mag 18 isnt big enough for the monster skimmer?NEED HELP!!!

[Tarolisol]

Well i have the skimmer hooked up and have determined the mag 18 just wont cut it, Instead of the beckett sucking in air its sucking in air and spitting lots of water, i figure this is because the pump isnt spushing hard enough. Can anyone conquer? Also it can even push the bubbles into the larger tube. Can someone recomend a new pump, I would really really like it to be submersible, unless there is a way to put an external pump on without drilling my sump.

[Aquattro]

how big is this skimmer?? A MAG 18 should run most larger becketts.

[Tarolisol]

haha funny question, its just under 6 feet tall. to top of collection cup. its about 59" to top of tube.

[StirCrazy]

haha funny question, its just under 6 feet tall. to top of collection cup. its about 59" to top of tube.

where is the beckett in relation to the rest of the skimmer?

Nevermind I remember, go back and re read my coments in this post about your skimmer and it will tell you why it isn't working right.
http://www.canreef.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=12536&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

STeve

[Tarolisol]

Ok so i read your post and i belive my problem is getting the bubbles to go around into the reaction chamber. So what would be the best solution?

[Canadian Man]

Get a Bigger pump :lol:

Is your beckett tube shooting into the mixing box or do you have some pipe inside the skimmer directing the flow into the reaction chamber?

[Tarolisol]

I have tubing that directs the water up into the tube. So fill a bigger pump solve my problem or should i shorten the tubes by about a foot and a half?

[StirCrazy]

I have tubing that directs the water up into the tube. So fill a bigger pump solve my problem or should i shorten the tubes by about a foot and a half?

what is your water hight in the skimmer? If you have it set so the water is only say 4 foot up the tube then you could lower the Beckett to just above that hight. also if there is a way for you to sleeve down the 2.5" Beckett tube to a 1" tube it would work a bit better I think. with those changed it might work with a mag 18.

Looking at that again is your 6" tube part 6 foot tall? you could probably cut that down to 3 foot and use the left over to make a kalk reactor or Ca reactor, or skimmit collection cup, but I would change the Beckett tube to a 1 inside diameter tube also.

Steve

[SuperFudge]

Hello,

A mag 18 is just fine on a single beckett.

They require only about 1200 gph with a pressure rated pump to operate normally.

If the water hieght in your reaction chamber is higher than the beckett assembly, that is why it is spitting..for instance, if you were to shut the skimmer pump off and the skimmer output off....and filled the reaction chamber with water to its normal operating height....where does the water even out on the beckett side ?

It is a design flaw im sure, but should be easily fixed.

Marc.

[Aquattro]

A mag 18 is just fine on a single beckett.



Marc, gotta disagree with ya. I'm running a MAK 4 on mine as an upgrade from a MAG 18, and it's STILL not enough. I put an Iwaki 70 on it and it worked much better. When it ran the MAG, it only filled half the chamber with bubbles. When you get into large skimmers (as you well know), bigger pumps are better. Your's was what? a 1/2hp spa pump? :razz:

While a MAG 18 will work, it won't work nearly as well as a pressure rated pump, IME, IMO, IMM, etc

[Doug]

I agree with Marc on why its spitting water. I had to increase the injector housing height on both my 32in. and 36in. becketts. Put them up near the collection cup or above operating water level.

I disagree on the Mag 18 for such a large skimmer. Like Brad, my 32in. never ran up to its potential on a Mak4. I like the Iwaki 70 idea. Plus the main tube would then run a higher foam head and lower water level, depending on the consistancy of foam desired.

[Tarolisol]

The beggining of my injection chamber is level with the top of the reaction chamber. The only thing i see wrong is i cant get the bubbles to go from the injection tube(2.5") to the reaction chamber(6"). So if i shorten the reaction tube down to 3 feet you think and then shorted the injection toube to maybe 4 feet this should work better? Also it would seem my injection housing is filling with water quite quikly is this normal?

[Doug]

Oh, I went back and looked again. Is the beckett where the coke can is pictured? If so, that should be plenty high.

