Protein Skimmer help

[cmor1701d]

Geez, you just got it working and now you want to break it

Glad to hear it's finally broken in.

[mandown123]

lol thats how i am cmor. if it aint broke break it lol

[ccCapt]

Originally Posted by mandown123

if it aint broke break it lol

LOL

If your not afraid to put a dremel to your brand new skimmer, I can tell you what I did to mine.

1- The pump is connected to the body by an elbo. If you unscrew the elbo you will see the diameter is very small and restrictive. I bored out both sides of that elbo.
2- The impeller is a needlewheel impeller. I cut off the top row of needles and added mesh and held it on with tiny zip ties.
3- If you take the volute cover off (the cover that hides the impeller on the pump), the intake is small. I bored that out.
4- The stock venturi doesn't allow the pump to pull alot of air. You can bore out the nipple the airline attaches to, then add bigger(1/4" OD) airline. I made a few different venturi's. I can take a pic of the 1 I did that worked best for me. It's simple, but hard to describe.

You can read the entire Reef Central Octo mod thread. It has pics of everything I mentioned. Be warned tho, it's a few hundred pages long and has been going on about 2 years.

[mandown123]

lol that thread is nuts i just clicked it. it does have it all there tho.. u know what it is working mint right now but i AM going to be messing with it probably when i finally find a tank for my fuge. lol i broke the 10 gallon my friend gave me while cleaning it and i decided i want a 20 now instead.

[ccCapt]

Yeah, they work fine with nothing done to them. But, check out the very first mod on that thread. It's the washer that covers part of the air intake on the venturi. Just cut a tiny triangle out of the washer to stop it from blocking part of the hole. Simple mod and you will see more air inside the skimmer.

[mandown123]

thaks cap!