Skimmer Question part 2
 

This is a quote for a skimmer that my brother may buy for me as a wedding gift.

Has anyone heard of this company (Aquatic Systems Design)? Are they any good?

I am looking at the Venturi aspect and it somewhat appeals to me.

Basically i have an option of this one or an ASM G3 for a gift. With an ASM it does leak and is in sump only, this other one is a recirculation one and can work in sump or externally. Does anyone have comments or concerns about either or?

From what i can gather, the bigger skimmer is good for up to 250 gallons.
and costs about $700 canadain new (i can get it for about $380)

Please let me know as i just feel like i am floudering with all these choices

www.saltwaterconnection.com talk to Jayson there ..He makes some becketts that rock...

serious and his prices are awesome too, and the arcylic is thick ..

mike

Recir mod for G3 http://www.asmskimmer.com/modifications.htm

Is there a website or anything that I can check out the Aquatic System Design skimmer at? Do you know anything else about that skimmer? How are the 2 pumps set up? (i.e. are the both recirc. or is one recirc and 1 a feed pump, etc). Also, what type of venturi does it use (what does he mean by custom venturi?)

The nice thing about that skimmer is that it has a pretty big reaction chamber. The bad thing is that it takes up a huge amount of space.

There is a website, however it is still being built. One pump is for recirc and ther other is for intake.

Not sure on the venturi, but i can find that out easily enough. I agree that it is a HUGE amount of space, the thing i was told is that it also had an auto drain (which seems to be good) as i would need 1" of space of clearance for the removal of the collection cup.

In addition: here is what it looks like:
http://reefs.elephen.com/skimmer/100_3499.JPG
and
http://reefs.elephen.com/skimmer/100_3503.JPG

They are quite large photos.

The skimmer looks like a Deltec style skimmer. What is that one valve the comes out of the skimmer for (with the red handle)?

The skimmer itself looks like it is performing quite well. If you can give up the space, then I'd say go for it.

That red ball valve is an extra feature to control water that goes into the skimmer. This works in conjunction with the gate valve

Do valves on a venturi get clogged a lot?

You should run some hot water through the venturi ever couple of months to dissolve any buildup in your venturi.

Why do you need to control the amount of water going into the skimmer? Is the skimmer drain fed or fed from the return pump? I thought one of the GenX pumps fed the skimmer?

If possible, see if he can custom one for you where the skimmer is drain fed with the 2 GenX pumps as recirc.

Well, there is a drain at the base for draining the skimmer whenever i need to clean it.

Also, The venturi is made so that it has a greater air into the pump with a greater vacuum effect.

This can be setup as drain fed with the 2 pumps as recirc or i can add a feed pump (it works optimally at about 300 GPH) ... the 2 GenX pumps are for recirc.

Does this make it more appealing?