[SuperFudge]

Brad, you could be right...i was under the impression a mag 18 was a pressure rated pump...?
lol, yes it was a 1/2 horse spa pump, but i also used it on a 50" Quad injected skimmer.

I hadnt seen the pic of his skimmer, but if i just take a beckett on its own, it doesnt need anymore than a mag 18.....but the skimmer design would play a large role in the correct pressure to run it. ( such as is in Tarolisol`s case)

I have never used one for that application, but I know jamie uses a mag 18 on a beckett skimmer that i had built ,and he is using...it stands at 43" high and is dual becketts....while i would say it is a bit under powered, it is working just fine at litterally half the flow...but by the same token it is being run like a normal beckett skimmer, And Tarolisol cant with that design.

Sorry Tarolisol, i hadnt looked at the pic, i just did...

With a normal beckett skimmer the water height would be at the base of the reaction tube.

The problem in yours i believe, is that the reaction column is too high for for that pump, when the column is partially filled with water ( wich it would need to be in your case being that tall of a chamber to get foam to the cup) it is creating WAY more back pressure on that pump, than if the water were at the base of the column.


You can check if this is the problem, just let the water flow out of the skimmer reaction tube until its at the base of the column...then look at the beckett...it should be operating normally, less spitting (a little is normal)...and better flow and bubbles down the injection tower.

So yes, you do need a bigger pump, Or you need to cut that one down...if it is contact time you are worried about, then atleast leave the injector tower as is, and cut the other.

And yes, its normal for the beckett housing to fill with water, as a beckett itself is not watertight.
But the reason for it filling real fast, is because of the "spitting" and the back pressure...this will be corrected with the changes made.

Marc.

[Chin_Lee]

tarolisol
fyi i have a 48" tall skimmer with the same size tubing for the chamber. the difference between mine and yours is I didn't use the bigger acrylic tubing for the injector - i used 1" schedule 40 tubing.
I had use the following pump configurations with the results from:
Not good/ good/ better/ best:

mag 18 and mak 4 to dual injectors - best
mag 18 to single injector - not good
mak 4 to single injector - good
iwaki70 to dual injectors - better
iwaki70 to single injector - best

[Buccaneer]

The spa pump mentioned here ... what model is it ... who retails it ? ... any and all relevant info appreciated

I have a mak 4 running my Beckett right now ( upgrade in performance from my old Mag 18 for sure ) ... however I do have it setup so that I can run dual Becketts if necessary and pump model/price was always a concern.

[Tarolisol]

OK so ive removed my skimmer and am going to cut down the tubing. Given the the injector tubing is 2.5" and the other tubing is 6" what does everyone suggest i cut the hight of each down to. Maybe 4 feet high with the 6" and 4.5 feet with the 2.5". Now is that hight from floor level or the hight of the tubing siting on the little little box below it. Also does the skimmer need to be above the water level in the sump to work or can it sit on the floor floor level.

[Skimmerking]

I would cut it so you would have a 32 " beckett that is the total height and and maybe add a second beckett injector to it . and run a mak 5 on it. oh ya


mike

[Tarolisol]

Well if i was going to run a mak 5 i dont think i would have to shorten it.

[Delphinus]

The spa pump mentioned here ... what model is it ... who retails it ? ... any and all relevant info appreciated


Steve ... down boy. :razz: :lol:

You can use a hottub pump on aquariums. Generally they retail second-hand for $100 or so.

The problem is ... well take a look at the power usage of any pump you find. You'll end up paying for that pump again and again every 2 months or so ...

[Chin_Lee]

Well if i was going to run a mak 5 i dont think i would have to shorten it.
if you have a mak5 , i would try it without cutting it. then if its not sufficient, from your test with your mak5, u'll have a good idea how much to cut at the point.

[StirCrazy]

Well if i was going to run a mak 5 i dont think i would have to shorten it.

try it but you still might have to shorten everything.

you would cut it down till your 6" is say 4 foot from the ground and cut your becket tube the same length. some pictures showing the water hight in both tubes would be good and I would say run your water level a max of 3 feet from the ground if you do cut it down.

