Wet-Skimmate Water Changes, Skimmer Mod

[GreenTankCorals]

For those interested in doing wet-skimmate water change, the tricky part is to modify the collection cup to drain large volumes of water. This involves drilling a hole in the cup. Skimmers are expensive pieces of equipment and for someone like me, drilling a hole on the curved surface can be tricky.

I have designed this mod that has been working out perfectly without drilling any holes in the collection cup. For those, who own this model of ATI skimmer, you are in luck. For other brands, little tweaking might be required.

[GreenTankCorals]

This is the part you will need that will replace the collection cup. I found it at Home Depot in the gutter pipe drain section. I don’t have access to the exact specs now and will update in a later post. I think this was less than $10. Seems like the main body diameter is 3 inches and the side port is 1.5 inches. I will double check and re-post.

[GreenTankCorals]

This was almost a perfect fit on the skimmer body, however it needed slight sanding for easy placement and removal.

[GreenTankCorals]

The good old Dremel worked. Since only a slight amount of sanding is required, you could hand-sand if you don’t own a Dremel.

[GreenTankCorals]

Perfect fit, attach a drain pipe, total cost less than $15. Replace the skimmer collection cup with this mod when it’s time for wet-skimmate water change, tweak the skimmer flow to your desired skimmate output and you are done. I have been using it for almost two years now and it’s been working out perfectly. I will be happy to answer any questions you might have.

[GreenTankCorals]

Pic for the previous post

[GreenTankCorals]

The final product