trying another cheap good looking skimmer - Page 6

Maudsley · #**126** 11/28/2007, 02:04 PM

Sounds resonable...so i guess I need more pvc....back to lowes....again!!!

Maudsley · #**127** 11/28/2007, 03:10 PM

put the original fitting on the genx pump....came with a kit of fittings, once i put the bigger diameter fitting on the water level and bubbles in the chamber increase. Still the problem is with the 90 degree elbow. I had so many microbubbles comming from the 90 degree that I just shut it off until I hear from Chris....so much for plug and play....

luke33 · #**128** 11/28/2007, 04:06 PM

So is everyone having issues with these skimmers?

travdixon · #**129** 11/28/2007, 05:39 PM

I did for a day or two, but all is good now! Going from a SeaClone 150, it is night and day!

Maudsley · #**130** 11/28/2007, 07:48 PM

ok...to clear up the mass confussion on my part today....A piece of pvc that connects the pump to the skimmer was missing...didn't have time to get it at the hardware store...so here is what I did, the pump was not able to put out all the required pressure due to how i had it rigged....so i held the pump as hard as I could to the 90 degree fitting on the skimmer...low and behold...running as avertized. I was using the adapters from the pump kit and not the adapters from the skimmer kit....like I said a 3/4 double threaded union was missing, the adapters in the pump kit where not threaded thus creating a major gap from the pump to the skimmer losing pressure. Chris responded to all my e-mails and we had it figured out in no time.

Maudsley · #**131** 11/28/2007, 09:21 PM

Skimmer up and running....breakin time!

BubbleMonkeyIII · #**132** 11/29/2007, 06:58 PM

Sorry about those of you who got 4100s version I might have not put in the necessary 3/4" threaded 90 and nipple to connect the pump to the skimmer.. I think all the 2400s were fine though.... I was rushing around getting ready for THANKSGIVING and packed out no less than 5 skimmers before leaving!

Normally I have the pumps on hand when shipping and will include the modded venturi intake fittings with the pump when packing them out, this time they were drop shipped so it was easier to miss!

Also the 4100s werent able to have the intake mod as I will normally do the MOD to the Venturi before shipping, but these were drop shipped.. Its a good mod i think it was mentioned above... all the 2400s will have it.. Its modded so you can connect 1/4" Tubing with the barbed fitting and I think it increases air intake.. But for those of you with a 4100s its an easy fix if you are even remotely handy!

I was also gone all week on Holiday with no net, so sorry not to get back sooner to you all on your tech questions (Maudsley) sooner.

Sounds like the skimmer's are performing nicely, so thats a good thing? haha..

Post some pics of your skimmers running!

Happy skimming!

Maudsley · #**133** 11/29/2007, 07:33 PM

My skimmer is starting to produce skimate on day two.....almost going into the collection cup....other than the microbubbles in the main tank....my water look much clearer....will post some pics once I figure out how to resize my pics, wifes camera and I'm a dumb user....lol. Chris can you send me directions on how to mod the venturi to the modded size?

clevengergl · #**134** 11/30/2007, 07:38 AM

Chris, if you could shoot those directions my way, as well, I'd appreciate it.

BubbleMonkeyIII · #**135** 11/30/2007, 12:57 PM

Hi Guys,

I have had requests for the venturi mod so I will put them up here for all to see.

Basically you cut the existing nipple OFF down to the top of the venturi fitting so you basically have a tiny hole left and no remaining nipple. I use a metal cutting disc on a grinder for this, but any fine saw or other roto zip disc tool will work.

Then I drill it out with a 5/16" drill bit.

Then using a 3/8" TAP inserted in my drill, I tap the 5/16" hole to accept the 3/8" barbed fitting.

Next I insert the black nylon barbed fitting into the hole and screw it down completely using a crescent wrench, so that the fitting actually is flush at the top, after installed when looking into the venturi the threaded portion of the nipple will EXTEND into the flow, this is OK.

Parts list:
1/4" x 3/8 NPT" Straight Black Nylon barbed fitting PN 5463K251 at www.mcmaster.com

3/8" NPT Drill TAP any LHS

5/16" Drill bit any LHS

That should do it..

Maudsley · #**136** 12/01/2007, 08:48 AM

Day 3 of break in.......microbubbles getting better...producing some skimate.......all in all seems to be working great so far!!!!

CinciCobra · #**137** 12/01/2007, 12:23 PM

I have one of these skimmers I purchased quite some time ago. I have since upgraded to a Euro-Reef and it is sitting on the shelf.

The only major flaw I found with the skimmer was the water line in the neck was disrupted by large bubbles that would be trapped at the top of the skimmer body and release into the neck every few seconds. I realized this was caused by the design of the skimmer. The bubbles that are trapped at the top of the body due to not having any path upwards. I resolved this by building a rounded filler out of aquarium safe silicone thereby filling the "dead" space at the top of the body, and the bubbles now all travel upwards to the neck.

I initally approached this by adding a fitting at the top of the body and running a second venturi fitting next to the air inlet fitting on the pump. It helped dramitically, but the potential still wasn't realized as all the bubbles still weren't finding their way to the neck.

The skimmer is now pretty effective, however just sitting on a work bench.

If anyone is interested in it, pm me and I will sell it at a great price. It has the gen-x pump with it as well. I can post pictures if needed as well.

