Overflow MOD for Hurricone External Skimmer

[tegee]

Hello:

I am looking for an overflow (protection) MOD and/or DIY for my external skimmer, specifically for the collection cup. I have a Hurricone Cat 2 external skimmer. Since hooking it up 4-months ago I have had two incidences when the collection cup became full. Luckily I was home both times, but nevertheless I need good MOD to keep if from overflowing.

I know you can buy a separate waster collector and auto shut-off switch for the pump, etc, but I would like something that does not need additional waste collector and switches. Any help would be greatly appreciate. Please feel free to post any pics of what you may have DIY'ed even if is not a Hurricone.

Thanks a bunch

[troylee]

drill a hole in the bottom of the cup and put a valve with a hose to a 5gal bucket.....eaisest and cheapest...:)

[tegee]

If I am not home than the 5 gl. bucket will fill up. Sometimes if I have the wedge valve closed too much to increase skimmate the skimmer goes crazy and produces a lot of wet skim. Need a bulletproof overflow MOD in case I am not home, etc.

[troylee]

Well if your cup is full and you can fill a 5gal bucket your skimmer isn't working properly...unless were talking about being away for 2 weeks or something.....skimmers need to be maintained every other day or so for optimal perfomance....

[herpboyben]

you can put a float switch in the bucket and hook it up so that it will shut off the skimmer pump when the bucket is full.

[tegee]

I guess I should be more specific. I am looking for a DIY I saw once on RC where someone inserted a tube from underneath the collection cup and the height of the tube was slightly lower than the top of the inside opening. This way if the water got too high inside the collection cup it would simply drain back into the sump and/fuge.

As I mentioned, I want to try to stay away from another bucket, float switch, etc setup. I have sporadic power outages or power surges and when the power quickly comes back the skimmer goes crazy for a couple of minutes for some reason until it settles down. This is when I have found the need for overflow protection.

I will go to a bucket and float switch as a last resort. And yes, I do go away for periods of time and this is one of those things that I want to check off the list of items not to worry about.

[sjm817]

You could do exactly what you posed. Put a tube in the cup up to the top of the neck with a drain hose attached to the bottom which runs to the sump. If the cup overflows, it goes back to the sump which is better than the floor.

Can you run the skimmer in sump? That would fix it too.

If you decide you want to use a float switch in the lid. Here is how ATB does it:

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee95/atbusa/gs3.jpg

[troylee]

Well you don't want the skimate running back into the sump...you might as well leave the lid off the cup then and call it good.....you need a float switch wired into the pump to shut it down....if you have it run rite back into the fuge or sump might as well not use the skimmer that will cause more damage with huge amonia spikes in the tank...

[sjm817]

Its an external skimmer. If the cup overflows, its all over the floor and could empty the sump if you weren't there. Back in the sump is not great, but is better than that.

[tegee]

Yes, overflow back into the sump is better than on the flow:-). Like I mentioned several times, this is overflow protection. Not a common occurrence that I am looking for.

The float switch in the lid is something VERY interesting. Where can I obtain a float switch for that application? I am very mechanically inclined so drilling and fitting will not intimidate me. That is something I never thought and will be one less thing (i.e.: float switch and accompanying collection cup).

Keep them coming, great stuff.........

[troylee]

Check ebay or jbj sells extra float switches for there top offs...

[JagerEinheit]

the much used golfball sandwiched in pvc couplings is an easy air cutoff if you use the bucket method. a photo of what that looks like is here.
http://superskimmer.com/images/5gallidparts.jpg

http://superskimmer.com/images/5gLidBucket.jpg

thats from aetechs website, but it has been DIY'd many times.

[tegee]

Unfortunately mines is a needle wheel and not a beckett style skimmer. Cutting off air supply will not work with the Hurricone externals. Right now the float switch inside the actually collection cup looks like a winner. But I am still looking for the MOD where someone inserted a 1/4" or 3/8" tube underneath the CC and kept it slightly below the inner height inside CC and than as a backup only (for overflow protection) have it drain into the fuge/sump.

Anyone out there with pics and MOD instruction would be appreciated

[kgross]

Cutting off the air supply will work with your needlewheel skimmer. No air, no skimming. But the overflow mod would be easier to do. Just install a fiting into the side of the collection cup at the max level you want in the cup, connect a hose to this fitting and have it drain into the sump pretty easy.

Kim

[sjm817]

If you cut off the air, the pump will start pumping a lot of water which depending on the pump, and skimmer setup, can also cause an overflow.

[kgross]

On a recuirc skimmer it will not be able to put more water into the skimmer so it should not cause it to overflow.

[sjm817]

Hmmm. You have a point there!
tegee you should try this.

[GlassReef]

tegee - like most of us, you might encounter a week that was so busy you didn't clean your skimmer, even though you've got two or three inches of nice dark skimmate sitting in the cup. If something happens, while you're not there, and the skimmer starts overflowing - if you have installed that overflow pipe to your sump - all that skimmate can, very well, end up in your tank! I tried measuring the ammonia in my skimmate once - the test kit wouldn't handle it!

[tegee]

Good point. I may just suck up the $160 and purchase a waste collector with a built in auto-shut off. I am so busy with work I do not have too much time to do a DIY. Unless someone out there has a nice setup they would like to share that is easy to handle?

Thanks a bunch for all the insight so far; good stuff for sure.

[kgross]

On the waste collector with auto-shut off, if it is not for that skimmer, it might not solve your problems.

Kim

[tegee]

If I plug the main supply pump and the skimmer pump into the 110 outlet that has the auto-shut off when the wc fills it will trip both pumps. Does that make sense of am I missing something???

[GlassReef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15669391#post15669391 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tegee
I am so busy with work I do not have too much time to do a DIY.

Well, if you do find yourself with some time on your hands, this is all you need:

12V Relay (http://www.aquahub.com/store/12voltspdtrelay.html)

Relay Socket (http://www.aquahub.com/store/product37.html)

Float Switch (http://www.aquahub.com/store/ifloatfloatswitch.html)

Add a 12V Wall Wart, a few odds and ends and, in two hours, you're all set. And it's cheap, too. :)