Steve

[monza]

I don't know how to fix it as a beckett but how about turning it into a venturi type? Wouldn't have to cut it down and 'I think' it would work pretty good with some easy changes.

Dave

[Tarolisol]

So my water level is 3 feet from the ground then i guess the bubbles should rise the rest of the way up right?

[StirCrazy]

So my water level is 3 feet from the ground then i guess the bubbles should rise the rest of the way up right?

they should, if not after you get it working you could slowly raise the water hight to a point where it is good. I think Brads water level is about 1 foot down in the large tube.

Steve

[Tarolisol]

Ok so its all cut and is drying, ill test it again tommorow and let everyone know, from the bottom of the box to the top of the 6" tube (not including the collection cup or tube leading to collection cup) it is 46" and the 2.5" is 48". So my fingers are crossed.


Also another question my skimmmer sits outside my sump and both sit on the floor, so the skimmer put water back into the bottom of the sump. Is this ok or should the water be put in above the water level in the sump?

[StirCrazy]

Also another question my skimmmer sits outside my sump and both sit on the floor, so the skimmer put water back into the bottom of the sump. Is this ok or should the water be put in above the water level in the sump?

If you put it in under the water it can start a siphoning effect in your skimmer causing you water level to hunt.

Steve

[SuperFudge]

Ok so its all cut and is drying, ill test it again tommorow and let everyone know, from the bottom of the box to the top of the 6" tube (not including the collection cup or tube leading to collection cup) it is 46" and the 2.5" is 48". So my fingers are crossed.?

Still a bit high for the mag 18 i would guess, but should work ok now.

As i mentioned earlier, You can always tell if it is too much, by seeing how the beckett is performing with the water level lower.....or at the base of the skimmer....if your getting smaller bubbles, no spitting out of the beckett, more stable foam, (just doesnt make it to the cup)...those are all indicators that the pump cant handle it.


Also another question my skimmmer sits outside my sump and both sit on the floor, so the skimmer put water back into the bottom of the sump. Is this ok or should the water be put in above the water level in the sump?

This is going to create the same problem that youre trying to correct.

I have placed them a few inches under the waterline with no problems.

It completely depends on where you are running your water level inside the reaction tube, if this is always higher than the water level inside the sump, you will be ok.
But, your water line inside the skimmer reaction tube will be a MINIMUM of your waterline inside the sump...if you unplug the skimmer, you will see where this water line wants to naturally sit at.

Normal beckett skimmers are designed to always have there water exit above or at the water line...so water doesnt build up higher than the base of the reaction tube.

Man, I hate to tell u to drill a higher hole and to make a stand for the skimmer, but im thinkin that youll have to unless that is where you need your water level inside your skimmer....and that the previous problem doesnt occur when waters at this height. :neutral:

Hope it is all well,

Marc.

[Tarolisol]

Ok well i need help again i cant get my skimmer to work. So ive shortened it raised the out take just above water line. Im getting tons of foam in the down pipe but very little makes it around to the reaction chamber. What should i do. Go smaller again?

[Canadian Man]

Post a picture of it working.

[Tarolisol]

here are pics of it trying to work :confused:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/seanward84/140-4080_IMG_2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/seanward84/140-4081_IMG_2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/seanward84/140-4082_IMG_2.jpg

[rusty]

:biggrin: That is one big skimmer :biggrin:

[SuperFudge]

Hello,

Im guessing the beckett tube is pressurizing because of the design of the bends in the bottom of the box.
I didnt see that in the skimmer previously, It is keeping all the bubbles on the wrong side.

I bet if you removed the two 90 elbows and let the water inject into the box, you would get all the bubbles you need.

P.S.....your scarin me with that duct tape. :lol:

Marc.

