Precision Marine Bullet 3 Skimmer Questions

[megaspoot]

Hi, I planning out my 75g sump for my 120g display tank. I picked up a PM Bullet 3 powered by a Gen-X PCX40 external pump from someone dismantling their setup. I was wondering if the Gen-X pump can suck water out over the rim of the sump, because I don't want to drill any of my tanks. The box on the Gen-X pump says its a gravity fed design, so I'm just wondering if it's even possible.

Also, if its not possible for that pump to suck water out, what kind of internal pump have people used with this skimmer. I've heard that internal pumps tend to be quite unreliable, so any positive and negative experiences with them would be very helpful.

Thanks for your help!

~Newt

[Wryknow]

A PM bullet 3 is going to require a big pump and, honestly, it's probably a lot more skimmer than you need for a tank that size. Heck, I run a PM bullet 1 with a Mag 12 on my 215. There are quite a few internal pumps that work great (E-heim and Mag drives are two of my favorite,) but not many that are designed to handle enough head pressure to run a PM bullet 3 effectively. (A Mag 24 would probably work but that pump pulls a lot of wattage and it is going to heat up your tank. You may be OK with that if you have a chiller: I don't know your situation.)

The problem with running the tubing over the side of the tank is with priming the pump. I seriously doubt that any aquarium pump create enough of a vacuum to suck the water up into the tube since that's not what they are designed to do. If you filled the tube up with water first and then turned it on it would work jjust fine, but if you lost power for some reason then you would have to prime the plumbing again before you restarted it. With an external pump I would certainly recommend drilling a hole in your sump.

[megaspoot]

Any suggestions about using a Sequence/Reefflo Dart as the pump running the skimmer? I'm live in Vancouver Canada so heat isn't too much of a problem, even in the summer. Going to be keeping this tank FOWLR. I know the bullet 3 is a really powerful skimmer but I did get for relatively cheap.

Never really thought about the priming problem... i guess that's why you are the expert! :$

One idea I just though of was to put a baffle inside the sump and drill a hole in that, and have the external pump inside a dry compartment in the sump. Not sure how well this will work though.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/146882skimmer-med.JPG

Another question I have is where i should put the output of the skimmer to. My flow into the skimmer compartment will only be about 800GPH, but if the skimmer intake is 1200gph will I need to put the skimmer output in the same compartment as the input (otherwise that compartment will run out of water right?)

Thanks

[siding88]

i run as mag 24 on mine been running for over a year now with no problems,,,, the only thing i would mention about the skimmer is make sure u clean the becket often as the skimmer will lose perfomance fast, also the directions say just run about an inch of water out of the box-----thats crap i had to clean the flippin tube every week because of all the junk stuck to the side, i run the water about 3-4 inches from the collection cup this has been my best results

[chriscobb]

To get the most out of the beckett skimmer you really should be using a pressure rated pump.......Even on a PM1 and such a Mag IMO is a poor choice and not getting the most out of the skimmer.....The Dart pump again isn't pressure rated as well, but would fair better IMO than a MagDrive pump.......Why not look at the BlueLine pumps?????

[Wryknow]

The sequence dart is a fine pump but you REALLY need to avoid trying to put an external pump inside the sump, even if it is protected by a baffle. If there is a leak in the bafle and it floods the pump with salt water, that would be VERY BAD (i.e. electrical fire, electrocution, etc.) If you want an in-sump pump and heat doesn't matter, just get the mag 24.


You could also try selling the PM 3 and/or swapping it for a smaller, in-sump, needle wheel skimmer and some cash. I think you'll find plenty of people getting bigger tanks that would be happy to do this. (Will the PM 3 even fit under your stand???)

[megaspoot]

siding88, i'm a little bit confused about what you are saying about the water level being 3-4 inches from the collection cup...it's that really high?

[megaspoot]

How about a Laguna Powerjet 2905 Skimmer Pump? How do I tell which pumps are pressure rated or not?

