Skimmer mod question

[danny zubot]

I bought a used DYI becket skimmer that has been running well for over a year now run by a mag 18. The pump is going and rather than replacing it I was wondering if I could buy a needle wheel pump and retrofit it. The skimmer is about 25 inches tall (6" acrylic cylinder) with a 12x8" box style bottom chamber, very typical of becket style skimmers. What kind of needle wheel pump would everyone recomend I use with this skimmer to give me maximum bubble count?

[mr_alberta]

You won't be able to drive a beckett very well with a needle wheel pump. They don't give enough "umph" to drive a beckett properly.

[danny zubot]

I guess I should have stated that I'd scrap the becket all together as the needle wheel would take over the injection system. Would it work? Or are the skimmers using them specifically designed for those pumps?

[AndyL]

There aren't that many reasonably priced pumps out there to run a needlewheel...

About the only ones out there for a reasonable price (IMHO) are the ocean riders - 2700 and 3700 both come in under 100$ (with the needlewheel - the eheim 1260 looks reasonable until you realize the impeller itself costs more than the pump).

What you may want to consider for the actual construction is to remove the becket head altogether, feed water in through that tube, then use a venturi/needlewheel recirc rather than trying to rework the whole system.

Andy

[danny zubot]

The Becket injector housing simply unscrews from the skimmer body so its not a hard mod. I'd simply have to plumb a needle wheel onto the skimmer, I'm just wondering if the bubble rate will be similar to the becket with a needle wheel pump. IE) currently using a mag 18 through the becket injector, what flow rate with a needle wheel will produce the same flow and bubble quuality?

[AndyL]

My thoughts on the matter are to use 2 pumps, or feed with a T off the drain from the tank.

Basically you'd be building a recirculating venturi skimmer. Flowthrough handled by one small pump (probably under 200gph) level controled by a gate valve, using the original input/outlets from the becket. Then you have to add a new inlet/outlet in the reactor chamber, for the recirculating needlewheel/venturi.

That's the easiest way I see to do it - Maybe someone else has a better suggestion.

Andy