The builders put the stone on the house and completely finished the brick!

The brick is almost done and the drywall is on the walls.

A couple of months ago my wife and I started house shopping. We have each lived in various apartments since going off to college and a couple more even after we got married. Tired of moving around and apartment life, we decided it was time to buy a house. Our rent is already pretty high, so we figured it was time.

We looked around quite a bit, but ended up picking a neighborhood just down the street from where we currently are living. The inventory homes didn’t match our tastes too well, so we decided to build. Since this will be our first home, we didn’t want to overdo it. We went with a 3 bed/2 bath which is more than enough for the two of us. And instead of going with a move expensive home, we customized this one with a lot of nice upgrades that we wouldn’t have been able to do if we had gone larger.

In the process of building this new house, I’m going to attempt to upgrade from my current setup (a 180 gallon SPS reef tank) to a slightly larger 225 gallon aquarium. The reason for the upgrade is a combination of accessibility and style. Right now, I have a fairly difficult time getting into the aquarium because it is 24″ tall, has a large eurobrace, and the canopy is very restrictive despite it being so large. So, the new tank will be 72″L x 36″W x 20″H and will be rimless. I plan to suspend a light over the tank, that way I can raise it or lower it to my liking. The canopy is killing me. As for style, this can be a simple fix, but I’m dying to start over. The stand and canopy don’t match the style of the new house. The cabinetry is the wrong color and the style is more old fashioned, whereas the house has a more modern feel to it.

But here’s the caveat…I cannot do all this unless I sell my the aquarium I am using now. So, the upgrade is depending on that. If I don’t sell my 180, I’ll just have to set it back up at the new place and start saving for the upgrade.

I’ll be sure to update regularly! So stay tuned.

The first modification I would like to discuss is opening up the venturi adapter to let more air in. The venturi adapter is located on the suction side of the skimmer pump and sucks air into the water where it is chopped up by the needlewheel impeller. It works just like a snorkel when people go diving. Modifying the venturi is a simple task, but requires a little hardware. A drill or rotary tool is all you’ll need. Simply insert the drill bit into the opening where the flexible tubing attaches, and get to work. I would slowly increase bit size until you have reached the desired size of the opening.

Modifying Protein Skimmer Venturi Adapter

*Photo Courtesy of The Talking Reef

Another way to modify the venturi is to open up the volute. The volute is the portion of the venturi adapter that allows water into the pump. If you open this up a bit, you can allow more water and air into the skimmer. Like opening the venturi, this mod requires some tools. I prefer the rotary tool in this case above all else. And like the previous mod, slowly increase the size of the bit so that you can get to the diameter you are looking for.

A third way to modify the venturi assembly is putting a valve on the flexible tubing attached to the venturi adapter. A lot of skimmers come with this already, but a lot of skimmers don’t. By adding the valve, you can cut back on the amount of air entering the skimmer in order to find the “sweet spot” where you get the most consistently sized bubbles or the right about of air to water mixture.

The next, and probably most popular modification is the use of a mesh wheel on the impeller. Most stock needlewheel impellers utilize various projections (called needles) coming off the wheel in order to chop up water. The needles are usually uniform in size, shape, and spacing, but do a pretty good job of chopping up the air and water. But to get a finer sized bubble, many people attached Enkamat or Gutter Guard to the needlewheel. Enkamat is a plastic-based product that was originally used as a root reinforcement materail for laying grass in high erosion areas and is a very non-uniform material, unlike the traditional needlewheel. The mesh mod is achieved by cutting off all but four of the needles, drilling holes next to the stock holes on the wheel, and putting a few layers of the Enkamat or Gutter Guard onto the wheel and attaching them with zip ties. The zip ties will be fed through the holes you drilled and the holes already present on the needlewheel. After the mesh has been attached, simply trim it to be the same shape of the needlewheel so that it fits into the pump without rubbing.

Picture of Enkamat

*Photo Courtesy of Marine Solutions

But be careful when using the mesh mod. If you do it improperly you can cause the impeller to be unbalanced when it spins and could cause the impeller shaft to break or bend. Also, the mesh can rub or get caught on the housing of the impeller. Another common problem with mesh mods is the inability of the pump to start back up properly after the pump has been turned off. The mesh gets caught and the impeller won’t spin.

Modified Meshwheel Impeller

*Photo Courtesy of Melev’s Reef

The previously mentioned mods (the venturi and meshwheel mods) are the most commonly used modifications. However, there are several more. Some people utilize a recirculating mod whereby they add a pump (or alter their current one) to be able to run the skimmer externally, or just for the purposes of adding another pump, or to alter the current setup. Aquarists who advocate the recirculation setup (either factory or modified) say that recirculating skimmers perform better than in sump skimmers.

Modified Recirculating Protein Skimmer

Standard Recirculating Protein Skimmer

Some people also increase the length of the protein skimmer’s neck. This mod will cause the skimmate to be drier and will also help the skimmer to accommodate the first two mods a little better. Lastly, some people add a bubble plate inside the skimmer’s main chamber. The bubble plate is a fairly new feature that manufacturers are adding to their protein skimmers. They function by decreasing the turbulence inside the skimmer, allowing better bubble formation and enhanced skimmer performance.

Bubble Chamber Modification

Bubble Plate Modification

*Photos Courtesy of The Talking Reef

The last skimmer mod I would like to talk about is the gate valve mod. Like some of the other modifications, the gate valve has found its way onto a lot of straight-from-the-factory protein skimmers and functions in allowing the user to better control the water level in the body of the skimmer. This valve is added to the output side of the skimmer, and closing this valve will raise the water level in the skimmer.

Gate Valve Mod

*Photo Courtesy of Marine Solutions

These mods will all improve skimmer performance in some way. It may take some time to break each mod in, but these will all cause the pump to pull more air, create more bubbles, and make some nasty skimmate.

Sources:
Talking Reef
Melev’s Reef
Marine Solutions
The Reef Tank
Oceans At Home
Aquarium Specialty
Marine Solutions

My name is Brandon Klaus and I’m the administrator for this blog. I am a marine biologist, but plan on adding other authors to the blog so that we can examine the wonderful world of aquariums through many different perspectives. If you are interested in joining the ranks, please email me and tell me more about yourself.

It is my goal to introduce and discuss several topics related to saltwater fish, corals, and equipment, as well as techniques to improve your skills in the tank.

We are here to help you further your knowledge of the saltwater aquarium hobby and to promote conservation through proper husbandry and aquaculture.