RK2 Skimmers

[Shawn Wilson]

Thanks for the info. I took a closer look at the feed pump today, and I was mistaken it isn't a Lifeguard 3/4 HP. It appears to be a Hammerhead with a 1/4 HP Baldor motor, rather than the standard 1/3 HP Baldor. I don't know what it puts out, but it must be way over the 1500 GPH maximum they suggest in their own manual??? If it has such a large feed pump, why does it even need a second (smaller Dart) closed loop pump to generate bubbles? Now it looks like I should use your NW on the hammerhead feed pump and leave the venturi as is. I will check back with the client and see if he is ready to upgrade it. This is a new tank and skimmer that haven't even seen water yet. I'm just picking up where someone else left off.

Will I have bombardment/premature bubble popping issues by introducing bubbles at the top rather than the bottom? I don't want to add more air just because I can, at the cost of bubble stability. I guess my question is, do I use a right-sized Panworld HD 70 feed pump and swap out the Dart/venturi for a Hammerhead NW... or mod the Hammerhead feed pump to be NW? The skimmer hasn't even gotten wet, so I would like to have a stock performance baseline before I start reinventing the (needle) wheel

 

[ctenophore]

Will I have bombardment/premature bubble popping issues by introducing bubbles at the top rather than the bottom? I don't want to add more air just because I can, at the cost of bubble stability. I guess my question is, do I use a right-sized Panworld HD 70 feed pump and swap out the Dart/venturi for a Hammerhead NW... or mod the Hammerhead feed pump to be NW? The skimmer hasn't even gotten wet, so I would like to have a stock performance baseline before I start reinventing the (needle) wheel

I would do the former. Lose the Dart/venturi and put the HH in as a recirc pump. That's how I did mine although the body is considerably bigger than the 25PE (I believe mine in volume compares to their 75). You could use the Dart as the feed pump, it is quieter and more energy efficient than the panworld 70 when valved back to 1500 gph.

 

[Shawn Wilson]

Sounds good. Pm me some HH NW pricing and delivery window.

 

[EyeCatchingCoral]

What skimmer do you wish you would have gotten instead of the RK2? I am looking at them now but want to make the right choice. Thanks

 

[Shawn Wilson]

"Playboy" http://www.michiganreefers.com/forums/l ... mer-2.html

 

[Elliott]

Will I have bombardment/premature bubble popping issues by introducing bubbles at the top rather than the bottom? I don't want to add more air just because I can, at the cost of bubble stability. I guess my question is, do I use a right-sized Panworld HD 70 feed pump and swap out the Dart/venturi for a Hammerhead NW... or mod the Hammerhead feed pump to be NW? The skimmer hasn't even gotten wet, so I would like to have a stock performance baseline before I start reinventing the (needle) wheel

I would do the former. Lose the Dart/venturi and put the HH in as a recirc pump. That's how I did mine although the body is considerably bigger than the 25PE (I believe mine in volume compares to their 75). You could use the Dart as the feed pump, it is quieter and more energy efficient than the panworld 70 when valved back to 1500 gph.

Ctenophore: would you mind pm'ing me with price and availability of the NW HH? many thanks

 

[Shawn Wilson]

Will I have bombardment/premature bubble popping issues by introducing bubbles at the top rather than the bottom? I don't want to add more air just because I can, at the cost of bubble stability. I guess my question is, do I use a right-sized Panworld HD 70 feed pump and swap out the Dart/venturi for a Hammerhead NW... or mod the Hammerhead feed pump to be NW? The skimmer hasn't even gotten wet, so I would like to have a stock performance baseline before I start reinventing the (needle) wheel

I would do the former. Lose the Dart/venturi and put the HH in as a recirc pump. That's how I did mine although the body is considerably bigger than the 25PE (I believe mine in volume compares to their 75). You could use the Dart as the feed pump, it is quieter and more energy efficient than the panworld 70 when valved back to 1500 gph.

Ctenophore: would you mind pm'ing me with price and availability of the NW HH? many thanks

Ctenophore was very reasonable and of great help. Thanks again.

 

[Elliott]

So after watching the performormance of the RK2 skimmer I bought 2 years ago become less and less I decided to mod it. I put a new dart needleweel "orca" pump on it and bypassed the mazzai injector. In about 3 mins the perfomance went way up and I had to lower the water level 10 inches. I have a few kinks to work out but would highly recommend anyone here running an RK2 in their store to consider changing it up. I am thinking of adding another orca dart to the feed. We are working with coralvue to make a large commercial hurricone soon but until then this will work much better.

