asm mesh mod

prow

prow

Well-Known Member
are you guys/girls all going to do this?? even though the deltec research is old i think it is still valid. pushing less water and more air may make it seem like there is more skimmate, via visual observations, but the concentration of the skimmate might be very different. i see how not pushing as much water could cause the pump to run hot aswell. i can also see how the mesh could end up feeding the skimmer organics, giving a false postive on increased skimmate.

with that being said, i also think it can work on any mature system. with a good bacterial population and algaes the tank will adjust to any change in skimmer function, even removing the skimmer all together, a mature tank would adapt and you will not see any noticable difference for some time. perhaps a one time small blooming of some bac/aglae, unless its overstocked that is.

so all and all, if its not broke why fix it?? the money and time spent making and adjusting this skimmer mod could be spent on improving waterflow, lighting or changing up all tubing and plumbing. just doing a regular changing up of the plumbing would better serve the tank, JMO:)
 
kinghokus420

kinghokus420

Active Member
no videos on a recirc mods, but if you come up with one, that would be great.
i've been planning on doing it when i get another pump.
 
prow

prow

Well-Known Member
ok after everyone gets there mods done we are going to need a follow up review in a few months. so has anyone done the mod yet or is everyone still waiting for a sample of allen's sample:D
 
zimboy

zimboy

Member
That "other" forum must have 1,094,327 threads on mesh modding. Most of the results are very promising, and pretty much all of the skimmer guru's use kill-a-watts and dwyer airflow meters to get quantifiable results. Mesh mods definately pull more air/watt than needle wheels, although its pretty hard to actually determine skimmer performance. If you go off of user experience alone, mesh mod definately seems to be the clear winner over N/W impellars. I guess only time will tell as the mesh mod is still fairly new.
 
kinghokus420

kinghokus420

Active Member
i've been running my mod for a couple of months. i have torn it apart a couple of times to show it off, and there hasnt been any serious funk build-up in the mesh. i can see how rinsing it out once a month or so would be a good idea. it only takes 3 minutes to pull it apart and put it back together.
 
prow

prow

Well-Known Member
you know the one thing about this is increasing the air ratio to water. i know by observation my skimmer, with the standard NW, looks like it works better if i increase the air intake, either by using the gate valve mod and pointing it at the pumps intake or placing the pump so the intake sucks up the overflow bubbles. i wonder if you just made the air line bigger(drilling a bigger hole and using a bigger tube) on the skimmer with a standard NW would produce the same type skimmate the mesh wheel seems to be producing with the normal size air intake.

the recir mods kinda dose the same. with the recir water that already has bubbles goes through the pump and thus increases the mixing air but at the same time the mod compensates by bypassing the normal water intake and directly adds it. from my understanding the correct water to air ratio is critical in the skimmers performance. unlike the recir mod this mod dose not take that into account. how major of a factor this is i am not sure but something to think about.
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
kinghokus420 said:
no videos on a recirc mods, but if you come up with one, that would be great.
i've been planning on doing it when i get another pump.
Click to expand...

You want me to make a bleeps-n-blunder video? I think not. LOL! :D But I will be MORE than happy to video Bryant when he mods mine ;)
 
Woodstock

Woodstock

The Wand Geek was here. ;)
RS STAFF
prow said:
you know the one thing about this is increasing the air ratio to water. i know by observation my skimmer, with the standard NW, looks like it works better if i increase the air intake, either by using the gate valve mod and pointing it at the pumps intake or placing the pump so the intake sucks up the overflow bubbles. i wonder if you just made the air line bigger(drilling a bigger hole and using a bigger tube) on the skimmer with a standard NW would produce the same type skimmate the mesh wheel seems to be producing with the normal size air intake.

the recir mods kinda dose the same. with the recir water that already has bubbles goes through the pump and thus increases the mixing air but at the same time the mod compensates by bypassing the normal water intake and directly adds it. from my understanding the correct water to air ratio is critical in the skimmers performance. unlike the recir mod this mod dose not take that into account. how major of a factor this is i am not sure but something to think about.
Click to expand...

I've wondered this same thing.
Has anyone just drilled out the venturi port on the skimmer to make it a bit wider? It does seem that that alone would help a lot...
 
kinghokus420

kinghokus420

Active Member
with the mesh wheel the air intake needs to be enlarged as well. i have heard of some even epoxying a 1/4" barb into it. mine is as big as i can get it without adding the fitting. i also have it adapted to a piece of 3/8 id vinyl hose for the time being. i really need to get a dwyer meter to see if this if doing any good.it seems to be, but like i said all i have is my eyeballs to go off of.
 
kinghokus420

kinghokus420

Active Member
yes, it is a bit louder. i find it tolerable, but it has 2 little kids, spongebob, and a 16 yr old with a stereo to compete with. trimming the mesh really close and doing an overall "clean" job will really reduce the noise.
 
prow

prow

Well-Known Member
:ponder2: mmmm. i think increasing the air intake without increasing the water intake will produce more foam, but isnt that the same thing as skimming extra wet? seems to me your stuck with extra wet skimming and not able to dry skim. also the reduced water flow = not cleaning the same volume of water. just making the air hole bigger with NW will allow for increased wet skimming without effecting the volume of water as much, wetter skimming but not too wet. unless you like/need super wet skimming.
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
Look what I got in the mail today

IMG_4248.jpg
 
BigAl07

BigAl07

Administrator
RS STAFF
What can I say :D

It helps they are only in the next county and I sound all "Official" in my emails :)
 
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