downhill_biker Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Does anyone know of a way to put a bubble plate inside a completely built skimmer without cutting it apart. This club is very good at innovative thinking so lets hear the ideas you got. I just want something to cut down the turbulence in the skimmer and allow for better foam production. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Most of the bubbleplates I have seen Curtis are two piece. One my MSX300 it is 2 piece otherwise I would be able to fit it in there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downhill_biker Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 here is what i had in mind: the first pic is the skimmer how it is now, the second has the mod. i would add an elbow and a down tube on the skimmer infeed. it would then feed into a 4" piece of pvc with a cap on it with lots of holes drilled in it to act as a bubble plate. what do you guys think? i think i can do all this work inside the skimmer without breaking it apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algae Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Are you still running 2 X Sedra 9000's? You've got a what? 10 " body on your Aqua Euro 265? I can't see those Sedra's putting out too much tubulance? What kind of scfh and wattage did you get when you tested? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algae Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Curtis, It would be really cool if you could build a pirate ship model inside the skimmer body while you are at it. Two birds-one stone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downhill_biker Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 Are you still running 2 X Sedra 9000's? You've got a what? 10 " body on your Aqua Euro 265? I can't see those Sedra's putting out too much tubulance? What kind of scfh and wattage did you get when you tested? i am running 1x sedra 9000 feeding the skimmer, and 2 smaller pumps, they aren't sedra pumps, but are around the size of a sedra 5000. i dont really think they put out "too much" turbulence, but it could be better...maybe. i dont remember wattage and scfh, but it wasn't as good as it should be. i think the scfh was around 12 on the sedra 9000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algae Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Are you sure of the second drawing? I just don't get the idea of a feed pump going into a bubble plate? Isn't the bubble plate to be used with the nw dual pumps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Algae Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I think I see. the feed Sedra will be used with the NW impeller? So you are cutting down the turbulance with the plate for the Sedra NW feed pump. You are going to use 2 RC pumps as additional bubble producers? Use Sicci's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewie Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 What are the dimensions of the neck of your skimmer Curtis? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanareef Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 If there's enough room for a 4" tube and plate, why not use a Uniseal and go thru the body? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downhill_biker Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 I think I see. the feed Sedra will be used with the NW impeller? So you are cutting down the turbulance with the plate for the Sedra NW feed pump. You are going to use 2 RC pumps as additional bubble producers? Use Sicci's? i guess i should have been clearer. for you "slow folk" i will clearify. the sedra is feeding a majority of the bubbles, it is mesh modded and creates a lot of flow and turbulence. the two recirc pumps add bubbles too, but are much lower flow and dont add much turbulence. the other problem i have is that the sedra feeds in the upper part of the skimmer, and i would like to get it to feed to the bottom of the skimmer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downhill_biker Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 so, the skimmer neck is only 3" so that kindof foils some of the plans/ideas. i guess i really dont need a bubble plate as much as i need to get the sedra to feed into the bottom of the skimmer. the bottom of my skimmer has absolutely no bubbles, and the top is full of them. if i could get the feed pump to the bottom by the time the bubbles got to the top it wouldnt need a bubble plate. i guess i just need to take the "T" (that's on the feed pump inlet) off, and put an elbow on it, and a piece of pipe to go to the bottom. this would help me a ton. as well as modding the recirc pumps with mesh, that would help a ton too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downhill_biker Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 oh and franklin, i would love to go with sicce pumps, but by the time i buy a couple of those, i could just sell my skimmer and buy a new octo extreme 300 skimmer. they are pretty spendy pumps. not too bad, but you have to weigh out the costs and i think it is too much money to drop into a used skimmer with new ones being relatively inexpensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewie Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 How tall is the 3" neck? Have you tried shutting down 1 or both of the recirc pumps for a day? I'm thinking for a 3" neck, the sedra 9000 is pushing it as far as how much air the neck can handle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downhill_biker Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 i have had them off before. but haven't paid attention to performance. i didn't know there was such a thing as too much air. i am sure the sedra isn't too much air though. sedra is known for power/flow/pressure more than air intake. they are good for air output, but they aren't great. the neck is 3" at the narrowest, and then tapers up to the neck. the skimmer is about 8" diameter and 30" tall, i just dont see the sedra 9000 being the max for this skimmer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 You might just move the output of the sedra like in your picture, then put the T on the end instead of a bubble plate. That will give some back pressure on the pump and lower the turbulence as well. I'm with Chewie though, any more air into that thing and its just going to be a foam cannon out of the 3" neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewie Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I modded a sedra 9000 to pull 17LPM (1020 LPH). Stock was an inconsistent 10LPM(600LPH). The air numbers on a stock model with the regular ASM/Euro-reef venturi aren't all that great. But a little dremeling and epoxy work will get the airpull #'s higher. Yes, there can be too much air for a skimmer neck to handle. Unless your 3" neck is like 8-12" tall I think your putting too much air into your skimmer. Shut off your recirc pumps and re-adjust your skimmer for a day or 2 and let me know if it works any better. You could also put a 45degree fitting on the output of your sedra 9000 to force the bubbles downward making more contact time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Even with a long neck, it'll be a pain to keep dialed in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downhill_biker Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 well, i kinda want a foam cannon. i have never got much skimmate out of this thing. i probably get a pint of skimmate every week. i really think i could get more. chewie: can you explain the mod, or post pics or links to what you did. mine is not doing anything worth bragging about. i did the mesh mod, but didn't see much benefit. venturi mods would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downhill_biker Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 i dont think that it will be too hard to dial it in. i have a gate valve and it has been easy-breezy setting it up so far, and it should still be pretty easy to change later. the biggest thing for me is getting the bubbles to the bottom of the skimmer. as you can see in the pics the bubbles are great, but they are only in the top half of the skimmer, and in the second pic you can see the recirc pumps are off and it only bubbles in the top 1/3 of the skimmer. the other pics show the setup and the skimmate, which is good, but not great by any means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 Check out this guy's DIY venturi method. I haven't tried it yet, but plan on it when I mod my AC70: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1475538&perpage=25&pagenumber=1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 I really think that if you try and put more than ~20lpm of air into a skimmer with a 3" neck you're gonna regret it but it's your project... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 You don't want a foam cannon otherwise your collection cup will fill in a very short time with just water. In the case of skimmers you want the perfect ratio, over doing it will have an adverse effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downhill_biker Posted June 10, 2009 Author Share Posted June 10, 2009 ok, i guess i have less experience here. i have never heard of too much foam in too small skimmer, is there a link somewhere to ratios or other info. of course the octo extreme 250 boasts 30-50 scfh per pump x2, so 60-100 scfh, with a 4" neck. are these over powered and impossible to tune? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 No, it's just that a 4" diameter neck is a lot bigger than a 3". The cross-sectional area is almost 2x, thus it can handle around double the air. Check out the DIY forum at RC... there are a lot of threads on this topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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