Jump to content

Sicce SKimmer Pump


andy

Recommended Posts

They're pretty good. They're fairly noisy (not like a gen-x or anything, but much louder than a eheim or laguna). They run kind of hot.

 

The air to watts ratio is fantastic, and the air to water ratio is quite good.

 

If you want the same pump for a 1/3 the price, the quiet one 3000 is identical to the sicce.

 

IMO, at this point there's no reason to use skimmer pumps other than the askoll/laguna based models. You can buy a laguna powerjet 1500 for $150 vs the sicce for $125, and the laguna will get easilty 1800 LPH of air vs the sicce's 1000, will have a better air to water ratio than the sicce, and be much quieter to boot.

 

Sol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm more curious than anything -- honestly, I think it'd be too much pump for my RC-135 copy. I'm currently running a mesh-modded Eheim 1248 and it is a bit of a disappointment, pulling about half the air that the Ocean Runner 2500 it replaced did (Eheim: 300 lph, OR: 750 lph). I'm considering picking up an Aquaclear 702 and building a custom volute for it; some people on RC are getting good results and it's a cheap compromise.

 

I've found listings for the Sicce at

http://www.marinesolutionsinc.com/catalog/Pumps/c25/p135/Sicce-PSK-2500/product_info.html

& http://www.protein-skimmer.com/shopping.asp?id=446996&itemid=10098&ct=0&shopperid=71332&merchantid=446996&shop=itemdetail.asp

 

Not sure if they have them in stock or not.

 

Sol, how are people modding the QO3000? Just meshmodding it, or doing some volute work as well?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Depends how much air you want out of it. With just a mesh mod the QO does 800 or so; if you bore out the inlet, outlet, and volute, you can get it up to 1100 or 1200 lph.

 

I've never heard of an eheim 1248...do you mean 1048? Or 1250?

 

Sol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At a minimum, you'd have

 

1. mesh mod it (grind off the impeller paddles, drill holes, zip tie on PF4 mesh)

2. make a venturi (I'd use a classic herschel venturi, see http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1475538)

 

Ideally, you'd also use a dremel to

 

3. bore out the intake for less restriction

4. contour/enlarge the volute

5. bore out the output for less restriction

(in that order of importance/usefulness.)

 

There's a thread on modding these pumps somewhere on reefcentral but I don't know where.

 

Sol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Looking through that QO thread I disagree with a lot of what they're doing--mostly the total crap they're using for venturis.

 

Remember, guys--if you're running your venturi wide open and the pump isn't cavitating, the venturi is the limiting factor. To maximize air, you need a venturi that can supply more air than the pump can handle. Then dial down the air with a valve on the air intake until the pump stops cavitating.

 

Sol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sol, any suggestions on balancing venturi intake against pump start-up problems? My meshmodded OR2500 had loads of trouble getting itself started (as in, it couldn't -- blowing into the intake line to get it started always resulted in humiliating gales of laughter from my wife), but it hated any restriction on the venturi input.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm currently running a mesh-modded Eheim 1248 and it is a bit of a disappointment, pulling about half the air that the Ocean Runner 2500 it replaced did (Eheim: 300 lph, OR: 750 lph).

 

It takes alot of work for the 1250 to perform.

 

You need to enlarge the output of the pump to 3/4"

like this1250.jpg

 

1250vol.jpg

 

and also enlarge the inlet of the pump without ruining it like this

1250volcover.jpg

 

Make your own venturi and use 1/4" ID tubing like this

1250intake.jpg

 

And then you get #'s like this

125012LPM.jpg

 

The Sicce IS too much for a 6" body.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Chewie, that's awesome. I did increase the opening on the intake to the volute, but not by that much; I also enlarged the output, but again not by that much. I was hoping to, but was fighting the clock. What are you using as a venturi? I experimented with a couple of designs, but couldn't find anything that worked as well as tapping the airline directly into the volute.

 

Once I get my nitrates back under control, maybe I'll pull off the pump and go crazy ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

in the 2nd pic you can kind of see that the airline is just tapped in directly. I just drilled the hole as close to the pump as possible and shoved it in w/o blocking the flow. I used epoxy for the reducer and played with different sizes until I got the # I wanted.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I may just have to drill that baby out then. 750 lph seems about the most a 6" body/3.5" neck can reasonably handle. The custom volute Aquaclears are pulling over 1000 lph; I'd hate to end up with a twitchy foam cannon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They're pretty good. They're fairly noisy (not like a gen-x or anything, but much louder than a eheim or laguna). They run kind of hot.

 

The air to watts ratio is fantastic, and the air to water ratio is quite good.

 

If you want the same pump for a 1/3 the price, the quiet one 3000 is identical to the sicce.

 

IMO, at this point there's no reason to use skimmer pumps other than the askoll/laguna based models. You can buy a laguna powerjet 1500 for $150 vs the sicce for $125, and the laguna will get easilty 1800 LPH of air vs the sicce's 1000, will have a better air to water ratio than the sicce, and be much quieter to boot.

 

Sol

 

Is that really the price difference? Only $25? Seems like its a lot more when buying a skimmer. Yeah If you can get a Laguna go for it. They straight rip from what I have seen. Later Ryan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is that really the price difference? Only $25? Seems like its a lot more when buying a skimmer. Yeah If you can get a Laguna go for it. They straight rip from what I have seen. Later Ryan

 

The price difference is because lagunas need (or at least always are given) a custom volute. There's a lot of labor in that, compared to just a new impellar for the sicces.

 

Those are some seriously goofy looking pumps ;)

 

Which ones are goofy?

 

Sol' date=' any suggestions on balancing venturi intake against pump start-up problems? My meshmodded OR2500 had loads of trouble getting itself started (as in, it couldn't -- blowing into the intake line to get it started always resulted in humiliating gales of laughter from my wife), but it hated any restriction on the venturi input.[/quote']

 

A couple things in response to this (some having nothing to do with venturis):

 

1. Obviously make sure the impeller isn't rubbing against the volute walls.

2. Minimize the water level the pump is sitting in. Less head pressure at startup will make for easier startup.

3. Use less mesh. Maybe 2 layers instead of 3?

4. Use a well designed venturi. The issue with a lot of the PVC venturis is that they create a lot of turbulence which robs energy that would otherwise be used for drawing air. The (perhaps counterintuitive) thing is that with a well designed venturi, you actually need less of a restriction to draw the same amount of air.

 

The ideal venturi would have a very gradual contoured inlet, and a pretty rapid increase in diameter after the throat (I'd draw a picture, but I'm lazy). But the LFP venturi I linked to earlier is probably as good as you're going to get without a mill, lathe or mold. My suggestion is to make a bunch of different LFP venturis, and use the least restricting one that still cavitates the pump.

 

If these things don't help, you might be up crap creek. OR's don't have very strong magnets.

 

Yay Obama!

 

Sol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The OR died, was just trying to find out what might have been the problem in case I run into something similar in the future. I think the venturi was the problem.

 

Oh, and it's the Laguna pond pumps that I think look goofy -- little UFOs ;)

 

(party)Obama!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...