I’ve had my Euro Reef CS 6-2 skimmer since 2005 (see pic below). It skims well as long as parameters/circumstances don't change in the tank. But being a one AC pump skimmer with only a riser pipe, it was limited in adjustments.
My skimming is very aggressive. I pull out 1 gallon of dirty lemonade colored skimmate daily. I do this as my water change method. I replace the skimmate with 1 gallon of new saltwater daily. But being this aggressive, if there is any little change in the ecosystem, the skimmer would go crazy and overflow. Obviously, I could back-off on the aggressiveness of my skimming, and it does work well, but the skimmate comes out more like a thick paste. Not much in-between dirty lemonade and a thick paste.
Over the last 2 years, I've tried various new under-$400 single-pump skimmers (both ac and dc) and was disappointed in their performance compared to my old Euro Reef. And comparing construction, they seemed like little toys compared to the Euro Reef. The ER is built like a tank. I always ended-up returning the new skimmer.
So I decide to try and increase the adjustability of the ER skimmer. I added an air valve to the airline. This helped a little but there is still an issue where if you reduced/restricted the amount of air volume going into the pump, the pump sent more water into skimmer. This causes air bubbles to be pushed out the exit pipe. The more the air is restricted, the more water is pumped into the skimmer and more air bubble exit the skimmer. Bottom line, air adjustment in this configuration is limited.
So I decided to bite-the-bullet and buy a new DC recirculating skimmer. They are expensive. As I researched and studied the new skimmers, I started thinking, “The designs of the recirculating skimmers aren't complicated. Why couldn’t I modify my skimmer to be a recirculating skimmer like the one’s I see for sale?” So I decided to try it. So I went out and bought some fittings and two uniseals.
Next post. Modification of the Euro-reef skimmer.
My skimming is very aggressive. I pull out 1 gallon of dirty lemonade colored skimmate daily. I do this as my water change method. I replace the skimmate with 1 gallon of new saltwater daily. But being this aggressive, if there is any little change in the ecosystem, the skimmer would go crazy and overflow. Obviously, I could back-off on the aggressiveness of my skimming, and it does work well, but the skimmate comes out more like a thick paste. Not much in-between dirty lemonade and a thick paste.
Over the last 2 years, I've tried various new under-$400 single-pump skimmers (both ac and dc) and was disappointed in their performance compared to my old Euro Reef. And comparing construction, they seemed like little toys compared to the Euro Reef. The ER is built like a tank. I always ended-up returning the new skimmer.
So I decide to try and increase the adjustability of the ER skimmer. I added an air valve to the airline. This helped a little but there is still an issue where if you reduced/restricted the amount of air volume going into the pump, the pump sent more water into skimmer. This causes air bubbles to be pushed out the exit pipe. The more the air is restricted, the more water is pumped into the skimmer and more air bubble exit the skimmer. Bottom line, air adjustment in this configuration is limited.
So I decided to bite-the-bullet and buy a new DC recirculating skimmer. They are expensive. As I researched and studied the new skimmers, I started thinking, “The designs of the recirculating skimmers aren't complicated. Why couldn’t I modify my skimmer to be a recirculating skimmer like the one’s I see for sale?” So I decided to try it. So I went out and bought some fittings and two uniseals.
Next post. Modification of the Euro-reef skimmer.