newbie needs skimmer help

[KJB]

I have a used ASM G1 with a SEDRA2500 pump. The previous owner hacked up the hole in the skimmer body where the uni-seal goes in for the pump. Now the Uni-seal doesn't fit water tight. I ran it in my sink last night and it seemed okay. Not much for micro bubbles, just regular bubbles mostly. No foam. I know it won't do much in fresh water, but will the leaky uni-seal cause issues??

My question is, should I patch the old hole and drill a new on to fit?

If so, will it matter where in the body I drill?

Also, I want to do the gate valve Mod to it. Can I have the pipe that comes out of the gate valve 90 down, then have a straight piece of pipe go into the water, or does it need to stay above the water line in the sump?

I would like to see how it works before I Mesh mod., I may not have to.

Thanks for the help!

Newb

 

[marine mike]

I would say if you can get the leak at the existing uniseal down to a minimum leave it that way. It shouldn't impact bubble amount or quality, and due to the thinness of the body itself, I would avoid drilling it unless you have to. If you do want to drill I would say as far away from that area as you can get at the same level in the body would work. I don't have my G4 set up with the pipe all the way down to the water. I have heard that if it goes below the waterline, although quieter, it can create a siphon and pull water out of your skimmer. Most I have seen stop the pipe just above the waterline. I would also recommend the mesh mod highly, it works wonders to improve the bubble quality and the amount. Hope this helps!

 

[KJB]

Thanks Mike, that Is helpful.

Do you keep your stock stand pipe at it's lowest level for the GV Mod? I would think so, but not sure.

I may just superglue the uni-seal in, then add some silicon around it. I know silicon won't bond acrylic (or whatever the ASM's are), but it should make it better at least. I get a TON of micro bubbles from my overflow, I am hoping the SEDRA will capture many of them and add them to the skimmer....we'll see.

Thanks again

 

[marine mike]

I actually built a standpipe out of pvc on mine as I found the gate valve more difficult to use than just adjusting the pipe up and down. I had a lot of intermittent overflow issues and just found that when I set the pipe that was it and its fine. My stand pipe then has a 90 in it twice to get it back to the sump the same way as if the gate valve mod was there. I was thinking that solution on your uniseal also, just a little silicone around it might help seal it up ok. The plastic is just so cheap on these skimmers that drilling can be a task. I think that will work out just fine for you.

 

[stingythingy45]

Thanks Mike, that Is helpful.

Do you keep your stock stand pipe at it's lowest level for the GV Mod? I would think so, but not sure.

I may just superglue the uni-seal in, then add some silicon around it. I know silicon won't bond acrylic (or whatever the ASM's are), but it should make it better at least. I get a TON of micro bubbles from my overflow, I am hoping the SEDRA will capture many of them and add them to the skimmer....we'll see.

Thanks again

I wouldn't super glue it......just silicone it in place.Why would somebody drill this,trying to make it a recirc mod?
The Sedra pump should have an impeller that is specifically designed for skimmers.The impeller should have a bunch of plastic pins and there should also be a venturi section with the hose for air induction.

 

[KJB]

Very Cool, Thanks!!

I didn't realize the gate valve could be an issue. I will have to set mine on a homemade PVC/egg-crate stand, as my sump depth in the skimmer area is about 12" deep. I was planning on a 4" stand for it. I hear they work best in between 4" and 8" of water (RC thread). I have VERY limited space to tinker, so that's why I was going to GV mod it. Maybe I'll wait to see how it functions/adjusts before I Mod it. Do you put that sponge thing on the stand pipe? It's for sound I believe, I don't have one, but would like it to be as quiet as possible. Just wondering. Thanks

 

[KJB]

I wouldn't super glue it......just silicone it in place.Why would somebody drill this,trying to make it a recirc mod?
The Sedra pump should have an impeller that is specifically designed for skimmers.The impeller should have a bunch of plastic pins and there should also be a venturi section with the hose for air induction.

yes it has the Pinned impeller and a rubber hose.

The hole that the pump plugs into has been hacked. I think maybe he wanted to widen it or something, not sure. There is only the one hole.

 

[KJB]

I used just silicon on the uni-seal, it worked perfectly...thanks!!!

I got the skimmer up and running yesterday. It is producing a lot of bubbles in the column. It sits in about 8" of water. the water line inside it is at the bottom of the Cone part that tappers up to the collection cup. It is producing foam, but it seems that the foam will build up to the bottom of the collection cup, then it's like someone blows on it and the foam recedes. I do have a tiny bit of skim-mate in the collection cup, its been running about 16 hrs.

Is the foam getting "blown out" (like a birthday candle) because it is still seasoning/breaking in?

This is my first skimmer....I finally feel like a real marine tank owner now..lol!!

Any help would be great, thanks for reading.

 

[stingythingy45]

I have a G2 and keep my water/foam level about half way up the riser tube(wet skimmate).
My skimmer sits in about 6 inches of water in the sump.
As far as the bubbles breaking and falling back.It will do that for a while till everything gets good and gunked up.On mine it takes about 2-3 days before it starts dumping skimmate into the collection cup.At first it seems to hit the cover and break the bubbles.Give it a little more time,if it doesn't pull much in a day or two try raising the water level a little more.

