anyone try a "T" from the drain into pump to skimmer? (pic)

[nemo g]

just looking to improve my noname skimmer.

technically, getting the drain directly into the skimmer is the most efficient. however, with this nonamer, there isnt a cost effective way to mod the thick acrylic.

so i figured: T the drain directly into the pump. the T is to account for the 2 (are there more?) possibilities:

1. drain is more than pump can handle, so it diverts into the open end of the T.

2. pump needs more than drain can provide, so it pulls in more water from the open end of the T.

<img src="http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/116775dmod.jpg"/>

so, before i start spending money on plumbing, has anyone tried this? results? thoughts? what am i not seeing (gotta be something)?

remember, this is for a skimmer i already have, with a mazzei injector. just trying to get the most out of it.

nemo G

[Jim_S]

I don't know how the pump would react to all the water pushing into it from the gravity. This is a good question though. I would say that it would force too much water into the pump, but I'm no engineer.

What many of us NW skimmer users have done in order to get raw water from the tank into our skimmers is T off the drain and feed the skimmer body, then have a dedicated pump attached to recirculate the water in the skimmer. I'm not sure if you are aware of this design already or not. Just an FYI if you're not.

Jim

[forensicdoc]

Having it the drain from the tank go into a pump is both not necessary and a source of potential problems. With a bit of modification, you could significantly upgrade the skimmer.

You can have the tank overflo go directly to the sump (gravity fed). You use a T to send excess flow directly to the sump. The best way to do this is to have the T rotated to the side so the flow is straight down to the skimmer. Put a valve after the T to control the flow to the skimmer. Use the 'leg' of the T off to the side for the sump overflow. You still need the pump to create the foam. You create a recirculation loop for the pump.

The downside is that you will have to drill at least one hole through the body of the skimmer. You could probably get some help with how to accomplish this from the DIY forum. But I would not bother with the plan you have outlined. It is a great idea, but not a good implementation.

[nemo g]

yup im aware of the "mod" that sets the drain directly to the skimmer, and it is what i referred to when i said "i want a cost effective and viable option to this 'mod' ".

other than cost and hassle, the reason for not modding is that i will eventually be getting an asm g3. so i just want to use what i have for now and save the money/work for the upgrade, the acrylic is thick and i dont want to risk cracking and losing it.

so i came up with this work-around.

the skimmer body i have now is about 20" high and 4" diam. i can either use an eheim 1250, or rio 2100 (runs warmer), and a big mazzei injector.

forensicdoc: 2 things...

1. you meant to say skimmer in your first sentence right?

2. what are the potential problems? the could only think of 2, but im no physics professor. what are the potential problems?

if the drain is capable of running 600gph and the return pump is matching it, i dont see why a pump rated at or below would cause an issue. as the water it does not intake will be released via the out?

i have no clue if this would work or not, im just the type of guy that like to know why. true knowledge comes from understanding, not the simple acknowledgement of a fact.

besides, if i know what is wrong with the design, i may be able to ammend and improve it :D

thanks so far for the help