Can you provide some plumbing details of how you bypassed the mazzai injector? Did you remove the injector and plumb a straight pipe in it's place? Did you maintain the ozone port and air gauge? Did you maintain the internal washdown? I have an RK2 25PE and would like to mod it the same way you have described.

Many thanks,

Elliott

 

[Anonymous]

Interested to hear about the internal washdown too. My bet is that the NW pumps are not capable of supplying enough pressure to deal with that application.

If you're still using a regular pump to feed the skimmer you could probably task that to do it.

 

[Shawn Wilson]

The Rk2 25 PE uses freshwater (line pressure) to wash the skimmer and is independent of the pumps. It has a few spray nozzles and a garden-style timer & solenoid combo. In other words, a $100 shopping spree at Home Depot for $1,100.00. I bought a Clearwater CD10/AD ozonizer (thanks for the recommendation Ctenophore) for the one I'm working on. RK2 slaps a sticker and a cheap ORP/PH/Temp controller on it and adds $2,000.00 to the price tag.

Another option for adding more air is to switch the venturi out for an Abyzz 215 (200 watt) needle wheel. It's quiet, compact, energy efficient, and produces 6,000 LPH air with lots of water. The only down side is the price and the head pressure issue. You would have to mount the NW pump higher up the skimmer to avoid back pressure. The Hammer Head NW conversion is a hell of a lot cheaper than the $1,600.00 price tag of the Abyzz 215 NW.

 

[Anonymous]

The Rk2 25 PE uses freshwater (line pressure) to wash the skimmer and is independent of the pumps.

Those are the external spraydowns that wash the collection cup and the outside of the neck.

The internal spraydown on all RK2 skimmers uses the recirculation pump to wash down the inside of the neck. I think it'd be a bad idea to use tap water for this purpose!

 

[Elliott]

Mr. Wilson, please post your eventual mods on Peter's RK2 25PE, I'd be interested to know what pumps you end up using, plumbing changes, etc. I am still trying to figure out how to use the Dart NW on the recirc loop and bypassing the mazzai injector, since the recirc loop includes the ozone port and air gauge coming off the mazzai injector, and internal washdown.

I also wonder how the Dart NW would perform by just swapping out the pumps and leaving the recirc loop as is with the massai? Would it produce enough pressure to adequately run the mazzai?

I'm currently planning to use a Panworld 70 as the feed pump.

 

[Elliott]

So, I spoke to someone today at SouthWest Aquatics in Tucson, AZ regarding their RK2 25PE skimmer. Apparently the person who did the modification is no longer there and they have reversed the modification back to the original plumbing configuration, using the massai injector. He said it is working very well. He mentioned that he found the skimmer with plumbing "not hooked up" so it sounds like he just put in back to original working order and is using a "reeflo" pump (was not sure which one) as the recirc pump and a mag drive pump as the feed pump.

So, without confirmation of the results or even the details of how this mod was done I find it unreliable at best.

 

[dain45yl]

I have not heard of that, but to be honest I have never run ozone on any of the prototype or production NW pumps. I suppose it is possible, but I would guess that silicon carbide is ozone safe. The impellers themselves are either molded polycarbonate (Darts, I believe) or Delrin. Both of those materials are ozone safe.

 

[saltyguy56]

Hi everyone, I just joined up here tonight because this thread has got my interest as I have and am gathering parts ro make a new skimmer that will have a 12" x 60" tall chamber plus neck and cup. I have a skimmer that is a clone of a Lifereef 6" x 46" chamber plus neck and cup which I dont think its doing the job it should be and uses 225 watts with a Blueline 70 pump. Some weeks it will pull out a couple of gallons and the next week maybe a quart, BTW it's on a 1000 gallon Ray pond with 8 Stingrays. The skimmer has a 1" Mazzei injector and I just ordered a 1 1/2" Mazzei off of ebay the other day planning to use it on my new build, but after reading this I'm thinking of going with the Dart NW for a recirculating skimmer plus a smaller feed pump. I bought a Dart w/Baldor off of a fellow aquarist, so now I am going to try and sell the Mazzei and buy the NW impeller and venturi for the Dart and head that way after reeding this. Maybe I will have a more efficient and better skimmer by going this way. Some very interesting information here with people that no doubt have been where I'm at now.

 

[saltyguy56]

Mr. Wilson, please post your eventual mods on Peter's RK2 25PE, I'd be interested to know what pumps you end up using, plumbing changes, etc. I am still trying to figure out how to use the Dart NW on the recirc loop and bypassing the mazzai injector, since the recirc loop includes the ozone port and air gauge coming off the mazzai injector, and internal washdown.