Thanks,
Joe

clevengergl · #**138** 12/03/2007, 12:06 PM

Finally have the tank set up and ran the skimmer for a bit last night with the mod air intake mod Chris had listed and MAN, them's a lotta bubbles! Had to turn it off until I get a valve for the airline and a drain tube hooked up to the collection cup, so we'll give it a week or so before I post back with initial results.

Gary

Maudsley · #**139** 12/03/2007, 04:19 PM

Clevengergl,

I have not done the mod yet....where did you get the fitting at? Mine has been running for 4 days now.....man the microbubbles in the main tank were unreal, but today it has subsided quite a bit, I can now see my fish and corals....haha. It starting to pull skimate now.....hopwefully another few days and the microbubbles will be gone....I have no baffles in my sump and it barely fit due to all the other pumps I have in the pump section...it was definately close. Once i get the fitting I'll mod mine but I'm not sure I really need the mod....I want to let it break in all the way before i do the mod to see the real results in skimate pulled unmodded and modded.

clevengergl · #**140** 12/04/2007, 08:31 AM

I got the fitting at Menards hardware store. Not sure if they have any stores in KY. I also saw the same fittings at HD and Lowe's. I will say that the threaded portion of the fitting I got was too large for the hole drilled by the 3/8" NPT TAP, so I had to widen it quite a bit with the TAP bit before I could get the fitting to thread in. Not sure if this was a result of me picking up the wrong size or faulty directions but, knowing my attention to detail, I'd lean toward the former! :-)

I'm actually quite impressed with the skimmer so far. I turned it on and within 30 minutes it had already pulled some thick, dry foam and yellow/brown liquid. I checked it this morning and the entire collection cup was full of a thick head of foam!!!

The only down-side I've noticed thus far is that the unit is incredibly loud. I imagine the pump is probably making contact with one of the acrylic baffles somewhere and causing the vibration noise, but the air intake was a different story all together. GOOD: the 1/4" ID tube pulls LOTS of air!!!; BAD: the thing sounds like Darth Vader trying to suck whipped cream through a cracked straw!!!

I went ahead and tried the air intake silencer fix that Luke (Thanks Luke!) had suggested in another post and it worked beautifully! Basically, I took a Crystal Light plastic cylinder, cut it down to about 3-4" tall, drilled a hole off to one side of the lid and glued the lid back on to the cylinder. I then inserted a short length (3") of 1/4" ID poly tubeinto the hole in the lid, leaving about 1.5" sticking out of the top. Lastly, I drilled another hole into the bottom of the cylinder on the opposite side from the hole in the top and inserted the skimmer's air intake line into it. Worked great!

I'll keep you all posted as skimmate production increases.

Gary

Maudsley · #**141** 12/04/2007, 03:28 PM

Are you getting microbubbles in your main tank?

clevengergl · #**142** 12/04/2007, 09:04 PM

No MB's, but my skimmer's in the first section of my sump and water has to travel through two more baffled sections before being returned to the main tank.

I'm still amazed at how quickly this thing broke in!

luke33 · #**143** 12/04/2007, 09:08 PM

6pages and no pics.........

clevengergl · #**144** 12/04/2007, 09:09 PM

Give me about 10 minutes!

clevengergl · #**145** 12/04/2007, 09:49 PM

Or 40 minutes, but who's counting?

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luke33 · #**146** 12/04/2007, 10:22 PM

Looks pretty good. Does the neck extend about an inch into the reactin chamber, so there's no transition to the neck, just a straight uniseal.......strange. And do you have to pull the collection cup out of the uniseal every time you remove it?

clevengergl · #**147** 12/04/2007, 10:26 PM

Yep, every time. And the skimmer neck is the same diameter from the bottom edge inside the skimmer body all the way up to the joint where it meets the collection cup, so you can insert as little or as much of the neck into the chamber as you want. Now that it's in the sump, I only have maybe 1/2" going down into the chamber.

luke33 · #**148** 12/04/2007, 10:34 PM

You really want it flush with the top of the reaction chamber. Idealy you want to taper it from the 6" reaction chamber to the neck like a cone. The smoother transition the better. Not the best design by any means, but 185bux isn't terrible, pry makin around 50-85bux per skimmer. Personally i'd go with an octo nw200 which is 24" tall by 8" diameter for 179bux. If you want to get alot of air out of that guy clev, let me know and we'll get together for around an hour or two. I can get that pump up to 40scfh.......not that it could handle more than 25 but what the hey right! lol

clevengergl · #**149** 12/05/2007, 08:29 AM

Yeah, I think CinciCobra had mentioned the same concerns regarding the chamber->neck transition and how he was able to fix it.

I agree that the Octo NW200 is a good skimmer for the price, but I'm willing to give this guy a shot. As I've said before, coming from a SeaClone 100 I have incredibly low expectations, so to me this thing's a monster!

And Luke, anything you could do to help me maximize this guy's performance would be greatly appreciated. You planning on making a trip down to Premium Aquatics anytime soon??? I live about 10 minutes away from their new warehouse in Beech Grove and I go there pretty much every Saturday.

Gary

luke33 · #**150** 12/05/2007, 08:45 AM

I haven't planned on going there anytime soon but after xmas i'll be there i'm sure, with giftcards and whatnot. My biggest concern on that skimmer would be the neck uniseal starting to go bad as you have to remove it so often. I know the uniseal's i've used don't like to be taken in and out very often. You'll pry have a leak there eventually.