i found the acrylic tubes at industrial plastics and paint. sometimes they will have some scraps that are 3ft long if not, just ask the people over the counter for the size you want, they'll most likely have it in the back.
Heres an update on how the skimmer cup is working. I like it so far, its pulling some dark stuff out for me, i still need to tweak it to see where the optimal height placement for the cup but so far so good. This is what it looked like 48 hours after using, i had to empty the cup once with dark green tea color skimmate (cup was adjusted too low).
look at the foam head
foam head and skimmate
