skimmer extension

after failing to trade my skimmer for a skimmer with a smaller footprint i decided i might as well keep it cause after all i do love eshopps skimmers. so, to make a short story even shorter, i have a psk-100 that won't fit in my sump. i have this brilliant idea of drilling a hole in my sump and put an extension tube between the pump and the skimmer so only the pump will be in the sump and the skimmer will sit outside. do you think it will work?

 

I was thinking of doing something similar, but putting the skimmer and pump on top of the sump on some egg crate or something. you would just need a pump that can be used out of water. you would get less heat that way too.

 

i really don't wanna buy another pump. the pump itself doesn't raise the temperature that much and i'm already getting rid of few of my power heads (i'm getting a vortech mp20 instead) so temperature is really not an issue.
do you think an extension will work then?

 

no one?:-[

 

Are you going to run two extensions? one for the pump inlet and outlet?

 

hmmm...seems like i'm gonna have to.
this is the skimmer


any suggestions?

 

hello, i also am a huge fan of Eshopps skimmers. i love them and have been super impressed. (i have a few different models and have gotten a few other people to buy them.)

now, on your question.
i would have to say that i dont see this being a good idea. it is a good theory, but the pump on that skimmer just pushes in, and will leak if you put a pipe on it.
if you can find a flex tubing then it might be feasable. press it on the pump, and wedge it in the skimmer. then you will only need a pipe for the outgoing water.

sorry for the bad news, but if you did get it going, feel free to update and share with us.

good luck, and happy reefing.

 

I wouldn't try it for a few reasons. First like was said it's likely to leak. Some in sump skimmer will leak if filled outside a sump. It doesn't matter much when they are sitting in the sump, so they are not always fully sealed. The height of the bubbles in your skimmer are also regulated by the pressure against the exhaust, and extending the tube to get it back into the sump might have some adverse effects on it. If you do decide to try it you may want to upgrade your pump a little to make up for the extra plumbing.