EuroReef Club

[SDFISHMAN]

Originally posted by SDFISHMAN
Heres a picture of my Euro Reef CS 12-6. Next to it is a Euro Reef CS 6-2. The tank behind it is a 150G Eurobraced. Any idea how much this skimmer is worth??

[Fishbulb2]

Snowborda,
Do you have an airflow meter to confirm how much air your RS80 is pulling with the meshwheel. I've done it in the past on a Sedra3500 and the gain was modest at best. It was about a 1 lpm increase. I really couldn't justify doing it again to a new Sedra 3500 that I have. Also have you measured the wattage of the pump to see if it's using more or less watts than stock?

[Tennsquire]

Originally posted by tbone28
How would you compare bubble size with the valve completely off versus with the valve on, but run almost wide open?

Very small difference. The valve itself, when wide open, does provide a slight bit of restriction. It's a small, but noticeable, difference from running it w/out the valve at all. Also, I may be able to see this more because I'm using a bigger pump. The entire skimmer body is pretty much filled with bubbles, and they do escape into the sump due to the volume of the flow going through the skimmer.

[Snowboarda42]

Originally posted by Fishbulb2
Snowborda,
Do you have an airflow meter to confirm how much air your RS80 is pulling with the meshwheel. I've done it in the past on a Sedra3500 and the gain was modest at best. It was about a 1 lpm increase. I really couldn't justify doing it again to a new Sedra 3500 that I have. Also have you measured the wattage of the pump to see if it's using more or less watts than stock?

Unfortunately I don't have an air meter. Stock on the RS80 is 420lph, I read a couple people have seen big increases though, I don't remember how much.

Whats more important than any significant gain is the fact that a Mesh Mod has more surface to impact the bubble when they get chopped. Mesh mods will make the bubbles MUCH smaller, even with the same amount of air its a GIANT gain in surface area. The more surface area you have the more potential to pull out the nasties.

On a different skimmer with the same pump, someone claimed ~35W before the mesh mod, and 26W after. My guess is its less weight to move and while more air is being taken in, it is easier to turn than water.

[GatorWPB]

Originally posted by Tennsquire
You do need some extra room for the gate valve. I have had an older CS6-1 for years (same specs as the RS 100). I found that it works much better with the gate valve (old riser tube was a pain) and a bigger pump (Sedra 5000 vs 3500). I did put the air valve on it originally, and it helps to fine tune it. Now, I run it wide open. Try a bigger pump on it if you can get your hands on one; it's a very different skimmer with a bigger pump. You'll be amazed.

Thanks Tennsquire. I may hold off on the gate valve. Im not having much of a problem adjusting the height with the tube. But I will look into the larger pump.

[Jetdrvr]

I have an old CS 12-2 RC with 2 sedra 5000's. I have been looking at it lately to try to improve the performance and have noticed that the magnets on the impellars are looking swollen compared to a never been used spare impellar that I have. Any ideas?

Thanks

Joe

[Fishbulb2]

if the impellers are swollen, I would replace them immediately. They can eventually swell so much as to seize the pump and can be impossible to remove. It could ruin your pump. Check out the ER forum, someone posted a question regarding this.

[Jetdrvr]

Could it also be degrading my performance? I have the old nylon wheels, I'm thinking of doing the meshmod or getting the new ER Impellars. Suggestions?

[Fishbulb2]

i can't really say for sure, but as long as the impeller is spinning freely, I would imagine you would not lose performance. I go ahead and just mod the old nylon wheel with a meshmod since you already have it.

[Landon B.]

I'm looking to do the mesh mod. If anyone has a section of mesh to sell please shoot me a pm! Thanks.

[FlamesFan]

I just found this thread while sifting through this part of the forum so I'll also post this in here:

In the manual it says to "Be sure to trim or adjust the position of the outlet pipe (#4) so that the bottom where the water exits is ABOVE THE WATER LEVEL, if it is below the water, it will cause the skimmer to surge and make a gurgling sound in the vent pipe. It will also make the skimmer difficult to adjust".

Now my concern is that I purchased the skimmer due to its height being under 23". As of right now the return pipe is about 1-1/2 inches off the ground. I can completely remove the return pipe and just leave the elbow and get a max of 7 inches of water clearance. So the problem is that am I now forced to modify my cabinet to get a higher clearance and put my skimmer on some egg crate to lift it up so that my sump/refugium can be deeper than 7" of water?

Just a note, I have not yet constructed my sump/refugium so any modifications I can do to it, in order to avoid modifying my cabinet would be great

Second note, I still have not put any varnish or stain on my cabinet yet, nor have I built the doors so modifying the cabinet wouldn't be the end of the world if thats the best fix.


Thanks all RC'ers in advance I know you guys will come through.

[GatorWPB]

What what model do you have and did you glue the parts together?
With my RS100, i removed the drain pipe and turned the elbow so that it was parallel with the ground. now it drains and isnt that loud either. My water depth is around 8"
Some people use filter socks too to help with any noise.

[FlamesFan]

Oh sorry mine is an RS100 aswell and nope did not glue. I might just have to modify my cabinet area

[GatorWPB]

how much water is it under if you just remove the return pipe and keep the elbow like you mention?
thats what I did and now the elbow is out of the water.

[scotmc]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by FlamesFan
[B]I just found this thread while sifting through this part of the forum so I'll also post this in here:

In the manual it says to "Be sure to trim or adjust the position of the outlet pipe (#4) so that the bottom where the water exits is ABOVE THE WATER LEVEL, if it is below the water, it will cause the skimmer to surge and make a gurgling sound in the vent pipe. It will also make the skimmer difficult to adjust".

You need to build A PVC stand so the water level is just above the intake 90. My outflow pipe is 1in under the water. I have not had any problems with flow or adjustments. I would buid a stand first, and see how that works for you. No need to glue the PVC parts.

[nattydread]

OK so i had my first overflow last night. Performance is kicking in at the 1 week mark. I removed the airvalve as well, allthough it acted as a nice silencer. It was putting too many bubbles back in to the tank, even with the baffles.

Having some difficulty now fine setting the level without the air valve.

but its definety pullilng some nasty stuff.

[tbone28]

For those of you who removed the air valve,

1) How did you make a silencer?
2) The bubbles don't travel down the skimmer body as much as it does with the air valve on. Is this normal? And how much space do you have at the bottom of your skimmer that is "bubble-less"?

[hansmatt]

silencer = 35mm film canister with cotton, drilled in bottom and top. Put additional piece of airline tubing sticking out top

[tbone28]

sounds easy! but let me make sure I'm on the same page

So I take the old-school film canister, drill a hole in the bottom, which is where I insert my current airline tubing?

Then put some cotton inside, drill a hole in the canisters cap, and stick a short piece of airline tubing into that?

[melev]

Yep, that's it.

[Snowboarda42]

I solved my skimmer noise problem by shutting the door to the stand.

[tbone28]

Originally posted by melev
Yep, that's it.

Don't have any 35mm cansisters. Will this do?

[happyface888]

Does anyone have any recommendations to quiet down a sedra 2500? My bro has a rs80 in his setup but the pumps pretty loud. Is there something that can be done about this?

[Detritivore]

joining the club with my RS135. just got it in today



in the sump breaking in



here it is a couple hours later



what do y'all think? should i raise the foam level?

[jimdogg187]

I'd wait about a week before you try to really fine tune it. The foam head will fluctuate as the skimmer breaks in and you'll probably just experience an overflow.

When it is fully broken in, I'd keep the foam breaking about 1"-2" from the top of the neck.