Need help with protein skimmer hose!

[JCSReefing]

Hey,
I bought a use turboflotor 1000 skimmer with ocean runner 2500 pump. It seems to have lost the peice on the top if the air hose. (See picture) anyone know where I can find a replacement or a hole new hose??

 

[mainereefer]

its missing the cap for the air adjustment you can buy the air re-stricter for like .50 cents anywhere like petco or even walmart...

 

[JCSReefing]

Awesome!!! Also anyone know where I can watch how to set this up correctly. The skimmer that is? It has many prices and came in assembled

 

[JCSReefing]

So I tried petco and petsmart. I didnt see the replacement ones like this?? Anyone else??

 

[mainereefer]

any will work they come with maxi jet pumps... and air adjustment fitting will work

 

[AZDesertRat]

Any airline needle valve will work, all it has to do is adjust air flow.

I used the same skimmer for 9 years before switching to an ASM and it worked well for me all that time. I probably have 3 or 4 of those same air valves in my parts closet. Set up is very simple and I can walk you through it via PM.

 

[JCSReefing]

I believe I have it correct? Or no??

 

[AZDesertRat]

If you plan on feeding the skimmer from your overflow that is correct. I fed mine with a Maxijet 1200 powerhead sitting in the sump next to the skimmer so used a smaller diameter piece of braided reinforced vinyl tubing bent in a 180 degree loop back down to the MJ. Either way works.
They also have adjustable caps on the two smaller vertical clear tubes when new but one of mine was missing them and worked just as good as the one that had them on it. The biggest thing to keeping that skimmer efficient is keeping the venturi tube clean. I found a small drill bit that fit perfectly in the venturi and every couple of weeks I would pull the airline off and ream the venturi out to remove any calcium or salt build up and it would go like crazy again. Also make sure the needlewheel or pinwheel impeller is clean and glued together properly. One of mine kept coming loose and spinning on the shaft so I would have to glue it back together every so often. The needle or pin wheel impeller is made up of two or three layers and they can separate with time. Some do the mesh modification on them to improve the performance but I never did. I want to say it operated best in about 9-10" of water too but you can play with that once installed.

 

[JCSReefing]

Sorry but what is the Venturi line?? The air line???

 

[AZDesertRat]

Yes. Where the airline enters the pumps suction line is a venturi. When you look inside the gray line you will see a small nipple protruding about 1/2-3/4 or the way into the inside diameter of that line with tiny holes in it. When the pump is running, water flows past this nipple drawing air down the black airline tube so it mixes with the water and creates a froth or foam which the organics in the water stick to (another name for a protein skimmer is a foam fractioner) and it collects in the collection cup as it travels up the main column.

http://www.marinedepot.com/protein_skimmers_aqua_medic_turboflotor_t1000_information_1-ap.html

http://www.aqua-medic.de/manuals/Turboflotor 1000-manual E_13129668250.pdf

 

[JCSReefing]

Ok so I only have enough room for just the skimmer to fit in the sump. I did look up the ocean runner pump and it can be used out of water. So my question here is could I have the overflow fill the chamber to the skimmer through the input, then have the pump outside the sump re-circulating the water in the chamber. Basically have piping from the chamber to the pump outside the sump re-circulating the water? Would this work?

 

[AZDesertRat]

I think the skimmer is designed to have the recirculating pump closely coupled to the skimmer body. The other issue is how to plumb the two together through the sump wall. You would have to drill the sump and install two bulkheads in perfect alignment for the pumps suction and discharge lines with the pump on the outside and the skimmer on the inside. You would still need room to set the skimmer back several inches since the skimmer outlet tubes are on that side and would need to drop inside the sump.

While the normal OR2500 can be used externally, I'm not sure the OR2700 skimmer pump version you have is capable of running extrenally without leaking all over the place. I know mine leaked around the top where the output of the pump goes into the gasketed compression fitting. Maybe before trying anything permanent, stick the skimmer in a small rubbermaid tote and run some water through it to see what it does.

 

[JCSReefing]

So I went to test out the skimmer last night just in the bath tub and believe I had it all correctly hooked up. Once I started it up and let it go unnoticed I wasn't getting those good fine micro bubbles that are needed for skimming. Am I doing something wrong here? Seems pretty basic but for some reason it's not getting those bubbles more like bigger bubbles. Is this because it's just freshwater??

 

[AZDesertRat]

Skimmers do not work in fresh water. You can leak test it but thats about it.

 

[JCSReefing]

So I shouldn't worry that I'm not getting those tiny micro bubbles correct?

 

[JCSReefing]

Also, even bigger issue I'm having with this turnoflotor1000 is finding fittings (pvc) for it. All the grey fitting it came with say pvc-u on them. All the sizes of normal white pvc at Home Depot/lowes do not match up. Why is this? How can it be fixed?