Octopus Turbine 2000 Alternative?

slider162 · #1 04/12/2007, 07:42 PM

Is there an alternative pump that I could use? I'm using it on a 150 Recirc. I have to blow into it whent it is started to get it going and it vibrates more than I would like to see. Thx

Joshua1023 · #2 04/12/2007, 08:54 PM

Did you mod this pump at all?

luke33 · #3 04/12/2007, 09:00 PM

A sedra or gen x nw maybe.

Joshua1023 · #4 04/12/2007, 09:05 PM

Fact of the matter is that an Ocean Runner 2700 NW pump should be a direct replacement w/ no problems. You may be able to do something w/ the venturi on the pump you already have to eliminate your problem.

slider162 · #5 04/12/2007, 09:25 PM

I have had problems with this pump since day one. I currently have 1 layer of Enkemat between the needle wheels. No other mods. I just expected a $300 skimmer to work. Now I am looking at spending more money on a pump when OctopusSkimmer won't do anything about it. And I won't mention that 1/2 of the parts were missing when I received it to begin with and it took them 3 weeks to get those parts to me.

slider162 · #6 04/12/2007, 09:35 PM

Wow, I have an OR 2500 and the dimensions look to be the same. The only thing it is missing is the needle wheel... hmmmm

nebraskareef · #7 04/13/2007, 02:17 AM

Drill your venturi straight through and enlarge it just a little. Thats what I did on my recirc and it started without blowing into the hole.

Trust me, it works.

hahnmeister · #8 04/13/2007, 05:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by slider162
Is there an alternative pump that I could use? I'm using it on a 150 Recirc. I have to blow into it whent it is started to get it going and it vibrates more than I would like to see. Thx

Thats a sign that whatever you have done to the impeller is causing it to drag too much for the startup torque of the pump to start the pump. By adding air, you are decreasing the fluid resistance in the pump so it can start. The impeller may be too heavy, or, just too large in volume (diameter or thickness) for the pump's magnet. I would trim the diameter, as I believe that these pumps have much wider impellers than what is needed. Either that, or remove some of the mesh/thin it out.

Otherwise, that pump is a 600gph pump otherwise, right? Well, an eheim 1260/1262 would be expensive, but you could mod it easily to destroy the output of any of the above pumps... maybe the eheim 1250 needlewheel would be a good match actually. The only other pump I would look at is the Oceanrunner... as pointed out... its a direct replacement. As for Gen-X and Sedra... dont bother. The sedras arent worth it, and the Gen-X at this level is a 2400... a crappy pump that doesnt perform as well as its larger cousins (4100 and 6000s are beasts, but too large for this skimmer).

slider162 · #9 04/13/2007, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by nebraskareef
Drill your venturi straight through and enlarge it just a little. Thats what I did on my recirc and it started without blowing into the hole.

Trust me, it works.

Did you drill through the hose barb or just take out the 90 degree bend in the grey piece? The Octopus mod thread is too big to sort through.

Quote:

Originally posted by hahnmeister
Thats a sign that whatever you have done to the impeller is causing it to drag too much for the startup torque of the pump to start the pump. By adding air, you are decreasing the fluid resistance in the pump so it can start. The impeller may be too heavy, or, just too large in volume (diameter or thickness) for the pump's magnet. I would trim the diameter, as I believe that these pumps have much wider impellers than what is needed. Either that, or remove some of the mesh/thin it out.

Otherwise, that pump is a 600gph pump otherwise, right? Well, an eheim 1260/1262 would be expensive, but you could mod it easily to destroy the output of any of the above pumps... maybe the eheim 1250 needlewheel would be a good match actually. The only other pump I would look at is the Oceanrunner... as pointed out... its a direct replacement. As for Gen-X and Sedra... dont bother. The sedras arent worth it, and the Gen-X at this level is a 2400... a crappy pump that doesnt perform as well as its larger cousins (4100 and 6000s are beasts, but too large for this skimmer).

Well, I just so happen to have an OR 2500 and an extra needle wheel because I broke the ceramic rod on the original. I might play with it this weekend. Just been frustrated lately. I might try to find some gutter guard and see how that works. I would like to think that the original needle wheels are too much (large) for the pump. Thanks for the suggestions!

nebraskareef · #10 04/13/2007, 10:27 AM

I drilled straight through the nipple. The nipple is still there, but now it no longer does the whole internal 90 degree thing inside. It's a straight shot.

go for it!

slider162 · #11 04/19/2007, 10:02 PM

Just a little update. I was bored tonight, so I started playing with different combinations of impeller and mesh. I even drilled out the air hose barb as suggested. Nothing seemed to help. I got the same results whether I used the Octo pump or Ocean Runner pump. I finally got down to one needle wheel with 3 layers of mesh. This didn't work very well. It was probably the worst configuration. So I took that same needle and cut the last row of teeth off. I trimmed up the mesh to match the diameter and it seems to be working without any ill effects. I'm too tired to hook it back up to the tank so I will hopefully finish tomorrow night.