Bio ball mod impeller or 3d printed??

[Cjud7982]

So I have been trying to rebuild a old euro reef skimmer that uses eheim 1260/1262 recirculation pumps. I have found a website that sells needle wheel impeller assemblies but at 150 bux a pop, I can't swallow that pill. They also sell the entire pump for over 300 bucks. I know this is an expensive hobby, but come on.... It's a pond/aquarium impeller, not a turbo impeller.... So I am looking at seeing if I can do a bio wheel mod, or maybe one of you guys with a 3d printer might be able to print me up something that I can work with.

 

[mcarroll]

You might want to talk to @rvitko at Tunze about using one of their Hydrofoamers that's made for the purpose.

You can order these direct from Tunze, but your LFS should be able to order others for you, depending what you need for that skimmer:

Hydrofoamer e-jet


9006.040

107.96 USD


Plus costs of delivery

Hydrofoamer e-jet


9011.040

174.29 USD


Plus costs of delivery

Hydrofoamer Silence
Specially developed pump for TUNZE® DOC Skimmer 9410. It can also be used as replacement needle whe... mehr

9410.040

163.28 USD


Plus costs of delivery

Hydrofoamer Silence
Specially developed pump for TUNZE® DOC Skimmer 9415. It can also be used as replacement needle whe... mehr

9420.040

201.56 USD


Plus costs of delivery

Danner also makes a whole line of needle-wheel pumps:

SUPREME AQUA-MAG AIR FRACTIONATING WATER PUMPS

FEATURES
• Front-Mount Adjustable Venturi

• Unique Ceramic Shaft Fractionating Impeller Design

•18” Vinyl Aerating Tube with Noise-Suppressing Muffler

• Reusable Debris Pre-Filter

• Operates Submerged or In-Line

• 10’ Grounded Power Cord

• Models 2, 3, 5 and 7 - 1/2” FPT Inlet, MPT Outlet and Venturi is Barbed to Accept 3/4” Flexible Tubing.

• Models 9.5, 12 and 18 have 3/4” FPT Inlet, MPT Outlet and Venturi is Barbed to Accept 1” Flexible Tubing

• cUl US Listed

• 5 Year Limited Warranty

Bio-ball mods were basically disposable. Dunno what plastics they can use on 3D printers, but doubt it's any tougher.