The $5 CAD Lights Hoover Belt Mod

A rubber Hoover vacuum belt may be the answer to my problem with the CAD Lights PLS-100 Pipeless skimmer. The belt is to hold the skimmer body in place with the base as it tended to wander with vibration changing the water level inside this unique skimmer. It is too early to say whether this particular belt (a Hoover 160) is going to do it, but I think I am on to something. If you have a small sump, you might do these sort of things to maintain a skimmer with a 4.75" x 4.75" footprint.

In my 2 month review I discovered that this level would change over time due to pump vibrations and air turbulence. I found myself, adjusting this skimmer at least once a day even with an ATO. This skimmer has a lot of potential with great skimmate but I consider this a design flaw.

So this is my first serious attempt at addressing the issue. The Hoover 160 belts fits it well. It is a good first attempt. However my instinct says a wider, slightly tighter belt would be ideal.

Even so, this mod makes it more difficult to adjust the skimmer as the two parts are now more snug with the belt. An ideal solution would make adjustments easy.

But for $5 and a DIY that anyone can do, I had to test it out. Here we go!

matt

 

Yes you could be onto something, this would be a super cheap mod if it works well. Is there any sort of base or pad you could add to it to help reduce vibrations?

 

The skimmer already has suction cups on the base so a pad underneath would not help too much I think. I think the big problem is maintaining the aperture of the water exit holes between the two parts of the skimmer. I am trying to address that here. I've had to make some initial adjustments, time will tell.

 

Update:

I've spent the last day and half toying with this. The belt is holding the mark which is good news. What is interesting is the water line still dropped even though I knew that the openings had not changed. I unplugged the pump and a ball of chaeto shot out. I have seen this before.

So I took a maxi-jet extension and strainer and mounted to the mouth of the pump. When I plugged it back it in, the water level shot up, and I got it back to where it was by adjusting the holes to their original marks.

With the belt holding the marks, I was able to deduce that there was another issue as well. That was nice.

Now I think I am on my way here. And I think this Hoover 160 belt might actually be the right belt too. It does allow for adjustments and holds the mark so far.

I'll report again in a few days.

matt

 

Nice work Matt

 

Thanks John. I am anxious to check on when I get home.

Interesting that my Eden pump on my Warner Marine eats the chaeto and passes it through the skimmer but it clogs this pump.

 

Hey Matt, did you wash that belt pretty well before installing it? are you worried about leaching or anything?

 

Valid point. To be honest, a rinse would have been smart. It was real clean and did not occur to me.

I did inspect it a bit. I believe that it is not banded and appeared to be solid rubber or neoprene.

I think it should be fine. Since you get 2 in a pack, I will probably be replacing it before this were to become a concern once it stretches out or hardens.

matt

 

FYI - Natural rubber & EPDM have "Excellent" compatibility with salt water, while Neoprene is only "Good" up to 120° (Minor Effect, slight corrosion or discoloration.) This is according to Cole Parmer. If it is Neoprene, you may want to look into another alternative.

But nice work on finding a solution!

 

Thanks. Hopefully my tank will not reach 120 degrees.