I just added an elbow and a gate valve to my Euroreef CS8-2 riser tube and I cannot get over how quiet it runs now. No more annoying spilling water sound! I really hated hearing the water falling sound from the EuroReef at night when I was trying to get to sleep (It sounded to much like a sump overflowing, which is a terrifying sound to anyone who has worken up to an overflowing sump!). I am very excited about the adjustablilty of the setup as well.
I am sure that people have posted similar modifications before but I thought I would provide the details what I used and how I installed it in case it helps someone in the club.
Materials needed were purchased from Lowes
? ?? MPT x Slip 90? Elbow Cost ~$0.60
? 1?? PVC Pipe. This cost me ~$4.50 since they only sold 10? lenghts. You only need about a 4 ? section to connect the T to the elbow coming out of the skimmer.
? 1?" slip x ?" FPT x 1?" slip t the perpendicualr portion is ?? Cost ~ $1.20
I already had the following material on hand so I am just guessing the cost
? ?? Gate valve slip X slip 8-10 dollars
? ?? slip x slip 90? Elbow Everyone has one of these lying around
? ? ? PVC tubing Ditto
So I only spent $6.30 for the modification but if I had to buy all components it would still have cost me no more than $20.00.
1.) I added a 1.5" slip x 0.75" FPT x 1.5" slip t fitting on the elbow where the riser tube usually sits. On top of this I placed the riser tube and raised it so that if for some reason the gate valve gets clogged the water will fall out of the riser tube a couple of inches before it would over flow into the collection cup. Murphy pretty much guarantees this will happen so this is an important aspect to test.
2.) I screwed the ?? MPT x Slip 90? Elbow into the ? FTP fitting on the T. The Elbow was clocked so the slip opening would face the front of the sump parallel to the water surface.
3.) Using a small length of ?? PVC Gate valve was attached to this elbow. All PVC was attached using friction only, no glue or solvents used ? this is in the sump after all and if I get an occasional drip leaking out I could care less
4.) Using another small length of ? PVC the ?? slip x slip 90? Elbow was attached to the other end of Gate valve with the open end facing down.
5.) A length of ? PVC was added to the elbow to place the return 1-2 inches below the surface.
6.) Turned the skimmer on with the gate valve fully opened and then closed it slowly until the desired level was attained in the skimmer.
The skimmer now runs silently (Except for a little pump vibration) and the gate valve allows me to control the skimmer height level down to 1/8 of an inch. You could save a little money using a ball valve, but I think the Gate is worth the extra $ for the precision and east of use it provides.
I am a Happy Camper!!! I really wish I did this 2 years ago.
Regards
Jake
I am sure that people have posted similar modifications before but I thought I would provide the details what I used and how I installed it in case it helps someone in the club.
Materials needed were purchased from Lowes
? ?? MPT x Slip 90? Elbow Cost ~$0.60
? 1?? PVC Pipe. This cost me ~$4.50 since they only sold 10? lenghts. You only need about a 4 ? section to connect the T to the elbow coming out of the skimmer.
? 1?" slip x ?" FPT x 1?" slip t the perpendicualr portion is ?? Cost ~ $1.20
I already had the following material on hand so I am just guessing the cost
? ?? Gate valve slip X slip 8-10 dollars
? ?? slip x slip 90? Elbow Everyone has one of these lying around
? ? ? PVC tubing Ditto
So I only spent $6.30 for the modification but if I had to buy all components it would still have cost me no more than $20.00.
1.) I added a 1.5" slip x 0.75" FPT x 1.5" slip t fitting on the elbow where the riser tube usually sits. On top of this I placed the riser tube and raised it so that if for some reason the gate valve gets clogged the water will fall out of the riser tube a couple of inches before it would over flow into the collection cup. Murphy pretty much guarantees this will happen so this is an important aspect to test.
2.) I screwed the ?? MPT x Slip 90? Elbow into the ? FTP fitting on the T. The Elbow was clocked so the slip opening would face the front of the sump parallel to the water surface.
3.) Using a small length of ?? PVC Gate valve was attached to this elbow. All PVC was attached using friction only, no glue or solvents used ? this is in the sump after all and if I get an occasional drip leaking out I could care less
4.) Using another small length of ? PVC the ?? slip x slip 90? Elbow was attached to the other end of Gate valve with the open end facing down.
5.) A length of ? PVC was added to the elbow to place the return 1-2 inches below the surface.
6.) Turned the skimmer on with the gate valve fully opened and then closed it slowly until the desired level was attained in the skimmer.
The skimmer now runs silently (Except for a little pump vibration) and the gate valve allows me to control the skimmer height level down to 1/8 of an inch. You could save a little money using a ball valve, but I think the Gate is worth the extra $ for the precision and east of use it provides.
I am a Happy Camper!!! I really wish I did this 2 years ago.
Regards
Jake