I also wonder how the Dart NW would perform by just swapping out the pumps and leaving the recirc loop as is with the massai? Would it produce enough pressure to adequately run the mazzai?

I'm currently planning to use a Panworld 70 as the feed pump.

I was going to try the Dart (non NW) to run a 1 1/2" Maxzzei #1583. The Dart pump will only produce 4.8 psi so I wondered if that would be enough. My 1" Mazzei has the Blueline 70 that will do 39' of head pressure compared to the 14' the Dart will do. I wouldnt think a needle wheel pump would run a Mazzeri to well.

 

[saltyguy56]

Here's what I have now:

 

[Elliott]

Mr. Wilson, please post your eventual mods on Peter's RK2 25PE, I'd be interested to know what pumps you end up using, plumbing changes, etc. I am still trying to figure out how to use the Dart NW on the recirc loop and bypassing the mazzai injector, since the recirc loop includes the ozone port and air gauge coming off the mazzai injector, and internal washdown.

I also wonder how the Dart NW would perform by just swapping out the pumps and leaving the recirc loop as is with the massai? Would it produce enough pressure to adequately run the mazzai?

I'm currently planning to use a Panworld 70 as the feed pump.

I was going to try the Dart (non NW) to run a 1 1/2" Maxzzei #1583. The Dart pump will only produce 4.8 psi so I wondered if that would be enough. My 1" Mazzei has the Blueline 70 that will do 39' of head pressure compared to the 14' the Dart will do. I wouldnt think a needle wheel pump would run a Mazzeri to well.

I'm currently running a Blueline 70 on my RK2 25PE skimmer with Massai injector and am very pleased with the results, produces over 50 SCFH (pegs my meter that goes to 50). I will also be experimenting with a Hammerhead NW, I have the pump but can't get my hands on the Venturi for the pump yet. If I can get it I'll let you know how it performs.

 

[saltyguy56]

Mr. Wilson, please post your eventual mods on Peter's RK2 25PE, I'd be interested to know what pumps you end up using, plumbing changes, etc. I am still trying to figure out how to use the Dart NW on the recirc loop and bypassing the mazzai injector, since the recirc loop includes the ozone port and air gauge coming off the mazzai injector, and internal washdown.

I also wonder how the Dart NW would perform by just swapping out the pumps and leaving the recirc loop as is with the massai? Would it produce enough pressure to adequately run the mazzai?

I'm currently planning to use a Panworld 70 as the feed pump.

I was going to try the Dart (non NW) to run a 1 1/2" Maxzzei #1583. The Dart pump will only produce 4.8 psi so I wondered if that would be enough. My 1" Mazzei has the Blueline 70 that will do 39' of head pressure compared to the 14' the Dart will do. I wouldnt think a needle wheel pump would run a Mazzeri to well.

I'm currently running a Blueline 70 on my RK2 25PE skimmer with Massai injector and am very pleased with the results, produces over 50 SCFH (pegs my meter that goes to 50). I will also be experimenting with a Hammerhead NW, I have the pump but can't get my hands on the Venturi for the pump yet. If I can get it I'll let you know how it performs.

what size Mazzei injector does the 25pe use?

 

[Elliott]

Mr. Wilson, please post your eventual mods on Peter's RK2 25PE, I'd be interested to know what pumps you end up using, plumbing changes, etc. I am still trying to figure out how to use the Dart NW on the recirc loop and bypassing the mazzai injector, since the recirc loop includes the ozone port and air gauge coming off the mazzai injector, and internal washdown.

I also wonder how the Dart NW would perform by just swapping out the pumps and leaving the recirc loop as is with the massai? Would it produce enough pressure to adequately run the mazzai?

I'm currently planning to use a Panworld 70 as the feed pump.

I was going to try the Dart (non NW) to run a 1 1/2" Maxzzei #1583. The Dart pump will only produce 4.8 psi so I wondered if that would be enough. My 1" Mazzei has the Blueline 70 that will do 39' of head pressure compared to the 14' the Dart will do. I wouldnt think a needle wheel pump would run a Mazzeri to well.

I'm currently running a Blueline 70 on my RK2 25PE skimmer with Massai injector and am very pleased with the results, produces over 50 SCFH (pegs my meter that goes to 50). I will also be experimenting with a Hammerhead NW, I have the pump but can't get my hands on the Venturi for the pump yet. If I can get it I'll let you know how it performs.

what size Mazzei injector does the 25pe use?

not sure, I don't see any markings