I modified my skimmer

melev

melev

Club President
Staff member
Board of Directors
Sponsor
[A few days ago, I modified my skimmer, trying to increase the volume of bubbles within the main body. I do believe it made a difference, but at the same time it will take time to prove it to me.

RC thread]
 
[Nice work Marc. I took a more expensive route to enhance my LifeReef skimmer. Since the LR skimmer isn't a true countercurrent design, my goal was to increase bubble production. I had a long-standing nitrate prob that just wouldn't go away with everything I tried.

Despite Jeff's (LR) insistance that the my oem LR skimmer was suffice, I replaced the std venturi with a Mazzei one. I found one, installed it, and wow! Got tons more bubbles. Even had to open up the skimmer's return valve wide open as my Iwaki MD40rxlt is now almost too strong. That fix costed me $45.

Also, discovered another tweak after I installed the new venturi. The air hose from the venturi to the collection cup may be too restrictive. I installed a tee fitting into the line and confirm that the added opening and air volume further increased bubble production. So now I have 2 airlines going to the venturi, one leg directly to the collection cup and the other leg is valved and adjusted such that there is stilll sufficient suction in the other leg to pull water vapor from the collection cup to the venturi. This adjustment is to satisfy LR's design for the 'self-cleaning' venturi.]
 
[Howard, that is awesome! I asked about that specific upgrade, and he told me that it was a 50/50 chance I'd see any improvement or get any satisfaction. Did you buy to Mazzei from him? If so, I'll just order one from him myself.

Do you have a picture of the venturi mod? I'll probably make the same alteration.

I thought I was going to have to make the skimmer body taller, but what I need is more air/foam inside rather than water.

Now I'm even more glad I posted this mod, since you've responded with some good results!
thumbsup.gif
alt="">]
 
[I have a Mazzei injector on mine, but I've never seen it produce skimmate as heavily as the pictures of yours. I'm using 3/4 " vinyl tubing from a Mag 9.5...wonder if I have something wrong, or if I could improve somehow. ???]
 
[I guarantee you that Mag pump is being restricted with 3/4" tubing. That is why I finally got around to increasing the plumbing to 1.5" where it belongs.]
 
[Jeff's pricing on the Mazzei is a bit high. Custom Aquatics has them listed on their website for $10 less. I found mine on ebay, but I think I was very lucky to find it there. Beware, the mazzei is long, at about 8".

My skimmer is a 28" VS2 model and using the 1" mazzei which I think is rated at 1020gph. So for optimum performance, I think my 1200gph rated Iwaki pump is a good match for it. I suspect that for optimum performance of any venturi, water flow should be set at or near the venturi's rating. A Mag9.5 is rated at 950gph, which may be a little undersized for the 1" mazzei.

Skimmate production also depends upon bioload (organics) in the tank. In my case, my big tangs produce a lot of waste, a huge concern for nitrates and organics, and a lot of skimmate. If you're not getting too much skimmate, it may just indicate that your tank is clean. I also monitor nitrates, water clarity and macro algae growth as indicators of organics and waste.

I'll try to take some pics of the airline mods I did for the air input to the venturi.

btw, my first thoughts were to try to modify the LR skimmer to countercurrent. Jeff hadn't heard of any such attempt and didn't like nor recommend it at all. Second thought was to replace the pump with a stronger one. I concluded that was stupid, brute force and very high $. Then it dawned on me to find a better venturi. If I later want to find further tweaks, I'll address the plumbing restrictions just as you did. That should have been my 1st approach. :beer:]
 
[Be sure to post a picture of the mazzei too. I'd like to know what I'm considering. Thanks for the suggestions.

I've been playing with the idea of adding a second skimmer, or building a better one from scratch.]
 
[Here's a shot of mine, complete with the injector. The cup was cleaned Monday night.

skimmer_top.sized.jpg
alt="">

I get plenty of skimmate, just doesn't look as heavy as Marc's production. Granted, my tank is a heck of alot smaller! :D I have too many fish, so my bioload is fairly high, but I only feed once every other day. I also use a refugium, Purigen and PhosGuard which tend to cut the amount produced also.]



Edited By GraviT on 1109169843
 
[So, do you know what makes the Mazzei tick? It doesn't look like there's much too it, but maybe inside it has some cool bionic parts? ;)]
 
[No idea whats inside, I suspect it's just a normal venturi injector. The company does make some cool external bionic parts though:

1inchInject.jpg
alt="">

Totally useless for us, but looks spiffy. :D]
 
[http://www.mazzei.net/agriculture/index.htm

The Mazzeis are highly optimized venturis. The orifices and chambers are probably engineered for max efficiency, thus the long length of their tubes. You'll see the dimensional differences when you set one aside a std LR or PM venturi. Mazzei does have a new design available with vanes on the inside. I guess they are to further improve liquid velocity and pressure differentials between the input and output chambers increasing suction on the feed line.

http://www.mazzei.net/agriculture/whats_new.htm]
 
@Marc wrote:
[I guarantee you that Mag pump is being restricted with 3/4" tubing. That is why I finally got around to increasing the plumbing to 1.5" where it belongs.] said:
[Agree! Mag 12 with 1.5" tubing outlet is as good as Mak4 or Iwaki pressure pump, tested it.
Triggersys skimmer, 1-1/4" tubing, HF/ECO 1568 pump
post-5-95498-skimmer4.jpg
alt="">

Bullet-2, 1-1/4" tubing, Mag 12]
Click to expand...
 
[Ken, nice skimmer. those beckett foamers really do work!

i've attached a jpg file showing the mazzei and airlines tee'd to the air input fitting. One tee goes back to the skimmer's collection cup. The other tee actually goes to the output of my ozonator. Air is sucked through the ozonator whether the generator is on or off. If I want ozone, I simply turn it on. Otherwise, the airline connection stays as-is. The valve on the line back to the collection cup is used to help balance/regulate the amount of suction between the 2 tee'd lines.

yes, i need to clean the cup again....]
 
[I definitely need more air in my skimmer body. Yours is far superior to what mine in producing.]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top