Ok, how about a turboflotor 5000 shorty compact?

[bleedingthought]

To be used on a 210G tank with a total volume about 260-270 gallons. A local guy is selling it for $250.

What do you guys think?

Again, this would be in comparison to the current ASM G-3 I plan to mod to be re-circulating and mesh wheel.

Please help me out, guys. I have very limited experience with skimmers and I can't find any reviews on these guys... Maybe because they're imports. Help me out with what you've heard about them, the price he wants for it, the G-3 on my system, or any other skimmer suggestions or tips in general!!!

Thank you very much!

 

[LA-Lawman]

do the meshwheel mod. they are great. there is a guy on RC named mavgi. he has the material. for $5 he will send you enough to mod 5 pumps... the mod is great......

the g3 is already rated at 250g.... so i would say that the mod will boost performance by 30-40%.... check out this thread at RC

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthrea ... genumber=1

and for another good skimmer

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthrea ... id=1070192

i bought one.... for my frag system. i cant wait to fire it up!

 

[LA-Lawman]

dude, i would grab the ER 8-2 and the sedra 9000 pumpin the for sale forum and your set!!!

 

[bleedingthought]

dude, i would grab the ER 8-2 and the sedra 9000 pumpin the for sale forum and your set!!!

PMed you. Twice!

 

[fungia]

does the mesh mod clog up? it seems it would get dirty a lot and you have to keep cleaning it

 

[trido]

does the mesh mod clog up? it seems it would get dirty a lot and you have to keep cleaning it

Mine hasnt. It had a piece of carbon get lodged in it once but so did my needle wheel. I used a 3-M scrubber for my mod and IMO it trippled my skimmers performance.

 

[bleedingthought]

Duane, I've been reading about the scrubbers working better than the enkamat. Did you just get the scrubber at Lowes? Have you had or have you read about anyone having to replace the scrubber after a while?

 

[trido]

I bought my 3-M scrubber pad from a local hardware store. At first, I used a Quickie scrub brush from Lowes. It had a red pad. It worked well but it did slowly disintegrate over a couple months.
I just replaced the grey 3-M pad I am using now after three months but found it wasnt necessary. To replace the pad/wheel only takes a pair of scissors, four small zip ties and about ten minutes. If it requires replacing after every three months, IMO it is worth it.

Remember, the scrubber pads are abrasive. If you dont trim it small enough it will sand a groove or hole in the side of your impeller housing.
I went through this already. I simply repaired it by coating the interior of the housing with PVC glue

 

[bleedingthought]

Did you ever use any type of mesh before the scrub pads? I would assume that they hold up better but maybe don't do as good of job?

 

[trido]

Did you ever use any type of mesh before the scrub pads? I would assume that they hold up better but maybe don't do as good of job?

Yep.

 

[trido]

I just saw your ? in the DIY after four days so I will elaborate on the last post. I first tried the gutter guard with several different configurations and found it was only as good as the needlewheel I just hacked apart so I went and bought the quickie scrubber. It worked but i wanted something closer to the enkamat without special ordering some so I tried the 3-M product. I will use this from now on.

This is basically the product I am using. Only made by 3-M. It looks identical down to the color. I cut it in half the long way, then again the narrow way so It is 1/4" thick. I then shape it to fit the impeller wheel. I get four peices per scrubber brush. Two pads should last near two years.
http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/en00 ... utput_html