Meshwheel Mod

[bigfalcon36]

I did the Meshwheel Mod to my ASM G3 last night.  I has made the performance of the skimmer go through the roof.  I have a really low bioload as it is, but my skimmer is still pullling out some pretty sick skimmate.  I give the mod a thumbs up...I think everyone with a middle of the road needlewheel skimmer should do it if they want to improve their skimmer's performance.

[ohioreef]

Care you tell us how to do the meshwheel mod?

[bigfalcon36]

Yeah, it's not too difficult.  I got the mesh material from a guy on RC that sells it, just PM A sea K and he'll take care of you.

Here's a good tutorial:

http://www.gnova.net/files/meshwheel/imageset.html

This guy documented it well and took some really nice photos of the work. 

Here's the original thread from RC that got this whole thing started:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=966407&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

[ohioreef]

Thanks Travis.

[REDPYRO]

you could glue almost anything in there as long as it has clearence.  its just breaking the bubbles into smaller ones.  more bubbles the better

[bigfalcon36]

Also, if you can enlarge the hole for the venturi hose to draw more air you can increase the performance.

[REDPYRO]

is there a limit on how large the hole can be?  i know on cheapo skillers to much air drowns them out and screws with the skimmate.  with a large pump is there a limit to how much air you can draw in?  or could you in theory hook up a garden hose sized tube?

[bigfalcon36]

i guess you could...but you'd need a way to penetrate the air into the water.

[The Propagator]

The larger the hole the larger the pump has to be.
Remember, the only thing that makes a venturi work in the 1st place is restriction.
To much air will slow the pump down to much due to to little restriction and introduce to large of a bubble to be efficient.
That's why a true venturi valve looks like two inverted cones on the inside.
They restrict the flow so the air can be injected rapidly in a jet stream effect.

Think of it like a fuel system on your car.
To much air she no goes. To much fuel she no goes.
Equal mixture ( maybe a little lean) and it purrs like a kitten.