Rio 3100

[trillyen]

ok i dont know what to do and i hope this is in the right forum thingy but, i have tried everything i can for my rio 3100ok first off its fitting sizes say 3/4 in but they are not and this is on ALL models not just an error from the company its npt instead of pvc but pvc will still work, which is what i was tring you just gotta fit them together awkwardly.

so i figured out how to get them together enough to go onto my skimmer cause its a skimmer pump but no matter where i place the venturi it does not force bubbles into the damn chamber of my berlin XL

here is what ive tried thus far with no bubbles

ive tried getting bubbles from this end with none

ive tried getting bubbles from this set up with no results

ive even tried drilling holes in pvc and pipes putting them into the intake(sucking) and out going (blowing) end with no results

i would almost say this pump is defiying physics cause it seems to me if something under water is sucking and a source of air is forced into it bubbles of some sort would emerge

this is what i would really like to use for the knob and the piping hole but the piping hole is use less no matter how its set up

i mean im up for suggestions but i just dont understand this thing

a site i get my equip from recommended this pump cause the red sea turbo pump was not in

i dont see why they would sell this pump as a skimmer pump if it dosent make bubbles

 

[trillyen]

if any one could answer this question id be very impressed more than i have been for a while with any info given to me

other than Nah20s info. lol

 

[Vicki]

Are you running an airline hose (which needs to be out of the water) into the hole in the intake for the pump? The pump needs air to produce bubbles.

Vicki

 

[plack]

Vicky----- ya took the words right out of my head !!

 

[trillyen]

Are you running an airline hose (which needs to be out of the water) into the hole in the intake for the pump? The pump needs air to produce bubbles.

Vicki

yes ma'am ive tried it out of the water under the water on the intake side on the out pump side it makes no sense, i even tried BLOWING air into the freaking pump to get it to go in but it COMES OUT OF THE SIDE WHERE THE WATER IS BEING SUCKED IN at an alarmingly fast rate so it makes no sense to me why the bubbles i blow into the airline tubing would not get sucked into the direction of the water flow but go against a STRONG current

wow its like its defing the laws of physics

wow

good guess though vicki and plack, but im thinking ive tried ALL the simple approaches though i could be wrong

its gotta be something more advanced im doing wrong

I CANT FORCE AIR IN IT BLOWS IT OUT AND JUST SUCKS WATER IN!!

 

[krisfal]

I do not know if I can help. But I had my skimmer pump apart a few weeks ago to clean while I was doing a tank swap (to get my tank out of the way so that I could tear out the wall to begin my in wall tank, but that is another story to soon be written). I noticed while I was in there that opening where the air tube attaches actually continues down inside the intake tube on the pump and turns towards the impeller. This likely helps the pump pull the air in. I do not know if you can do anything with this info. If it was me I might try getting a piece of the hard airline and try bending with a little heat and see if I could get it to fit into the opening with the end pointing towards the impeller. You definitely want the air coming in on the intake so that the impeller can chop up the bubbles. Also on my pump the airline tubing fitting is real close to the impeller, maybe all your fittings move it too far away for the pump to effectively pull the air down. Just some thoughts.

I find it a bit ironic that you cannot get this pump to suck air. I had a pump for a closed loop that I could not get to stop shooting out microbubbles. I finally ended up replacing the pump and when I tried to use that same pump as a return for my sump I still had issues with bubbles. In the end I ended up replacing the impeller because it was noisy (one of the shafts was missing a chip of material) and that stopped the bubbles and the noise.

 

[trillyen]

hmm that could be it krisfal i did for get to mention that on my propellar that it has moving parts on it kinda like little flaps that move back and forth at the end of each of the tips i dont know but im not sure if this has anything to do with anything or not

 

[plack]

That partial needle whell impeller looks partly broken? and Is the pump pushing allot of water it should ??

Try this !

Reverse the direction of the venturi in the first picture so that the air inlet is closer to the pump and the knob is further away !!!

Next Make Sure that the end of the airline attached is below th top of the ball valve inside the tube to get the water running past it to pull the air in !!!

Thats how theair is drawn in and why it is not currently as far as I know.

Please let me know if this works!!



Paul

 

[trillyen]

great idea. I never thought about that before. I will let you know as soon as I try it.

I think u might b onto something I hope

Thanks for the help.

 

[BrianB]

The air inlet/ venturi has to be on the suction side of the pump. The outlet side is under pressure and will just pump water up the tube. It will also help to have the pump higher in the water so there is less distance the venturi has to try and draw in air. Throw out the rio valve as they are junk. drill a hole in a pvc coupler to the size of you air line tube and try to keep the fit as tight as possible (make the hole on the small side and force the tube in it). It will work better if you notch the tube at a 45 deg and push it in the hole until it sits aprox in the center of the coupler. Turn the bevel of the airline tward the pump.

If you are going to keep the Berlin skimmer I would strongly reccommend buying a Kent Marine Turbo Venturi and installing it. It is the only thing I have seen make the Berlin work fairly well.




http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewI...ies_Protein_Skimmers_Accessories~vendor~.html

 

[Scooterman]

Hey T, look at this pic of my skimmer, I think it may help, that little valve has to be wide open or maybe reversed as the way you have it in your first picture.

 

[trillyen]

ok im bout to go give it a try right now guys wish me luck

thanks that does help guys, i really hope she works

thanks guys!!!

 

[trillyen]

nope nothing will work im returning it tomorrow, i cant find any red sea pumps on line for sale either im not sure what gph it was all i know is it was a red sea turbo pump for the berlin xl skimmer

im gonna google it here in a min

thanks for the help!!!

 

[Herefishyfishy]

These are garbage skimmers but PM sent.