Needlewheel to Meshwheel skimmer mod

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by crystalz

this is looking like a pretty catchy mod... heres a little twist to it. I have a CSS 65 and the ASM obviously has a much superior needle wheel. I'm just wondering if it may be possible to improve on this model by using the same mod?

People have been doing this mod on every skimmer going I think I'm sure there is a thread on RC for the CSS. Darned search function is screwy though.

Here is what I found:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1006566

[Delphinus]

Quick update, I finally found the skimmer not producing any bubbles yesterday and couldn't get it to restart. Usually if I had to switch the pump off I just had to blow into the airline to get it to restart but not this time.

I took apart the pump and the fishing line had worked its way loose. Soo .. I'm thinking, fishing line isn't a good way to attach the mesh.

I reattached the 3 layers using 2 zap straps and trimmed the mesh a little. Restarts on its own now, so that's good.

Since I had it apart anyhow, I decided to drill out the venturi a little. Wow, just one drillbit size up from the one that fit into the hole already and I can tell it's pulling way more air. Unfortunately I lent out my airmeter so I can't tell how much more but I wish I had done this weeks ago, it looks like it's skimming even better now.

[crystalz]

(in regards to the css mod) As soon as I seen the link I went and cut some line off my fishing rod. I havve to say that this worked AWESOME! My skimmer is producing the most and finest micro bubbles I've ever see it make. What a HUGE difference. Thanks for the info. I found you need a good knot to keep it on there. Once I tied my knot I put a tiny little dot of crazy glue on it for extra insurance. It's holding so far with no problems.

[Skimmerking]

I wouldnt use the fishing line go wit hthe zap ties...

[Delphinus]

I like the idea of krazy glue to hold the knot down. I really have a hard time with knots on fishing line and seem that even little miniature versions of knots that are supposed to not slip (figure 8's, bowlines, etc.) still slip because the line is so slippery. I'll try the krazy glue trick next time!!

What's weird, I don't know if it's because of the zap straps or the air intake hole is larger, but, the pump has a different sound to it now. It has a weird sort of "electrical buzz" sort of sound and if I block the airline it gets REALLY loud. Seems to be working just fine though, so I'm not too worried about it, but did just notice that the "operating noise" has gone up a little.

[cprowler]

I used gutter guard and reaming out the Venturi with a drill bit. I don't have a air flow metre to test the intake but I can see that it's working better producing skimmate immediately. I also used zap straps and it's been holding and starting fine.

[Jaws]

Since I've done the mod, it worked great for a week or two and now it's overflowing again. I'm not sure what else to do.

[Delphinus]

I think I'd be looking at modifying the pumps so that the intakes draw water from the skimmer, then use a separate pump or powerhead to feed the skimmer. The recommendation for recirc pumps seems to be 1.5 times the tank volume per hour. It has the benefit of increasing dwell time, for whatever that's worth, but it also gives you the benefit of controlling your level independent of your foam production.

If you're running this insump, see if you can find some uniseals, then all you'd have to do is jam some pipe through the uniseals, hook them up the pump intake, and then you're done. If you're running the skimmer externally, you'll need to do something like using a bushing for the next size up down to the size of your pump intake, use weldon to attach the bushing to the skimmer body, and then pump into that.

It should be pretty do-able. The downside is you'll need to take your skimmer offline for about a day to do it.

[fkshiu]

Did it this weekend (thanks to Delphinus for the Enkamat).

Works like a charm. There are definitely more and smaller bubbles and almost 2x the amount of skimmate that I normally have after 4 days. Not bad for a half hour's work involving a few pieces of mesh and a couple zip ties.

I was also fortunate enough not to have the skimmer overflow as others have experienced.

Note also that adding the mesh was all I did. I did not do anything to the venturi or even ream out the intake (my drill is currently down for the count). And I simply have a ER 6-2 w/a Sedra 5000 sitting in my sump. The only previous mod was adding a gate valve (i.e. no recirc, gravity feed, etc).

[christyf5]

I also did this mod on the weekend. I used 3 layers of enkamat and zap strapped it onto the impeller sans needles. I had some troubles restarting the pump after that and had to trim some of the enkamat down on the sides and top. Eventually it cranked up and I got even more bubbles than the previous mod I had done (which consisted of me putting a different type of enkamat on over the needles). Foam was nice and milky white but even with the gate valve fully open the foam was too high into the riser tube for my liking. I chopped about an inch and a half off of the gate valve pipe to lower it and the level in the riser was perfect. The skimmer was performing well when I left it but I'm not sure how much more skimmate it has made compared to before.