[Wryknow]

Pressure rated pumps continue to provide large flow volumes at higher head pressures. They do not drop off in flow volume as quickly when head pressure increases as a non-pressure rated pump. You just have to check the manufacturer's charts to see what the pump flow is at different head pressures. Anyone reputable that is selling pumps should have this information available for you IMHO.

I've never heard of the Laguna Powerjet 2905 Skimmer Pump so I cannot say for certain if it's any good or not. The fact that I've never heard of it makes me quite suspicious though - it could be some cheap chinese knock-off for all I know. I wouldn't buy equipment from a manufacturer that I do not know anything about but that's just me.

[siding88]

well per the instr. the water level should be 1-2 inches coming out of the gray box,,,, i run my water level prettty high in the tube about 3-4 inches before it goes in to the collection cup,,,,maybe i'm being confusing i dont run mine in the sump, its on the outside on a stand

[siding88]

did it come with a gate valve??

[megaspoot]

Another question I have is where i should put the output of the skimmer to. My flow into the skimmer compartment will only be about 800GPH, but if the skimmer intake is 1200gph will I need to put the skimmer output in the same compartment as the input (otherwise that compartment will run out of water right?)

Thanks

[megaspoot]

yeah, there's a gate valve which i believe is attached to the output of the skimmer

[chriscobb]

Siding88 running the water level that high would lead you to skim more on the wet side IMO......Does the PM's have an air adjustment on them to adjust the air flow verses water flow? I do know on the MRC skimmers they have air valves on the becketts so you can fine tune the skimmers.......

Megaspoot I'd return the skimmer water back into the sump, but you might have or could have issues with microbubbles from the skimmer.......Again you need to run the skimmer with a pressure rated pump, and again would be along the lines of a Iwakia, BlueLine, Coralife, or a pressure rated Sequence pump......Darts do have a good head height, but again by no means are they pressure rated pumps......If you take a look at MRCs' site it might give you a good idea on some pump considerations......

What gph are you suppose to supply the skimmer with? If your only having 800gph in the skimmer compartment and using 1200gph your going to run the skimmer dry......and if you dump it right back into the skimmer compartment your going to continually reskim the water......you want to draw water basically from it's dirtiest point.....If there is a way you could gravity feed the skimmer water from 1 of your drains or pull water to supply the skimmer from where it enters your sump, that would work as well.

[siding88]

yes that what i do leads to less water changes, just goto the pm site they have the list of pumps suitable for the skimmer i talked to them personally and they told me the mag 24 was a very good pump to use on that skimmer

[megaspoot]

chriscobb, the Bullet does have an air valve. Precision Marine list the following pump in increasing effectiveness: mag18, mag24, gen-c pcx40, panworld 100,150,200. It says that these are the pressure pumps they know work well, however there may be others.

The reason I don't have much flow into the skimmer chamber is that I will be using an overflow box to feed the sump. And I'm not sure how much flow I'll get out of it because I'm planning to DIY it, going to match the dimensions of "CPR C-Siphon Aquarium Overflow - CS150 Deluxe".

[chriscobb]

Cool, but bottom line Mags aren't pressure rated.....MRC also states they can be used as well, and advise they will work, but also guide you that the skimmers will perform more effectively with a dedicated pump.

[megaspoot]

Ok, so the only option I'm left with is drilling the tank? Does that mean i need to drill another hole for the return pump? I don't have much head, only about 4' but there is about 10' distance horizontally for the return to the tank.

[jmchzn]

Yes I run my water 1-2 in. below the collection cup. I use MAG 24 and it is in 30 gal sump on a 90 gal tank. Heat has not been an issue. pump running great 1.5 yrs so far.

[megaspoot]

because of pump vibrations, is it best to use flexible piping to connects the pump to the bulkhead

[siding88]

yes and i also use flex coming out of the gate valve back into a sump, ,,,,,,,,there is also another nipple on the air flow control, i ran a line to the outside to get fresh air to the tank, but since i recently bought ozone thats what it is for, just my 02 if u need fresh air worked great for that