Buying new skimmer:The finalists

[albfelix]

You must have done the mod wrong then, as i've had mine mesh modded for at least 2 - 3 months now. And I know people that have had theirs mesh modded for nearly a year. Though I have seen people that didn't tie the fishing line tight and the pump basically spun the enkamat off and severly scratched the pump. And the mesh mod works even if you don't do the other mods, it's just less efficient than with the other mods together. But overall a net effect better than the regular needlewheel.
I also have some spare enkamat sitting around probably enough for 2-3 more mods.

I used small zip ties and when I took the pump apart, the zip ties were still there on the impeller and so was the mesh. Since mesh has an irregular form, the impeller will be impossible to run balanced in the shaft. It is not the mesh that was scratching the pump since it was still in place, it was the impeller body that goes in the shaft that was grinding. Maybe photos will do more justice. Anyway I bought the replacement needlewheel impeller for $139 from finsreef.com for my H&S Eheim pump and really can't afford to play around anymore with mesh since a replacement Eheim pump with needlewheel will cost me $349. If I let the impeller to run even longer, the next thing would be a burned pump since pump was running hotter lately due to friction. Skimmer still rocks with original impeller, I just wanted to give it a try with mesh. Good luck with your mesh impellers! Better be safe then sorry and I already learned my lesson!

1 month ago:

today: