Brian Ward February 3, 2009 Share February 3, 2009 So I decided to mod my Euro-Reef RS-180 to try and improve performance, as well as free up some space in my sump. Here are the pictures with rough descriptions. By my calculations, I took this skimmer (I believe it is the original design) that I paid about $550 for and made it into a skimmer that Euro-Reef now sells for about $1200. All for about $35 in parts and a couple hours of work. On to the pictures: Skimmer with lid, pump and output pipe removed: Dry fit of the gate mod parts. Tee is still too high, so I have to adjust it down some more: Marking for the inlet hole: First pump hole drilled: Had to plug the original pump inlet hole: Test fit of the first (upper) pump hole: Drilling the second (lower) pump hole: Uniseals in place: Drilling the feed hole. It turns out I picked the wrong size hole saw (doh!) so I had to open it up for a 1" uniseal instead of a 3/4" uniseal: Uniseal in place: Beginning gluing: First the gate valve portion: Dry fit of the pump: Gluing in process for the recirc portion: Beginning leak testing: Running with vinegar and water for a while to leak test and dissolve any calcium buildup: Skimmer in place. First run with saltwater. This is now producing WAY more bubbles and foam than it ever has before. Reverse Angle: I still have a small problem with a minor leak around the 2 uniseals for the pump. I'm not sure what's going on there yet, but I have to watch it and see if I can figure out how to fix. Other than that, I'm extremely happy so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnguyen4007 February 3, 2009 Share February 3, 2009 Brian, That is an awesome job!!! I would like to do it to my RS 80, but too afraid to try. I have to left hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightOwl February 3, 2009 Share February 3, 2009 Good Job Brian! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak February 3, 2009 Share February 3, 2009 good work looks fantastic, brave of you to test on hard wood flooring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L8 2 RISE February 3, 2009 Share February 3, 2009 Nice! but I don't understand where the water goes in... I see the recirc pump, but where is the other pump to pull water in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Ward February 3, 2009 Author Share February 3, 2009 Nice! but I don't understand where the water goes in... I see the recirc pump, but where is the other pump to pull water in? If you look at the testing pictures, there's a pump in the bucket with flex tube leading out of that and to the back of the skimmer. That's also the hole I marked in pic #3 and was drilling in pic #9 and have the uniseal in in pic #10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Ward February 3, 2009 Author Share February 3, 2009 good work looks fantastic, brave of you to test on hard wood flooring. I agree. But I was pretty sure of myself and had plenty of towels on hand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Ward February 3, 2009 Author Share February 3, 2009 Brian, That is an awesome job!!! I would like to do it to my RS 80, but too afraid to try. I have to left hands. Overall it's a pretty easy mod. First impression is that it definitely steps up the quality of the skimmer. No more fluxuations with water level, and much quieter because of the gate valve and the return pipe below the water level in the sump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoozilla February 3, 2009 Share February 3, 2009 Brian- Approx. how much flow are you feeding? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Ward February 3, 2009 Author Share February 3, 2009 Brian- Approx. how much flow are you feeding? I haven't really tuned it in yet. The pictures you were seeing were of a Mag 5 running wide open through a UV and into the skimmer. I dialed that back because after opening the gate valve all the way, the foam was still way up in the neck so the drain pipe definitely wasn't keeping up. I'm targeting about 300 gal/hr. Right now I'm feeding off a Mag 5, but it's also running through my UV. I'm going to replumb the system and run the UV/skimmer loop from the Dart that also powers the return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay February 3, 2009 Share February 3, 2009 Looks good. Is that silicone gooped up around the top of the skimmer? Was it leaking at some point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Ward February 3, 2009 Author Share February 3, 2009 Looks good. Is that silicone gooped up around the top of the skimmer? Was it leaking at some point? yea, the skimmer cracked at that seam shortly after i put it in service. i talked to the warranty support and they said that i can patch it myself or send it back and they'll do it - or try to patch it myself and if it doesn't work to send it back and they'll do it. I gave it a shot and the leak stopped. It's been over a year and no problems. It's definitely not pretty, but it is aquarium safe silicone and worked like a charm. Probably saved me a couple weeks and some $$$ in shipping costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay February 3, 2009 Share February 3, 2009 yea, the skimmer cracked at that seam shortly after i put it in service. i talked to the warranty support and they said that i can patch it myself or send it back and they'll do it - or try to patch it myself and if it doesn't work to send it back and they'll do it. I gave it a shot and the leak stopped. It's been over a year and no problems. It's definitely not pretty, but it is aquarium safe silicone and worked like a charm. Probably saved me a couple weeks and some $$$ in shipping costs. Just curious, do you know what made it crack? I thought it took really major trauma to crack that stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Ward February 3, 2009 Author Share February 3, 2009 Just curious, do you know what made it crack? I thought it took really major trauma to crack that stuff. No. There was no major trauma or anything. I think it was a manufacturing defect esp since I've never heard of it happening to anyone else. Could also be part of the difference in the types of acrylic used. I don't know if it's still the case, but it used to be that the RS skimmers were made of cheaper acrylic than the RC and CS skimmers. Cell cast vs. extruded or something like that. I can't remember which is which. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guppychao February 10, 2009 Share February 10, 2009 brian, nice job, where did you get your supplies, specifically the uniseals? No. There was no major trauma or anything. I think it was a manufacturing defect esp since I've never heard of it happening to anyone else. Could also be part of the difference in the types of acrylic used. I don't know if it's still the case, but it used to be that the RS skimmers were made of cheaper acrylic than the RC and CS skimmers. Cell cast vs. extruded or something like that. I can't remember which is which. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Ward February 10, 2009 Author Share February 10, 2009 (edited) brian, nice job, where did you get your supplies, specifically the uniseals? Virtually everything came from Bulk Reef Supply. Euro-Reef actually sells a kit through their website, and BRK also stocks uniseals. BTW ... performance still appears to be WAY improved. Edited February 10, 2009 by Brian Ward Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJBoy98 February 12, 2009 Share February 12, 2009 I'm pulling a lot of wet skim mate. I'm thinking of modifying my CS6-1. Can the gate valve be found at Home Depot/Lowes? What does the Recirculation mod do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Ward February 12, 2009 Author Share February 12, 2009 I'm pulling a lot of wet skim mate. I'm thinking of modifying my CS6-1. Can the gate valve be found at Home Depot/Lowes? What does the Recirculation mod do? No, gate valve is not at Home Depot, but you can use a ball valve instead. The gate valve allows for much finer tuning of the skimmer. The recirc mod allows you to run the skimmer externally if you choose. It also eliminates the variance in skimmer performance due to the water level - you have another pump that feeds water to the skimmer. Companies claim that it also increases performance. Currently, I think it's true but there is plenty of room for debate. My skimmate is very dark. Much darker than it used to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanman February 14, 2009 Share February 14, 2009 Johnny at BRK has gate valves. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Ward February 18, 2009 Author Share February 18, 2009 There's 1 other pricing item I want to note. Euro-Reef will sell parts. So if you don't have a skimmer and can't buy one used, here is the cost breakdown: Euro-Reef RS-180 Skimmer Body, Version 1: $259 SP-4C Modified Skimmer Pump: $145 8" Cup: $140 8" Lid: $75 Misc plumbing as noted earlier - since you're doing the gate valve/stand pipe assembly and mounting the pump in a recirc position, you're basically replacing all the plumbing anyway. That brings the grand total for the skimmer to about $670. This skimmer is comparable to either the RC-180 or the RC-250. These sell for $1100 and $1200, respectively. This is a significant savings by my calculations. You are, of course, losing warranty support, but for a savings of almost $600, it may be worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcjm February 19, 2009 Share February 19, 2009 8" Cup: $1408" Lid: $75 What are cup and lid? Don't you use them from the old skimmer? I have a CS8-3. I might consider doing this if no one wants to buy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Ward February 19, 2009 Author Share February 19, 2009 What are cup and lid? Don't you use them from the old skimmer? I have a CS8-3. I might consider doing this if no one wants to buy it. Yes, if you're modding a skimmer you already have, then you would already have those. The point was that if you don't have a skimmer to mod, you can buy the components from Euro-Reef to put together a really high-end skimmer for half of what they sell it preassembled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJBoy98 February 19, 2009 Share February 19, 2009 What sizes are those PVC's? I like to think they are 1 1/4 because the smaller ext pipe (that comes with skimmer) that attaches to the elbow will fit a 1 1/4 PVC (Sch 40) coupling piece but if I take a 1 1/4 sch 40 PVC pipe and try to attach it to the elbow, it is it too small. Is it a sch 80 PVC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Ward February 19, 2009 Author Share February 19, 2009 What sizes are those PVC's? I like to think they are 1 1/4 because the smaller ext pipe (that comes with skimmer) that attaches to the elbow will fit a 1 1/4 PVC (Sch 40) coupling piece but if I take a 1 1/4 sch 40 PVC pipe and try to attach it to the elbow, it is it too small. Is it a sch 80 PVC? The outlet is 1 1/2" PVC. The adjustable height pipe is different and I don't think it's a standard size. Just pull out the fitting that the adjustable pipe slides through and then everything is 1 1/2" You can attach standard sch 40 PVC to all of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaze98 March 11, 2009 Share March 11, 2009 I picked up a gate valve from BRK and I plan on doing the gate valve mod to my CS6-1. I checked out Euroreef's pdf on the gate valve mod and it looks like you got it perfect, down to the t lining up with the seem on the neck of the skimmer. I still have to get the t, and some extra PVC, I think 1.5" is the only size I don't have. The gate valve is 1.5" and slips over the outlet of my skimmer. I will try to get some pics once I get the materials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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