Skimmer pump recommendations?

[jgvergo]

Background: I built a DIY skimmer:

It is 6 inches in diameter and 30 inches tall. I have a 115 gallon system (DT + sump + plumbing). Yes, it is probably overkill for my tank, but I love clean water! I currently have a 596 gph Sicce pump on it with a 1/2-Inch A2Z Ozone Venturi Injector on the intake side. My problem is that I am not getting enough flow through the venturi and I believe I need a bigger pump. The questions is "how big"? Thoughts?

 

[jgvergo]

Clarification...I am not looking for a brand name. I want to know the GPH and max head I should be looking for. However, I will also take specific brand recommendations too

 

[mcarroll]

From reading reviews, this might not be the most ideal venturi for water applications. Lots of "this thing seems slow" comments. Even from the seller.

My guess from skimmers I've had is that you'll want at least a 700gph pump, but that depends on your feed plumbing - you may need a pressure rated pump. I think I'd at least look at a Mag for the replacement - they are stronger pumps. Arguably a Mag 9.5 with a valve might be a better fit....but we're still guessing. Do you have a LFS that will let you try one and exchange it as needed?

In case it helps, 6" x 30" is about 3.6 gallons.

 

[jgvergo]

I guess this begs the question of how many GPH should be flowing through the skimmer. Is there a rule of thumb for this? I'd assume it would be expressed as a percentage of the total system volume, i.e. the skimmer should turn over X% of the system volume in Y minutes.

 

[mcarroll]

Actually, same as your return pump - around 2x to 4x your display tank.

But you've set another two requirements with the size of the skimmer (it'll take a certain flow to fill it up properly) and the venturi valve (it'll take a certain flow to get proper air flowing).

I don't think there's a guarantee those three requirements will overlap. @Paul B has been running his own skimmer something like this for a long time....maybe he can suggest something!

I hate to even mention DC pumps as they seem to cloud people's judgement, but this one might be a good fit for your use-case and is from a vendor I like:
https://www.tunze.com/US/en/products/details.html?user_tunzeprod_pi1[prodid]=1073.050

 

[SR Aquaristik]

Shameless recommendation but think it may do the trick, great pump at a great price. If you are interested let me know I may have an open box version I caould give you a deal on. All the best!

https://sraquaristik.com/product/protein-skimmer-impeller-valve-silencer/

 

[jgvergo]

Well, I tried another tactic that worked so I thought I'd share it with everyone who tried to help (thanks!!). Instead of getting a new pump, I moved the air line to the intake of my existing pump and put a good quality needle valve on the air line to give me much finer control of the amount of air going into the pump. By slowing the air flow down, I am getting very good foam and the pump runs very consistently. I have basically "dialed in" my skimmer

 

[SR Aquaristik]

Nice!

 

[dutka2678]

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