubble king 300 external skimmer , clearly the skimmate coming out of the MTC beast was very impressive and over and above the competition !

 

[slief]

Yes sir ! Six x Mazzei injectors in a re-circulating design from MTC in fact ! The skimmer stands 60" tall with an 30" x 8.5 " diameter reaction tube and a counter-current water feed tube 3/4's way up inside the reaction chamber for a thorough mix . I saw this beast at Absolutely Fish in new Jeresy last week and next to it was a bubble king 300 external skimmer , clearly the skimmate coming out of the MTC beast was very impressive and over and above the competition !

Sounds impressive. That is definitely a unique design. I've modified some of my past skimmers with Mezzei's and it always amazed me how well those work. Especially when compared to the typical venturi vales that consist of a PVC pipe with a smaller tube drilled into them for the air intake. Most people don't know about those valves let alone how well they work. Kind of a best kept secret. By far the best venturi design that I have ever used and 6 of them on an appropriately sized skimmer is very intriguing.

 

[ninjazx777]

well i have decided to take nanook's advice and add a beckett feed. however i'm going to instal a dual beckett feed and install it myself. MRC sells the becket assembly for $150 each and i'm still waiting to hear back from GEO

 

[ninjazx777]

I heard back from geo and there becket head assemblies are half the price as MRC. I'm still working out the final details but I will be buying the becketts from geo

 

[Nanook]

You will be impressed!

 

[ninjazx777]

nanook is yours a single beckett or dual. cause i think i'm going to run a dual on mine

 

[Nanook]

I have a single beckett with an Iwaki 100RLT running right now. Skimmer pulls an amazing amount of crud. Dual won't hurt as you will get extra air.