ASM Skimmer Club!

[JohnL]

This thread was automatically split due to performance issues. You can find the rest of the thread here: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...18#post8717618

[jrmx635]

I just got a g3 two weeks ago.
I set it up on my 75 reef in place of my etss 500.
And to be honest I can't understand why everybody loves these things.
first It took a week to pull anything,that seems like a long time for break in.and It doesn't pull much at all compared to my etss.I have owned all etss models under the 800 and decided after reading so much about needlwheel skimmers to give it a shot.
I wasted $320 on this thing.
I just got uniseals for recirculating mod and didn't like the gate valve mod.it took up to much room.
Anyway I can't believe for the price how cheap these are made.I also can't believe that I have to do (mods) to make it work better.
I will give it a month then I am going back to plug and play downdraft.
I feel they are way more powerful and built better.

[ridetheducati]

The G3 needs to be modded in order to perform at its best.

1. Mesh impeller (performance increase of 50%)
2. Gate valve
3. Recirc
4. Plumb to overflow

You will not be happy unless #1 is accomplished. The impeller mod is a MUST. Anyone that purchases the ASM without making the necessary modifications can not complain about performance issues.

The masses have been warned.

[N-A-S-O]

1. Mesh impeller (performance increase of 50%)
ok where do I find info on this mod?????

[ridetheducati]

Tools and materials required:

1 x 3M blue scrub pad (for some reason the green pad did not hold up well) from Home Depot. The scrub pad is roughly 5/16 inch thick.
Utility knife with new blade
Small zip ties from Home Depot or Lowes
Scissors
Pencil

1. Remove the impeller from pump.
2. While using the utility knife, cut each pin at the base of the impeller. Try to cut it flush with the disk.
Remove all pins.
3. Cut a square piece from the blue scrub pad. The square needs to be larger than the disk.
4. Stick the pencil directly in the center of the pad, use the pencil to create a hole that will allow the bearing to peek through the pad. Test fit the pad on the disk. The bearing should easily fit through the hole on pad.
5. With the pad on the disk, insert a zip tie from the back of the disk, thru the pad and back down thru the pad and finally thru the disk. There are 4 holes on the disk. You wil be using two zip ties to secure the pad to the disk. Make sure the male and female ends of the zip tie are behind the disk. When looking at the pad on the disk you should only see two zipties secured to the disk. The zip tie connection is behind the disk. This is important because if you make the connections in front of the disk on top of the pad, it will produce drag and less performance.
6. Make sure zip ties are tight.
7. Remove excessive zip tie material.
8. Trim pad to the same diameter as the disk.
9. Put impeller back into pump.

Total time to conduct mod... 10 minutes


Enjoy the new performance, you will be very happy with your efforts.

[RickD1]

Originally posted by ridetheducati
Tools and materials required:

1 x 3M blue scrub pad (for some reason the green pad did not hold up well) from Home Depot. The scrub pad is roughly 5/16 inch thick.
Utility knife with new blade
Small zip ties from Home Depot or Lowes
Scissors
Pencil

1. Remove the impeller from pump.
2. While using the utility knife, cut each pin at the base of the impeller. Try to cut it flush with the disk.
Remove all pins.
3. Cut a square piece from the blue scrub pad. The square needs to be larger than the disk.
4. Stick the pencil directly in the center of the pad, use the pencil to create a hole that will allow the bearing to peek through the pad. Test fit the pad on the disk. The bearing should easily fit through the hole on pad.
5. With the pad on the disk, insert a zip tie from the back of the disk, thru the pad and back down thru the pad and finally thru the disk. There are 4 holes on the disk. You wil be using two zip ties to secure the pad to the disk. Make sure the male and female ends of the zip tie are behind the disk. When looking at the pad on the disk you should only see two zipties secured to the disk. The zip tie connection is behind the disk. This is important because if you make the connections in front of the disk on top of the pad, it will produce drag and less performance.
6. Make sure zip ties are tight.
7. Remove excessive zip tie material.
8. Trim pad to the same diameter as the disk.
9. Put impeller back into pump.

Total time to conduct mod... 10 minutes


Enjoy the new performance, you will be very happy with your efforts.

How about some pictures.

[mfinn]

I don't remember where I found these pictures, but I saved them so I could do the mod myself.