[Chin_Lee]

Sean
thats hardly enough bubbles being generated to consider it to be skimming. I think an airstone will generate more bubbles than that. What do you have for a pump on that thing? I'm thinking at a minimum you want to use an Iwaki 70 or Mak5. If you want a monster beckett skimmer, you need a monster pump to go with it. There's really no short cut with that type of combination.
And what type of valve do you have to control the air intake to the beckett?
my 2 cents
cwlee

[Tarolisol]

Ok so pressure is bad, this might be my problem. The entire down tube i belive is almost air tight. the beckett is wrapped with tape and pushed into the whole.

Oh and the duct tape was used to see if there was any air entering the tubes makeing the micro bubbles, im just to lazy to take it off :cool:

[Canadian Man]

Well like the guys figured sean. There is too much pressure on the injector. Your skimmer tube is too tall :lol:

[Tarolisol]

OK so what should i do to fix this problem?

[Willow]

bigger pump or smaller tube sounds like.

[monza]

Personally, I'd change the desgn as I mentioned before to model off a Aquamedic Turbo 5000.
http://www.aquadirect.com/store/customer/product.php?productid=475&cat=204&page=1

I have that skimmer it kicks ass and is super simple. Wai's had it on his display coral tank, I think Big Als has on on the sales floor. (it has two pumps mine only has one)

You can come see mine if you like.

Dave

[Tarolisol]

So what is the method of air induction on that turbofloater?

[mr_alberta]

The turboflaater is Ventrui with a Needle wheel pump I believe.

[Tarolisol]

Ok well lets have an idea to modify the one i have and pump i have.

[Tarolisol]

Hello,

Im guessing the beckett tube is pressurizing because of the design of the bends in the bottom of the box.
I didnt see that in the skimmer previously, It is keeping all the bubbles on the wrong side.

I bet if you removed the two 90 elbows and let the water inject into the box, you would get all the bubbles you need.

P.S.....your scarin me with that duct tape. :lol:

Marc.

Ok if I do this how will i stop the bubbles from going out the output?

[Delphinus]

What pump are you running, are you still trying this on a mag18?

I run a mag18 on my PM-1 bullet skimmer and it's a good combo. On my SPS tank (which is fed somewhat heavily) I pull out 2l of black-coffee consistency skimmate per week.

The PM-1 is a considerably smaller skimmer than what you're trying to run here.

I'm sorry but I think you need to make a decision, that skimmer has to go much much smaller, or you need a much much bigger pump. If you look at any of the larger beckett style skimmers, the usual recommendation is to go with at LEAST an Iwaki 70 or two Iwaki 70's, or an Iwaki 100. If you look at the specs for these pumps you are going to realize that this is a very expensive proposition. They use a lot of juice out of the wall.

If it was me, and this is just my opinion, but I'd step up to a Mak4 pump, and make the skimmer reaction chamber and injection tower no more than, say, 24" to 28" tall. Anything more than that and you are going to require multiple injectors and a stronger pump.

[Tarolisol]

Ok well before i cut down even further or upgrade to a mak 4 ill try releaving the pressure. Ive removed the 90 degree turns and put in some baffles i guess ill test that out then maybe go for a mak pump. How would i go about attaching a mak pump with no wholes in the sump.

[Delphinus]

If it was me I'd just pop a hole in the sump wall, but if you'd prefer not to do that, you could build an "up and over" thing with PVC. Just put in a T somewhere, with a union to a capped pipe, so that you can pour water into the pipe for priming.

[mr_alberta]

You'd have to do a U-tube over the edge of the tank into your pump.

Dang! Tony's too fast!

[monza]

Can you add a needle wheel to that Mag 18 you have??

Dave

[Chin_Lee]

Ok well before i cut down even further or upgrade to a mak 4 ill try releaving the pressure. Ive removed the 90 degree turns and put in some baffles i guess ill test that out then maybe go for a mak pump. How would i go about attaching a mak pump with no wholes in the sump.
no matter what turns you take out will not negate the water pressure in the chamber. if you want an idea to what you have setup, then cut your main chamber down to 6-8 inches high so its similar to Delphinus's bullet 1. a mag 18 is not even pressure rated so its only moving water through the beckett; it should be pushing water through the beckett to create bubbles. in comparison, you are trying to tow a tow truck with a Chevy Sprint - the tow truck will move .... very slowly and the Chevy Sprint is not going to be sprinting anywhere fast. You may even wear down your impeller on your mag 18 if there is too much back pressure on your mag.

