Look at what i did to my weipro

[blueheaven]

hi guys,

today i got nothing to do so i thought of adding an air pump to the air inlet of the venturi.

previously, i can see the central tube in the chamber but now, after blasting it with a beetle 600 air pump, got so many bubble, cannot see the tube liao.

big bubbles, small bubbles, swirling left, swirling right, now skimmate twice as much and twice as

those who got weipro and old airpump can try

[BarraCudaTM]

where's the pic?

[blueheaven]

will post pics tomorrow

[arcanehacker]

I wanted to do that to my skimmer too but got problem.. airwood needs to be changed every few weeks or a month. else not very effective.. then have to get good airwood like sanders or aquamedic which cost around $2 & $4 respectively.. not cost effective so I changed my mind..

I still have a new aquamedic airwood for sale if anyone wants..

[ervine]

Not the first time someone did it... but the thing is that the bubbles might become larger in size and thus not as effective..

But since you are getting better skimmate then I guess it works for you

[blueheaven]

its big bubbles added with small bubbles

[PLataX]

the objective is to let each and every bubble stay in suspension within the skimmer 4 as long as possible......u can try adding bioballs to trap the bubbles a little longer.....my experience

[blueheaven]

yah and i will have to clean them once in a while

[arcanehacker]

the objective is to let each and every bubble stay in suspension within the skimmer 4 as long as possible......u can try adding bioballs to trap the bubbles a little longer.....my experience

then detrius will get stuck within the bioballs causing lesser skimmate... I have seen a whole fish get skimmed into my PS collection cup .. if bioballs were to be in there, it would be stucked somewhere or not go thru..

And it will create lots of sound too.

[blueheaven]

fish? OMG!!!!!

[arcanehacker]

fish? OMG!!!!!

yes.. at first I tot why the bubbling at the neck rising since I never did any adjustments at that time.. then I saw a dead fish amongst the bubbling neck and it got skimmed all the way up..

Dun worry, its just dead molly..

[ervine]

Huh how did it survive thru the impellers??

[ben]

david copperfield fish

[arcanehacker]

Huh how did it survive thru the impellers??

seriously I have no idea...

BTW I'm using the ViaAqua skimmer.. does it make a difference? Its also venturi driven.

[giantbicycle]

how to put the wooden airstone in??

[Tango_Liverock]

also want to know how and where to put the air stone.

IME, adding airstone does not make weipro skimmer more efficient, may even be worse. Bubbles from airstone increase turbulence, water level on top moving up and down. Most of the bubbles will be sucked out to the return tube, not floating back to the cup.

Anyone want to show some pics to prove otherwise ?

[giantbicycle]

yup..totally agree with Tango_Liverock.. any PIC to prove it...

[BarraCudaTM]

you dont need a air diffuser, all you need is to connect an airpump to the venturi intake of the skimmer?

[reeflobang]

I had connected an air pump directly to the air in take tube as well before as well. The skimmate is a lot more but I did not get kopi-o type though. The collection looks more diluted. Still prefer the orginal, where the bubble form in the collection cup does not burst for hours.

[Guinness]

Huh how did it survive thru the impellers??

It learnt from Nemo

[ozy]

I am currently using a weipro too. But I do not see the inner tube, even with out the air pump. If you can see the inner tube, the power of your water pump may be in question. I used to have the problem with my sicce extrema powering my 2011. I realise that the adjuster valve of my extrema gets stuck once in a while, so I just remove the whole cover. Now never have the problem of getting stuck. Skimming black skimmate too.

[Tango_Liverock]

Have tried numerous methods, but not able to push the skimmer any better. This is the summary:

1. Using a more powerful pump.

Result: Bigger size bubbles. In fact, I just change from SICCE to an IDRA. Smaller sized bubbles, not much different in result.

2. Using airpump to add air into the venturi air inlet. Have adjust to different air input strength

Result: Bigger sized bubbles. Maybe slightly decrease in efficiency.

3. Add an airstone in the inner tube.

Result: Water level fluctuated on top. Most the additional air bubbles are forced out of the return tube, never make it to the cup.

4. Remove the venturi valve all together. Connect the pump output directly to the skimmer using a flexi hose. Connect the venturi to the pump inlet hope to get the pump impeller to chop up those air.

Result: Very little bubbles were generated. The pump needs to be place high up, as high as return tube to get any bubbles.

No go, been there, try that, not any better.

Maybe I have missed out something...Let me know if your method is better. BTW, don't forget to post some pics.