[pad]

Wouldn't leaving a couple of pins make it a little more sturdy? will that move enough water for a non recirc model?
thanks

[chaffey]

My G-5 Modification.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...hreadid=978139

[chaffey]

2 x 9000 for recirculation
1 x 9000 for feed pump

Feeding on the bottom, NOT the top; My LFS told me that never feed on top, according to him you don't want to disturb the bubbles, let the bubbles form and push to the top by itself. Feeding to the top with mess up the bubbles.

So my feeding pump is on the bottom, aming up toward the recirculation pumps, away from the drain.

[ridetheducati]

Thanks for posting the pix. I know how important pix are, but I did not take any during my mod.

Trust me, do as the instructions and pix imply, you will not be disappointed.

[mfinn]

ridetheducati,
have you seen or heard anything about the new (supposedly improved) impeller for the sedra needlewheel pumps from euro-reef?

[TracyZeuner]

I do think it sucks that you have to do all these mods to make your skimmer perform better. They are not cheap and this hobby is very expensive!
ridetheducati:
What does the impeller mod do?

[ridetheducati]

I have heard about the new impeller. Rumor is the new impeller will provide a performance boost of 17%, which is roughly a gain of 1.3 liters per hour. The new impeller is in the neighborhood of $49.

Now, compare that to the impeller mod explained above. A 50% performance increase for $2.

The stock impeller for the Sedra 9 pulls 5-8 lph.

The modded impeller will pull 11-12 lph.

The mod allows the venturi to pull more air into the skimmer body, thus improving performance.

[pad]

I for one like to tinker. I think the ASM like is like a discount purchase that you have to put in a little time to complete. If I did not want to meet them partway I would have bought a H & S I think.

Yeah I won't be buying the $50 Euro Reef impeller but I will try this one eventually.

This mod will chop up bubbles finer than the original. I think coupled with a drillout of the venturi will produce many more bubbles.

[ridetheducati]

I highly recommend that you get an air flow meter to measure the performance increase. I am using the Dywer RMA-22 model.

[das75]

First off, my tank is a lightly stocked 145g reef, not a crammed predator setup. Though I did get caught in the hype and eventually did the gate and recir mods, in all fairness my G3 worked no problem right out of the box.

Since I run my G3 in a baffled area the water level is constant. For me, the advantage of the gate valve is when first tuning it's a lot easier to turn a valve than move a slick pipe. But pipe or gate valve, found once set, go months between adjusting (and then only after I pulled the skimmer out for major cleaning)

As for the recir (MJ1200 feed), though seems have finer bubbles, it's not like I'm getting tar from the unit. More dark, dark cloudy tea or coffee with scum and I'm happy with that.

[rockdiver]

I agree with TracyZeuner should'nt have to do so many mods to get preformance. My PM is great My ASM G3 is good to but with all the mods should have stuck with my PM.
I will read more next time.
Overall my ASM is OK.

[mfinn]

Originally posted by mfinn
I don't remember where I found these pictures, but I saved them so I could do the mod myself.

The material used in these pictures appears to be DLS material.

I wonder, which works better the scrub pad material or the stuff in the pictures.

Gutter Guard seems to be almost the same as the DLS.

[mfinn]

Originally posted by ridetheducati
I highly recommend that you get an air flow meter to measure the performance increase. I am using the Dywer RMA-22 model.

Was there any other things that have to be ordered with this?
Does this go on the end of the air line to the venturi?

[ridetheducati]

There is a fitting that goes on one end of the meter. I believe it is a MPT 1/4" fitting.

venturi --> airline --> MPT fitting --> air meter

The cost of the fitting is less than $1. Dywer sells the fitting also

[lowbudget]

what is the correct water level for a g1-x? or is there a correct level?

[Josh125]

I did my initial 3M pad mod. It seems to be pulling more air, however I have no way to measure this. For those that did it, how thick were you able to keep the pad? I had to trim my thickiness down so much that it is a really fine layer of the disk.

Just curious. So far no noise and the water level seems stable enough. I'll pull the pump out again this weekend to check on the pad to see how it's holding up.

[mfinn]

Did you take any pictures?

[RichConley]

Originally posted by pad
I for one like to tinker. I think the ASM like is like a discount purchase that you have to put in a little time to complete. If I did not want to meet them partway I would have bought a H & S I think.

Yeah I won't be buying the $50 Euro Reef impeller but I will try this one eventually.

This mod will chop up bubbles finer than the original. I think coupled with a drillout of the venturi will produce many more bubbles.

The problem is, the ASM isnt any cheaper than the better products anymore.


The mesh mod makes a huge difference.