Just like you've stated in the topic of this trend, a mag 18 is not big enough for the monster skimmer. If you want to keep the mag 18 and you want a skimmer, take out the monster.

[Tarolisol]

Ok well ill test my new system with my mag 18, if it doesnt work i will upgrade to a mak 4. Now with this said will a mak 4 be a good enough pump. The only thing chin-lee is that its making tons of good bubbles there just not making it around to the reaction tube.

[Aquattro]

Now with this said will a mak 4 be a good enough pump.

I'll save you the trouble. No. A MAK 4 isn't going to run that skimmer. My skimmer was smaller than yours and the MAK 4 was just enough. The Iwaki 7 I tried was much better, and the minimum you'd get away with.
For a new approach to this, maybe try cutting the tube down to less than 18". Then the MAg 18 will work, and you'll still hae more skimme than you need.

[Chin_Lee]

Ok well ill test my new system with my mag 18, if it doesnt work i will upgrade to a mak 4. Now with this said will a mak 4 be a good enough pump. The only thing chin-lee is that its making tons of good bubbles there just not making it around to the reaction tube.
dude
if u'r going to stay with that size of skimmer, don't waste your money with mak4. go straight to mak5/iwaki70 (or even iwaki100.) they all take up lots of $$ to buy and lots of $$ in electricity
looking at your pics, i don't consider that "tons" of bubbles. in my skimmer, the bubbles are so thick its like milk and you cannot see through to the other side. In fact it doesn't even look like water in the chamber. take a look at the chamber of my skimmer:
http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/236139_3919-med.JPG

Mine's using an iwaki70 now with the same results. my skimmer stands 48" tall total including the box so chamber is about 20 inches high and the top tube and collection cup is about 20 inches as well.
hth

[Tarolisol]

Well i dont have 400 dollers to spend on a mak 5 of equivalent, i know canadian man has a skimmer similiar in size to mine and is using a mak 4 with good results. When i say lots of bubbles i mean in the down pipe.

[SuperFudge]

If youve removed the 90`s that are in the base of the skimmer, try it first before you cut anything down.

The bubbles are going to take the easiest way....and right now that is going straight back up the injection tower...that is why it spits too.

The size of the reaction tube right now has nothing to do with the problem... if you cut that tube down, it will be a smaller tube, still with no bubbles in it.

It doesnt matter what the height of the reaction tube is...you can place the water at any height with a valve on the output of the skimmer.

dont worry about bubbles in the sump right now, baffles and buckets and bags can be used for that, atleast the majority can just rise up the reaction tube instead of getting stuck in the injection tower.

Marc.

[Delphinus]

Well i dont have 400 dollers to spend on a mak 5 of equivalent, i know canadian man has a skimmer similiar in size to mine and is using a mak 4 with good results. When i say lots of bubbles i mean in the down pipe.

Canadian Man's skimmer reaction chamber is no more than 26" tall.

How do I know this? I bought the acrylic tube that it's made of! I have the other 26" and it was a 52" off cut. :razz:

Like I said, I know it's kinda sucky to hear this, but, what I would do is go to the Mak4, AND cut the skimmer in half. I know it's not quite what you want to hear, but another thing to consider: you have to get into the skimmer once per week to clean it. How can you even reach down into it if it's 48" tall?

Look on the bright side, you could probably sell the offcuts.

[Tarolisol]

Im not sure what ive said in the past but as of this moment the actull reaction chamber is just above 30" tall on mine. Im going to test the mag 18 tommorow. But if that doesnt work im going to get a mak 4.

[Dez]

I personally don't think you really need that huge of a pump to drive a beckett. It all depends on the design... Let me explain.

