Upgrating Cone Skimmer with CoralVue Bubble Blaster pump

[phi delt reefer]

is there a chance your skimmer is too small for this pump? I dont think your reaction chamber will be big enough.

[RuGlu6]

Originally Posted by phi delt reefer

is there a chance your skimmer is too small for this pump? I dont think your reaction chamber will be big enough.

Yes, you are right there is that chance, thank you for pointing that out.
Well i don't know that for sure until i try.
My existing pump is 700 l/h air and 462 GPH of water, skimmer is 22" high, neck is 4" (i think i need to check) wide, bottom cylinder is 11" wide.
Looking at OEM skimmers with BB HY- 5000 pump they are only 2" inches higher.
There is also a you tube video comparing Vertex alpha cone 250 vs DIY replica w Bubble blaster 5000 and DIY skimmer does not look very tall, and also doesn't look like it has very wide neck either. The BB 5000 pump is 9x7x6. So with nozzle on the side air/water mixture will be entering at about 6" high. My existing pump is 7" high (pointing up) plus bubble plate is another inch.

My skimmer is 3/4 full when water return valve is fully open, so there is some room for higher water flow, not a huge jump from 462 gal/hr to 600 GPH in terms of water flow.
The biggest change is in air pull, from 700 lph to 2100 LPH, however if skimmer will handle the water flow it will be a nice upgrade.

There is a very little price difference between BB HY-5000 and BB HY-3000.

My other option is to locate the BB HY-5000 (if i decide to get it) outside the skimmer with output nozzle pointed sideways instead of putting the pump inside the skimmer and nozzle up.
I will loose some sump space but air/water mixture injection point will be lower therefore freeing up some space inside the skimmer reaction chamber.

http://coralvue.com/bubbleblaster/

Having said all that i am still thinking, should i take a risk and try BB HY-5000?
Or stick with BB HY -3000 and get only 1000 LPH of air?

To be honest i really want to get that 2000 LPH of air !

[phi delt reefer]

alright so i watched that movie about 7 times and would recommend the following.

if you want the 5000 pump i would do the sideways external mount like you said to increase the reaction area within the skimmer body. Also make note that the skimmers in the video look VERY wide - the vertex is a big skimmer and that diy one looks just as big (look at the size of the pump vs. the size of the skimmer base for reference) You may want to do some math to figure out the volume of the vertex skimmer chamber vs. yours vs. the reef octupus line that uses that pump. If your volume is significantly smaller you may want to reconsider.

I would contact Coralvue and ask what depth their stock skimmers (that use that pump) run at. Its important to know for the water pressure at different depths heavily affects skimmer performance.

I have considered a similar upgrade for my swc 150 bmk skimmer with uses the crappy atman 2500 pump. Right now my skimmer is doing quite well (seems to have found its sweet spot) but i was thinking about either using the new sicce psk 1000 pump or an eheim compact pump (built by Eden out of Italy - same pump that is used on the Skimz skimmers so i quickly crossed that one off the list)


keep us in the loop - i am very interested as to how this turns out.

[RuGlu6]

Thank you for your thoughts appreciate that.
Here is my cone skimmer (scroll down for pics). Its quite big and pump is also big 7"x6"x5". Look at one before last pic (click on link above, not pics below) where it shows bottom part. BB pumps sizes are total with large fittings the actual body is smaller.
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My skimmers chamber is 11" inch wide, looking from the top, at the bottom (this is my best bet for volume)
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Neck is only 4" (3.75 exact)
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The recommended level for Super Reef Octopus SRO-5000 is 6"-10" inch of water and is exactly the same for SRO-3000.
Mine is sitting at 7"-8".

I have not decided yet but leaning strongly toward BB 5000 pump. Especially because of the small price difference and huge air output difference (double)

Interestingly enough no one knows for sure how much water flow this pump produces ! I emailed CoralVue and the answer was "not sure" maybe 600Gph.
The other retailer who sells these pumps said: "there is no indication about water flow on the pump, based on other Bubble Blaster pumps it will be around 500GPH "
I actually installed and ran my existing pump with normal water impeller instead of needle wheel and level inside reaction chamber was same even with higher water flow comparing to the needle wheel.

You are right, i will need to measure and compare the chamber size and especially neck size next time when i i take it out of the sump. Bottom part of my skimmer is 1" wider then SRO5000.

I can't find the actual height of the SRO-5000 without the waste collection cup, and actual neck size.
Perhaps anyone on here who has SRO-5000 can help with these two measurements?
If not then i will email CoarlVue again.
Thank you all for participation.