 

[KJB]

Thanks Bob!!! I thought maybe I had an air leak or something. I guess it's just more of the "nothing good happens quick" in this hobby thing. I feel better about it now, as it has pulled some skim-mate.

Is there a way so quiet down the noise from the air line? I had my system running pretty quiet, now with the skimmer, it's like I have a dishwasher running.

Also, should I have wet skim-mate or dryer? I have a FOWLR.

Thank you!

 

[Joel A]

do you have the silencer on the air line? I'm not sure if the ASM's come standard with them or not... but it's basically a black piece that fits on the air tube that quiets it down a lot.

Wetter foam takes out more crap generally, but you also have to empty and clean the cup more with wet foam. With a FOWLR you could do either one and be fine...

 

[stingythingy45]

Thanks Bob!!! I thought maybe I had an air leak or something. I guess it's just more of the "nothing good happens quick" in this hobby thing. I feel better about it now, as it has pulled some skim-mate.

Is there a way so quiet down the noise from the air line? I had my system running pretty quiet, now with the skimmer, it's like I have a dishwasher running.

Also, should I have wet skim-mate or dryer? I have a FOWLR.

Thank you!

If the body is filled with bubbles and your getting foam at the top,I'd say everything is working correctly.You'll most likely see the cover getting really dirty and gunked up first.If you're not pulling much in a day or two just raise the water level up the riser tube a little.I have a gate valve on mine so I just close that about a quarter turn.You probably have the tube that slides up and down.

 

[stingythingy45]

do you have the silencer on the air line? I'm not sure if the ASM's come standard with them or not... but it's basically a black piece that fits on the air tube that quiets it down a lot.

Wetter foam takes out more crap generally, but you also have to empty and clean the cup more with wet foam. With a FOWLR you could do either one and be fine...

I think they just come standard with a piece of surgical tubing.I've looked at replacement parts for mine.I'm surprised there's noise from the tube.I don't get anything like that from mine,just the hum of the Sedra 3500.

 

[Joel A]

not sure what you mean Bob.

Here's a DIY version of what i was talking about
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=168424

my octopus skimmer came with the same thing, except it was factory made out of all black plastic...

 

[stingythingy45]

not sure what you mean Bob.

Here's a DIY version of what i was talking about
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=168424

my octopus skimmer came with the same thing, except it was factory made out of all black plastic...

Sory,
Meant to say I don't think they come stock with any silencer on the intake tube.
That's a pretty cool DYI silencer.

 

[KJB]

Thanks Guy's!

It is just the 1/4" (I think) hose, no silencer. I replaced the rubber one it came with, with a longer piece of the regular clear tubing. I wanted to keep the open end of the hose away from the water line. It barely made it up through the hose ring before I changed it out.

When I saw yours Joel, I remembered you had an air line running outside. Was that for your skimmer? I may do that for noise, and also it might help balance the pH more. I haven't had any pH bounce issues, but I thought it would be added security.

I have my overflow hose going into a home made carbon/filter thing. it's 3" PVC with a 1" to 3" PVC coupling top and a strainer on the bottom. The hose fits in tight, below the water surface. I have filter material-bag of carbon-then another filter pad. It creates a lot of bubbles( but less than without it). I have it resting on the SEDRA. The pump sucks in a good amount of those bubbles and chops them into the skimmer. No buzzing or anything where they touch btw. I'll try to get a pic up.

The air line seems to be the only really noisy part. The SEDRA is louder than my Eheim return, but it's live able.

Thanks for the help!!

 

[Joel A]

yeah, that line was running outside off of my skimmer. Get's rid of the noise factor and does help with PH (mostly during the winter).

Or if you dont want to do that, a good silencer really quiets it down a bit too...

just out of curiosity do you have a PH probe set-up? You said you don't see much of a PH bounce, but if you don't have a ph probe measuring that you might be surprised at how much it goes up and down throughout the day/night. Mine swings from about 7.9 to about 8.25 from day to night...

 

[KJB]

I don't have a pH probe yet. I picked up a RK2 off of Cory(maxfischer) last Friday. He forgot to bring the pH probe that was part of the package. He said he would mail it out, I am dying to set it up.

very cool silencer thread. I will do that asap. I am sure the pH bounces with the day/night thing. I meant more that it has been pretty stable so far as the test kit anyways.

Hows the doser you picked up?

 

[Joel A]

on it's way from Canada... looks like it will probably be here next week since it hasn't left Canada yet.

You can set-up the RK2 without the ph probe for now though if you want... all the PH probe is going to do is give you an accurate reading for monitoring it... nothing is stopping you from setting up the nice dual stage temp control it gives you. Plus putting your lights on a timer, and possibly using the wavemaker function depending upon the type of pumps you have (most pumps don't like to be turned on and off constantly, but some can withstand it)

 

[KJB]

the set up

Here's the new skimmer in place. You can see the home made filter/carbon thing I made. It sends the bubbles almost directly into the skimmer pump adding a LOT more bubbles to the mix. It also gives me good filtration and very good carbon contact. Easy to clean and change out filter pads.....