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/194skimmer_small.jpg

The reaction chamber in my skimmer is about 38" of 6" diameter tube.
The total height of my skimmer is 52" tall. I am only running a T3 (Custom Sea Life) pump which is pressure rated 800gph at 0'. However, by beckett shoots straight down into the reaction chamber with no elbows. I think this makes a huge difference. I don't know if you really have to go with a bigger pump.

Des

PS that skimmate is only 8 hours worth in the cup

[Delphinus]

Dez, he either has to make a modification, or he has to upgrade his pump if he doesn't want to touch the skimmer itself. I'm sure a swimming pool pump would run that skimmer just fine as-is. If it was me, I'd be looking at both pump and design: a mag18 draws 145W and a Mak4 draws 110W, so the Mak4 is cheaper to run, AND I think will perform a little better on a larger beckett skimmer (although it is not going to solve the problem with the skimmer as it is now). So I stand by my comments, although, for sure, it's not the complete solution.

Sean, I think one possible key thing to focus on here is the length of the injector assembly. If you really want to avoid shortening the reaction chamber any further then look at least at shortening that (should your next run of it, without the 90 degree bends in the bottom, turns out to not fix it). I know that your original idea was to increase contact time but it seems to me that you're now faced with a "too long" contact time? Dez's skimmer shoots water right into the reaction chamber, but also significant, I think, is that this means his injection tube ends up being shorter.

Just a question though, how long is the feed pipe from the pump to the injector? What diameter pipe is it (it looks like 1")? Is there anything that could be restricting the pump at all. How old is it? If it's second-hand .. what shape is the impeller in? You'd be surprised at how little of a restriction on the pump (or a particle of crud in the becket itself) can adversely impact foam production.

[Tarolisol]

The pump is practicly new, used for maybe a week or so. Its on inch pipe then 3/4".

[Delphinus]

Ahhh .. well for one get rid of the 3/4", redo it in at least 1". Also try to avoid excessive 90 bends, if at all possible. Probably the best option is to go with 1" flex PVC, if not, then use 2 45's instead of a single 90 (and so on).

You wouldn't believe the difference switching from 3/4" to 1" made for me. Also I was using a short length of that ribbed 1" pond lining. I don't have any stats to back me up but I'm convinced that the ribbing puts too much friction into the equation, I would think that the flow through 1" ribbed pond tubing is equivalent to 3/4" tubing without.

I don't have the equations handy but flow through a cylinder increases exponentially with increases in diameter. E.g., comparing a 1" cylinder to a 2" cylinder, the total flow is 4x as much in the 2" as the 1", despite the diameter only being 2x as much. I guess my point is, don't discount the pipe diameter, it's significant.

[Tarolisol]

Ok but i will have to reduce since the becket only fits 3/4". Is this correct?

[JimE]

Well, just to come at this from a different angle IMO the down tube is too large - I'm pretty sure i saw somewhere it is 2.5"

I have a chart somewhere (can't place it at the moment) but the rule of thumb from my diving days is that the *smallest* visible bubbles rise at about 1 foot per second. So if you look at a flow vs velocity chart on 2.5" pipe you need about 18gpm for a 1FPS velocity (round it out to 20gpm for a nice number) Thats 20gpm just to keep the *smallest* bubbles static in a column of water. So realistically you're going to need 30-40gpm to blow everything down and through - which you're not going to get through a 3/4" injector..... So you'd need multiple injectors..... And bigger piping...

I think I saw the skimmer was 5' tall. So if you add that head to the head loss across the injectors and friction loss, I'd guess you're around 15' of head (or probably more). That's a pretty skookum (read inefficient & noisy or expensive) pump.

2" @ 1FPS = 12gpm
1.5" @ 1FPS = 8gpm

Anyways, just my thoughts to chew on for what they are worth.

Jim

[StirCrazy]

also if there is a way for you to sleeve down the 2.5" Beckett tube to a 1" tube it would work a bit better I think. with those changed it might work with a mag 18.

