WOOT lol Odyssea NEEDLE WHEEL skimmer!

[spawn79]

Originally posted by luke33
OK, real simple, take off the collection cup and get some plyers and rock the inner tube back and forth til it pops off, then pull it out and throw it out or keep it.

[jayvee10]

Great Job Luke. There was an improvement on the bubbles on my PS160. I might have to bring the stock odyssea pump back and mod it. which is more silent than the gen-x 2400. I will check the gen x for rust.

spawn,
Luke is talking about the inner tube, just take it out.

[luke33]

Yes, i've noticed alot about these odyssea pumps vs the genx pump's. Here's the verdict. Genx2400-40bux comparison wp700 28 bux, and no rust. Genx4100 1057gph at 52 bux, or WP1000, 1300gph, no rust greater scfh and 39.99. So why go with the genx......cuz thats what everyone thinks is right.

[Rewd]

Can someone sum up this thread? Im in the market for a skimmer and this thread is reallllllllllllllllly long. thanks

[kodyboy]

skimmers do not have to be expensive to work

[kodyboy]

Luke,
Like the new avitar, is that from "Tombstone"? with Kurt Russel and Val Kilmer?

[luke33]

You know it, the greatest cowboy ever!

[Rewd]

Originally posted by kodyboy
skimmers do not have to be expensive to work

haha yea. do these need any kind of modifications or work to be effective? or do they work as well as an expensive skimmer right out of the box?

[luke33]

IMO, they need to be modded, but not a ton.

[pbukow]

Luke, why did you say in a previous post to get pull off the inner tube on the collection cup. I understand the pump intake/venturi mod but not why u mentioned the collection cup. Could u explain?

[luke33]

I think people are reading this wrong. Take off the collection cup and set it to the side, then get out the pliers and rock the inner tube inside the skimmer back and forth til it comes off. Its just taking up reaction chamber room. Its a 5.5" reaction chamber but with the inner tube its more like 4.5". Please don't mess with the collection cup! lol, sorry if you've missread what i was trying to say.

[spawn79]

That explains it!
Wouldn't taking that tube out also increase the bubbles to the output though?

[luke33]

I'm not seeing much of a difference as far as microbubbles go, but the tradeoff is worth it if there are a few more. The number one thing i'm seeing with this skimmer is water level's need to be consistent for it to be a set it and foget it skimmer. But that would be a simple thing to do.

[cobra397]

luke did you do a recirc mod on the p160 or just the inlet mod ? anyway to list the mods done to this thing for future reference. ? 1.
2.
3. ? THX in advance. great thread.

[dhnguyen]

BTW... The reason most folks get microbubbles back into their display is not neccessarily because of the skimmer per se.

Rather their return and throughput through the sump is too high and not giving the bubbles sufficient time to dissipate on their own. You don't really need much more than 3X tankover through the sump IME.


D.

[luke33]

Originally posted by cobra397
luke did you do a recirc mod on the p160 or just the inlet mod ? anyway to list the mods done to this thing for future reference. ? 1.
2.
3. ? THX in advance. great thread.

Here's all i've done.
1) Throw out the venturi and make one out of 1/2" pvc male threaded fitting, drill 1/4" hose adapter into right where the threads end and cut a vertical slit into hose adapter before hand and face towards teh pump inlet.

2) Meshmod the pump's impeller, i could only get 1 layer of Enkamat 4 on there.

3)Take plyers adn rock the inner tube back and forth inside the skimmer till it pop's off, then toss aside.

Thats pretty much all you can do imo. Its extruded acrylic and very thin so a recirc would be very risky imo. You'll most likely crack it. But feel welcome to try.

[luke33]

And for what its worth here's the facts about microbubbles for anyone who is worried about them.

Many aquarists go to some considerable lengths to baffle sumps and pump flows to prevent small bubbles from being returned into the display tank. It has been suggested that such bubbles represent an irritation to fish, corals and other invertebrates and that they should be avoided. To be honest, I am unsure from where the origin of this perception came. However, it is untrue. Even the name is inaccurate… the prefix "micro" would refer to bubbles too small to see.

