super skimmer

By the looks of it, that skimmer is getting nowhere near enuff air. That neck should be white with fine bubbles. I'll try to take a pic of the fishing line mod I did. Here's my skimmer using the Gen-X with the air intake bored and restrictor on the water intake.


skimmer_2-9-08.jpg
 
In that picture your micro bubbles end way lower than mine. I have to have the level of my micro bubbles halfway up the collection cup to get anything out at all... I see in that picture you have large bubbles starting at the first tapering line before the collection cup. I saw the fishing line thing somewhere online, and heard about boring out the air inlet thing, but didnt see how the boring was done.
 
anyone have any idea why my CSS 125 doesn't make enough bubbles? I'm sitting at work bored on my new iPhone killing some time. I would really appreciate some advise on getting this skimmer to work better. I moved the pump up to just under the surface of the water and it didn't do a whole lot if anything that I notice. Tomorrow I might try the fishing line on the needle wheel trick. Maybe just bore out the air inlet a bit too, I'm sure doing that without even adding a pump it would help it let a lot more air in.
 
The pump..or more specifically the impellor, pulls the air into the skimmer. Have you ever cleaned out the air intake nipple? That does get crusted with salt creep. Did you ever take out the impellor and soak it in vinegar for a few hrs to remove any calcium buildup? That can slow down the impellor and pull less air.
I don't know what size drill bit I used, but it was bigger than the current hole in the air intake, but not too big that it went thru the plastic nipple.

Here's a pic of the fishing line mod I did.
impellor_2-08.jpg
 
Here's the Gen-x pump I used. I bored out the air intake and restricted the water intake. Improved the skimmer 100%. The pic above was using this pump.

gen-x1_2-08.jpg


gen-x2_2-08.jpg
 
The more air you pull the less water you pull. now if you increase the air, the water slows or if you slow it, your dwell time will decrease. if you have set the skimmer up in accordance with the manufacturers specifications and you are not getting the bubbles you desire, you can (believe it or not) reduce the air intake and the flow will increase moving the bubbles lower in the chamber which increases dwell time and producing a dryer foam. The Gen-X also is only for submerged use, Also, as mentioned, you need to clean out the air intake nipple as a regular maintenance item say once a week. This can be done by using a needle without the metal neddle part and pushing warm R/O water down the air intake tube. fill it up and let set for 10 minutes or so and it will help dissolve the buildup in the nipple. then as mentions every so often pull it and soak in white vinegar. The wire thing on the impeller only serves to cut down on the air bubble size and lowers the performance of the unit. it may seem to be doing better but in fact is not as you should not need to increase the air opening to get enough air in. (I use a euroreef 250 RC and my air is 3/4 closed. if i open it all the way the bubbles only go down about half way and the recircualtion flow decreases. I know your skimmer is not the same type as mine but, hopefully you will get the idea.) Hope this helps.
 
Last edited:
How would you recommend going about decreasing the amount of air thats getting taken in? If I'm reading it right I think thats what your saying, If i decrease the air its taking in it will actually make it better, right? When I try to blow into the air inlet tubing it lowers the water drastically, but i cant tell if its better off or not with more air because I cant keep the flow steady enough to see.
What do you think will be more effective, adding air with an air pump, cause that would reduce the water flow and increase the time he bubbles are in the skimmer, or limit the air? I dont quite get it as of right now.
 
Alright after playing around with a RIO 600 I picked up today for hours to no avail I went back to the original pump until further tinkering. I did notice a chunk of salt stuck in the air nipple, I could have sworn I got it all out when washing it down the other day, but I guess I missed a piece. Now its working better than it ever has, pump just below the water and the air inlet clear combined make it work much better. Must have been that when I moved the pump up it then the air inlet got plugged at around the same time, because the performance didnt change at all.
Let me know if you think things look on par...
This is the body of the skimmer seems to be making a nice bubbly froth.
Aquarium020.jpg

And here is the collection cup. After looking at the before and after pictures I'm not really sure if it is doing anything or if its a placebo effect. Doesnt actually look much better than before, but here it is:
Aquarium024-1.jpg
 
Dunno...still looks like not enuff air/too much water getting into that. I would take the skimmer apart and soak the pump, the impellor and venturi in vinegar overnight and fill the skimmer body with vinegar and let that all soak overnight.
I really didn't think that RIO 600 would work. Way too small.
 
On RC it seemed to work great, I think it will work good too once I get that venturi piece I need. I understand the concept too, move less water through it to allow the bubbles to stay longer. I'll give it a shot anyway, pump only cost 20$, but i spent 10 ordering that stupid little venturi fitting... I guess I'll find out when that comes in the mail.
 
Your original pump is about 500 gph and now you dropped down to a pump that's 200 gph. I have a hard time seeing how a pump 60% smaller will make the skimmer perform better. You have 60% less water and 60% less air going into the skimmer. How is that an improvement?
 
I don't know about it being 60% less air... Less water flow doesnt mean less air necessarily. I'm going to experiment with the RIO when my venturi part comes in the mail. It will be sucking air at the inlet making bubble froth, and I might also attach an air pump to the outlet side to make some larger bubbles as well and see if that effects anything. Its basically just an experiment. I liked what I saw on RC with the RIO 600 hooked up, made some NICE foam. Way better than I'm getting now at least.
 
I haven't done anything more yet. The rio 600 I got didn't come with the inlet venturi part that I needed so I ordered it that day and I have no idea when its supposed to come in even... Ecoreef.net was the only place I could order it from.
 
Wow, just got my new piece in UPS today, the 10$ part to make the rio into a venturi pump... dismantled my sump and skimmer and wow, what a waste of time. I thought it looked Ok in the test bucket i was using, hook it up to the skimmer and wow... pathetic. You were right. I think that guy on RC worked for RIO or something and was trying to lie to increase sales. there is NO WAY those pictures of inches of thick foam came from this pump...
 
Comparison of the stock CSS125 pump to the RIO 600 someone posted about on RC which makes "Bubble Milk" (my ass...)
Stock pump not performing well enough for me...
Aquarium008.jpg

replaced with RIO 600 with optional venturi intake that little plastic part that costs 10$ shipped...
Aquarium.jpg
 

Similar threads

Sashimi
75 gallon LPS 2.0 suggestions
Replies
0
Views
2K
Sashimi
Sashimi
F
New to marine.
Replies
2
Views
1K
kbuser92
kbuser92
Sashimi
75G LPS 2.0
Replies
2
Views
2K
Sashimi
Sashimi
A
Converted saltwater to fresh, trouble keeping PH down...
Replies
0
Views
2K
AquaMom
A
A
Filter jbj 45
Replies
0
Views
5K
Aggrofish
A
Back
Top