Is my Aqua Medic Turboflotor 1000 Working?

I am setting up my first tank. I found a used Aqua Medic Turboflotor
1000 with a Rio 2100 on ebay (one needle on the impeller is broken).
When I set it up, it creates pea sized bubbles in the chamber, though
not so many as to make it difficult to see though the chamber. At the
LFS, I saw some other skimmers in action that created a mass of
pin-head sized bubbles that completely obscured the view through the
chamber. This is what I was expecting to see with my new (used)
skimmer, but what do I know (first time and all).

Several posts talk about making sure the connections between the pump
and the skimmer are tight, so I used Teflon tape on these. The air tube
is clean and the venturi holes are open.

Is this thing working the way it should? Thanks for any help you can
give.

I am setting up my first tank. I found a used Aqua Medic Turboflotor
1000 with a Rio 2100 on ebay (one needle on the impeller is broken).
When I set it up, it creates pea sized bubbles in the chamber, though
not so many as to make it difficult to see though the chamber. At the
LFS, I saw some other skimmers in action that created a mass of
pin-head sized bubbles that completely obscured the view through the
chamber. This is what I was expecting to see with my new (used)
skimmer, but what do I know (first time and all).

Several posts talk about making sure the connections between the pump
and the skimmer are tight, so I used Teflon tape on these. The air tube
is clean and the venturi holes are open.

Pea sized bubbles are way to big. You need to buy a new a new needle wheel:
http://tinyurl.com/ycanc6

b0ogger wrote:

Pea sized bubbles are way to big. You need to buy a new a new needle wheel:
http://tinyurl.com/ycanc6

It's hard to believe that one needle out of the 30 some on the impeller
could make the difference between pea sized and pin-head sized bubbles.
The pump does work. Is there anything else that comes to mind?

"sclark" wrote in message
ups.com...
b0ogger wrote:

Pea sized bubbles are way to big. You need to buy a new a new needle
wheel:
http://tinyurl.com/ycanc6

It's hard to believe that one needle out of the 30 some on the impeller
could make the difference between pea sized and pin-head sized bubbles.
The pump does work. Is there anything else that comes to mind?

You already know that the needle wheel is damaged. Why not replace it ($8)
and go from there?

The needle wheel is the heart of the whole device. I had to replace mine
already due to wear. As it spins over time the needles get smaller in
radius due to friction with the housing and then it needs to be replaced.

My advice, replace the wheel and take it from there.

You already know that the needle wheel is damaged. Why not replace it ($8)
and go from there?

The needle wheel is the heart of the whole device. I had to replace mine
already due to wear. As it spins over time the needles get smaller in
radius due to friction with the housing and then it needs to be replaced.

My advice, replace the wheel and take it from there.

I ordered the wheel - I'll let you know. Thanks.

sclark wrote:
b0ogger wrote:

Pea sized bubbles are way to big. You need to buy a new a new needle wheel:
http://tinyurl.com/ycanc6


It's hard to believe that one needle out of the 30 some on the impeller
could make the difference between pea sized and pin-head sized bubbles.
The pump does work. Is there anything else that comes to mind?

Are you sure that the pump is working when the skimmer is in operation?
If the water is flowing through the pump (and air) even if most of the
pins were off of the needlewheel it would still make very small bubbles.
If you are getting pea sized bubbles I would guess that either the
pump was not spinning the impeller at all, or the impeller was broke so
that it was not spinning the needlewheel.


Do you have an airpump hooked up to the air intake? If you are running
an airpump on it you could be cavitating the pump, which might cause
larger bubbles, but I'm not to sure about that.

Kim

My pump occassionally does not produce when I first turn it on, even
after a thorough cleaning.

If I'm not happy with the bubble stream, which I would describe as
rolling clouds of bubbles, I turn it off and back on a few times until
I'm satisfied with the output. It's been a good device for my 75 gal
setup.
-Tom

Are you by any chance using it on fresh water?

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets



sclark wrote on 10/28/2006 6:40 PM:
I am setting up my first tank. I found a used Aqua Medic Turboflotor
1000 with a Rio 2100 on ebay (one needle on the impeller is broken).
When I set it up, it creates pea sized bubbles in the chamber, though
not so many as to make it difficult to see though the chamber. At the
LFS, I saw some other skimmers in action that created a mass of
pin-head sized bubbles that completely obscured the view through the
chamber. This is what I was expecting to see with my new (used)
skimmer, but what do I know (first time and all).

Several posts talk about making sure the connections between the pump
and the skimmer are tight, so I used Teflon tape on these. The air tube
is clean and the venturi holes are open.

Is this thing working the way it should? Thanks for any help you can
give.

On Oct 31, 10:24 am, Wayne Sallee wrote:
Are you by any chance using it on fresh water?

Yes! It's fresh both in the sense that it's not salt water and that
there's no biological stuff in it; I set it up in my sink to see how it
worked. I hope this is the problem - it's an easy one to solve.


On Oct 30, 10:09 pm, kim gross wrote:

If the water is flowing through the pump (and air) even if most of the
pins were off of the needlewheel it would still make very small bubbles.
If you are getting pea sized bubbles I would guess that either the
pump was not spinning the impeller at all, or the impeller was broke so
that it was not spinning the needlewheel.

Do you have an airpump hooked up to the air intake? If you are running
an airpump on it you could be cavitating the pump, which might cause
larger bubbles, but I'm not to sure about that.

Even with the needle wheel, the pump moves enough water that I didn't
suspect that it was the culprit. I don't have an air pump hooked up to
the air intake. If I blow air through the intake, I just get more large
bubbles.

Yep, that's why you are getting large bubbles. Salt water
creates much smaller bubbles.

Wayne Sallee
Wayne's Pets



sclark wrote on 11/3/2006 11:47 PM:
On Oct 31, 10:24 am, Wayne Sallee wrote:
Are you by any chance using it on fresh water?

Yes! It's fresh both in the sense that it's not salt water and that
there's no biological stuff in it; I set it up in my sink to see how it
worked. I hope this is the problem - it's an easy one to solve.