super skimmer

[animalwhisperer]

I have the same skimmer and I get tremendous amounts of skimmate. I had the same mod with the small airpump. Always collected to much water. But every tank is different. If you have more pumps try different ones, maybe even better results.




Tony

[hotimportknight]

what air pump are you using exactly? I'm having problems finding the right one. Too much air and it lowers the water a lot and stops the bubbles completely (using my mouth to blow and experiment) too small of an air pump and it slowed the bubbles down from with out the pump. What pump did you use exactly? Do they rate new air pumps in any sort of unit or air movement? I really need to get on this mod to my skimmer. Yesterday I tore it down and cleaned it, moved the pump to about 2 inches below the water surface now, instead of like 6. Helped a little bit, but not enough... still cant get anything but wet watery skimmate.

[hotimportknight]

I just noticed this is an OLD thread. If hopefully someone comes across it soon, I'm heading to the LFS in 15 minutes and dont want to just try random pumps that might not work!

[ccCapt]

I got a Gen-X 2400 pump for mine. But I suggest save your $ and just buy a better skimmer.

[hotimportknight]

I think its a pretty decent skimmer. I could go buy a new one, but im happy with it pretty much, just would rather have drier skimmate than mainly water. Maybe I'll sell it and get a new skimmer when I upgrade to a big tank, but right now its the biggest skimmer I can possibly fit under my tank. There is roughly 1/2 clearance on top of it. Other than the wet skimmate and the frequent floodings (which i fixed with an overflow tube in my reservoir bottle) its been a good skimmer.
What kind of skimmer would you recommend upgrading to with a big tank? price isnt really a huge concern with me, I like to get just the best right away and not worry about it. (to an extent, nothing too outrageous). But out of curiosity what do you guys use on your 125g+ tanks? Still interested in knowing exactly what air pump works well with a CSS 125g to make nice bubbles...

[ccCapt]

I got an Octopus NW 200 for my 125. Best $200 skimmer you can buy IMO.

Finding the proper air pump is a shot in the dark. It's either too much air and it will cause huge bubbles or too small and it restricts the air flow.
If you want more air in the skimmer, mod your pump. When I used the stock CSS 125 pump, I did the fishing line mod to the impellor and also bored out the air intake on the venturi. The CSS 125 is a decent skimmer...not real good, not real bad.

[kimoy]

I was using an OPTIMA air pump with an adjustable air output. I have it halfway open. you need to adjust it to your liking and how wet or dry you want the skimmate you want. I bought the biggest Optima Air Pump with one output.

[hotimportknight]

Hm, they dont have those at fosters and smith. Found one online for around 40$, but that seems quite high for an air pump... Maybe I will live with it until I upgrade to a new skimmer. I guess wet skimmate is more effective than dry, just having to refill my ATO every 3 days is a hassle.
How much did the fishing line around the needle wheel and boring out the air inlet hole help? How much did you bore out the hole?

[hotimportknight]

I just cleaned my collection cup part of the skimmer and took some pics, can anyone give me any input perhaps? This is where I usually keep the water level, but it depends on the day, some days it will flood the skimmer and just pull gallons of water, others it wont collect anything at this level... Here are some pics:

[Bifferwine]

I also use an Octopus skimmer on my 240.