Steve

you forgot about this part, like I suggested in the earlier thread and this one go to a 1" tube for your Becket, this will increase the water velocity and help push them bubbles out.

Steve

[Tarolisol]

Ok well after i test this design, maybe ill try makeing the down pipe smaller but not sure how i will go about this.

[StirCrazy]

Ok well after i test this design, maybe ill try makeing the down pipe smaller but not sure how i will go about this.

how is your 2.5" pipe atached to the box?

Steve

[Tarolisol]

Its been attached with the chemical stuff the bonds the acrylic togeth so it will be a tough process to get it apart, but who well the testing has been moved till tommoroow ill let everyone know how it went.!!!

[AJ_77]

Fun stuff, huh Sean?!? :biggrin:

woo-hoo, havin fun NOW... :mrgreen:

[StirCrazy]

Its been attached with the chemical stuff the bonds the acrylic togeth so it will be a tough process to get it apart, but who well the testing has been moved till tommoroow ill let everyone know how it went.!!!

well a couple ways to do it, you could use a dremmel and cut it flush with the box. then get a 1.5" bulkhead and put that in the hole (as it is almost the right size) and use a 1.5" male to 1" female bushing in it to alow for you to rig it up using a 1" pipe.

Steve

[Tarolisol]

Yeah stircrazy thats what i was thinking but i dont have a dremal, maybe someone will lend me one :biggrin:

PS oh im havin loads of fun now :evil:

[Tarolisol]

Ok well ive tested out the skimmer without the 90 degree bends and im getting less bubbles then before in the reaaction chamber, so now im open to options that will allow me to use what i got without to much modification. Im open to a different type of skimmer and everything. maybe a venturi?

[Acro]

Sean, I know I'm going off the deep end here but have you taken apart the becket? Not sure even if this has been suggested yet.(wow long post) Anyways I made the mistake once after doing a mod to a skimmer and not cleaning out the acrylic chips. They all end up in the becket. I worked for days trying to figure out why my skimmer was working worse then before the mods. Low and behold the becket was full of all the chips. Oh and yes I'm embarrassed to share this on the board. :redface:

[Tarolisol]

The beckett has been taken apart numerous times, i just cant get it to work im so sick of it now i just want a skimmer that will work.

[Canadian Man]

:razz: Mine works! Bring me some money and your old skimmer and I'll trade ya. :lol:

[EmilyB]

Bah, get a Euro....you would have been skimming long ago... :razz: :lol:

[StirCrazy]

The beckett has been taken apart numerous times, i just cant get it to work im so sick of it now i just want a skimmer that will work.

Ok how about a pic as it is now and go over what you have done and we will see if we can get this going. Oh for your becket holder what size air hole do you have drilled in it?

Steve

[SuperFudge]

Yeah, I think Steve is onto something,


I tried something on another skimmer to see, it too had an elbow at the bottom... if too much air was introduced to the injector, the bubbles would all stay in the injection portion of the column.

Do you have a means of adjustment on the air introduced to the beckett ?

[Tarolisol]

Well these is quite a bit of air getting in so maybe thats my problem, theres nothing really restricting how much air is entering the beckett, so do you think if i restrict the air it might improve?

[mr_alberta]

What is the height of your reaction chamber and the height of the Beckett down pipe right now? Also, did you change the beckett tube size to 1"? Can we get a picture to see how its running?

[Tarolisol]

Its about 30", its look the same as in the last picture but now NO bubbles are making it into the reaction chamber,

[Aquattro]

Its about 30", its look the same as in the last picture but now NO bubbles are making it into the reaction chamber,

Beckett upside down?

[Canadian Man]

Sean,

I run my air injector valve on my beckett housing at about 75% closed.

[Aquattro]

I took my valve right off and ran it full open thru the threaded hole. This shows a wide range is acceptable...

[Tarolisol]

Well im pretty sure the beckett isnt upside down, but i first got it i couldnt figure out which wat it went. ill try restricting the air and see what happens.

[StirCrazy]

another though, is your Mag18 used or new?

Steve

[Tarolisol]

Its new.