ASM Skimmers with Recirc & GV Mods - Worth it?

[affan]

I just finished talking with Ted, the Production Manager at ASM. During the course of our conversation, I asked him what his thoughts on the recirc and gate valve mods were, whether he thought that by modifying his skimmers, one can actually achieve better functionality and performance. He laughed in response and said that by installing an additional pump to circulate water within the skimmer does not help with the over all results. He also said that the gate valve mod is slightly more effective only if the skimmer sits outside of the sump. The current line of ASM's, he said, with riser tubes, fare far better results wise then the modified versions. He advised me not to purchase the mods for a G6 that I had actually called ASM for. He said his opinion is based on comparisons made by testing the unmodified and modified versions running side by side. He also said that the mods grew in popularity because DIY'ers on the net promoted them.

Your thoughts and comments please.

[RichConley]

So he thinks that a standard NW skimmer works better than a recirculating one? I have a hard time believing that, from what I've seen.

[scrmbld33]

doing the gate valve at least doubled my skimmate, not to mention make it a tone easier to adjust,mine is also in the sump didnt do the recirc mod yet but i can say its def worth it for the gate valve

[RichConley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7717608#post7717608 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by scrmbld33
doing the gate valve at least doubled my skimmate, not to mention make it a tone easier to adjust,mine is also in the sump didnt do the recirc mod yet but i can say its def worth it for the gate valve

Doing the gate valve wont change your skimmate.

What it does do, is definitely make it easier to adjust, which will get you better skimmate.

[TCU Reefer]

Definitely go with the gate valve mod. Makes it much easier to dial in the skimmer so it isn't overflowing your collection cup or not even getting the bubbles to rise high enough.

[mbbuna]

i just got a g6 a few weeks ago. the first thing i did was the gate valve because from past skimmers it has made it a ton easier to dial in. i haven't done the recirculating mod. this skimmer seems to work great with out it but the principal behind it seems sound to me, and im sure i will.