Small bubbles are very common in tumultuous reef environments, and areas where waves break are often dense with both reef life and small bubbles. In addition, in tanks and on reefs, many bubbles of various sizes, including true "microbubbles" are produced by photosynthesis, and this is especially the case in highly illuminated environments. In my own aquaria, a constant rise of bubbles, especially in the afternoon, are produced by various corals and algae in even some of my less-illuminated systems. Larger bubbles frequently get sucked into pump intakes, and are chopped up to even smaller sizes and distributed throughout the tank. I won't even begin to discuss the massive numbers of bubbles produced by various surge devices. These water motion devices have great benefits in aquaria, and even as anecdotal aquarium observations, I have never seen anything disturbed, irritated, or harmed by the rush of bubbles.

[jayvee10]

I agree with you luke on the bubbles. It just a matter of preference to the visual look of bubbles on your main tank and most preferred it to be clean looking crystal clear water

[dhnguyen]

although clean looking water will allow more light through to your corals other than that there is really no harm to the bubbles in the display tank as Luke suggested.


Incidentally here are some skimmer mod pics of what I did to my Turboflotor 1000 ($20 used).

1. Mesh modded the OceanRunner pump w/Enkamat PF4
2. Bored out the venturi to get more air.
3. Lengthened the neck using section from a used JEBO 180 skimmer body (which happens to be the EXACT same size as the neck of the Turboflotor 1000.

4. Glued those useless plastic adjustmnet knobs in place and added some 3/4" PCV elbows and a 3/4" ball valve to control the output.

Works like a champ. This is skimmate after 12 hours or so.






And yes my return pump shown here is really a MJ900

[spawn79]

Wow, didn't mean to stir controversy over the micro bubble thing. lol
Knew they weren't harmful. I just don't like them in the tank is all.

dhnguyen: I had no sump on my tank so this was being used as a HOB skimmer. The only bubbles present (very few) were coming from the skimmer and any turbulence in the water. But since my tank leaked over the weekend I will be putting in a sump in when I redo all of the plumbing this weekend.

[luke33]

D, looks pretty sad! LOL, Kiddin, looks like the nicest turbo 1000, i've ever seen. Good job, i knew those seaclown's were worth something. I unfortunately got to po'd at mine and cracked it over my knee a long time ago. Anyhow, i modded the ps160 a bit more. I threw on a genx2400nw with 3 layers of mesh and a custom venturi. I also threw a ball valve on the end of the venturi to regulate the air and water through. It works like a champ. I'll post some pics tomorrow of the skimmate and skimmer. Its the exact same thing as the octopus 150.....i mean exact, but much cheaper. I measured the air on the odyssea pump, it was pulling 7 scfh, not to good, but not terrible for a small pump. My genx2400NW is pulling 12scfh, not great, but much better. I still wonder if my air meter is right or not, i'll try and get a bud's air meter and double check. It was bought used and is very old! lol, anyhw just thought i'd share.

Now to the via aqua recirc mod. It is just now starting to get adjusted, its a tough adjustment! But i'll tell ya this, the foam when its adjusted correctly is sick as crap! Brown foam, so yea, its skimming very dry. I can't seem to get it inbetween wet and dry, but i won't stop til its there. I'll post some skimmate pics soon enough.

Luke
(Great job D)

[luke33]

Oh yea, and fwiw, just wanted to share about the micro's for any newbies out there. Many make huge ordeal's about micro's killing corals and i just wanted to clear it up. No controversy here : )

[dhnguyen]

yeah nice thing about the Turboflotor is that it's already a recirculating skimmer so to speak so no drilling required

I'm gonna tweak it around abit to see if I can get a drier skim. It is skimming rather wet right now whihc is how I like it but I'd like to see waht this thing can do nonetheless.

BTW... The reason why this thing was $20 used was the OceanRunner pump had a broken impeller shaft (damn ceramic) whcih I promptly replaced with a carbon fiber shaft from a hobby shop. Problem solved




D.

[luke33]

That must have set ya back atleast a buck or two! lol

[dhnguyen]

hey what can I say I go cheap whenever I can