What pump to use for a venturi skimmer

[Austintacious]

I am getting everything together for a new 55 gallon reef. I have built my own sump and protein skimmer, and am trying to figure out what pump to use with the skimmer. The venturi is a Kent Marine 3/4". The skimmer is made from 4 1/2" acrylic pipe with a 2" reaction chamber in the center. The lower part of the skimmer is around 20" tall with a 14" tall reaction chamber and 1" outlet on the bottom.

I have tested the skimmer in a cooler with some water taken from my fish only tank after a water change. I used a mag 9.5 to feed the skimmer. The bubbles looked great, although I did not have enough water to effectively "skim" anything. The problem I see is that the small orifice in the venturi creates too much head on the 9.5, and the flow out of the skimmer seems minimal. This leads me to believe that the skimmer will not be as effective as it can be.

I hope this all makes sense so far.

My question is, should I go to an external pump, and if so (and I assume that will be the case), what pump do you recommend? Do you have any experience with the Gen-X pumps, as they seem to be the most reasonably prices "pressure" pumps? Some people have said they are quiet, and some have said they are noisy.

I want to do this right the first time (and save some money if I can).

[CarmieJo]

Hi Austintacious,
I don't know the answer to your question but I wanted to say to TR.

[rprisock]

Not sure from the description what type of flow you will need. I just recently updated the pump on my venturi skimmer which is a coral life super skimmer. I needed 500 gph so I selected a sedra pump after a recommendation from a post I read on TalkingReef.

The sedra pump has been a great purchase. Very well made unit and my skimmer is working better than ever.

I recommend giving a serious look at sedra pumps ... they offer a variety of sizes and hopefully one that will fit your skimmer.

Let us know what works for your setup.

[JR Aquatics]

Genx are clones of sedras. I would look into a eihem pump. very reliable and a great pressure rated pump, it will last you a long time. I would not be to concerned on the flow coming out of the skimmer, dwell times and air induction are the key to good skimmate. IMO In all reality with the size of the mixing chamber you shouldn't go more than 900 gph. That skimmer most likely can only handle about 700lph of air max. What size is the neck on this thing?

[JasonR]

rio 600
That should do it

[lReef lKeeper]

i had an old DIY skimmer that was an 6" (around) x 20" (tall) with the kent venturi and i ran it with a mag7 and it was great.

[veriann]

its always best to go with local advice on such matters, cause i can never help with specific brands, however any controllable pump withh decent flow-put that you can manipulate will be suffice