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#21
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![]() Wouldn't it be extremely cheap to DIY a monster air driven with some big ABS or pvc? Seems to me the biggest cost is the air compressor/bubbler?
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#22
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![]() Quote:
![]() good skimmer dont have to cost 3000$! ![]()
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Life is full of cycles.. our saltwater adventure is over..for now. FTOTM FEB 2011:http://www.canreef.com/ftotm/feb11/ My blog: http://thejosieworld.blogspot.com/ "When you open your minds to the impossible, sometimes you find the truth." W.Bishop |
#23
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![]() Quote:
Gorilla Glue
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Mike 77g sumpless SW DIY 10 watt multi-chip LED build ![]() |
#24
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![]() ok so now as we know thy are great, how often do you replace the stones, or do you sand them off a bit for a nother few weeks.
only down side I would considder is the nois of the air pump. I used a 40W comp. to feed my needel W. with air, as my skimmer is tall, and hate the sound. gust ordered a laguna 2900 to build a mesh wheel, thy should handel the suction of air, so I loos the compressor. however you never know in the future, so always interested to find out how long the w. stones last |
#25
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![]() KevinK:
we change the stones every 3-4weeks... we made our air stone (33cents each!) for the air pump mine is really quiet (O2 Max Air Pump,885 Gallons per Hour)
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Life is full of cycles.. our saltwater adventure is over..for now. FTOTM FEB 2011:http://www.canreef.com/ftotm/feb11/ My blog: http://thejosieworld.blogspot.com/ "When you open your minds to the impossible, sometimes you find the truth." W.Bishop |
#26
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![]() Check the first photo of my post #18 in this thread. That air diffuser was doing its thing for 6 months if not longer and still producing better bubbles than any brand new store bought wooden diffuser. As you can see, the wood grain is starting to open up quite a bit so sanding or anything else is not going to extend the life of one of these. When I was using the store bought diffusers, I once soaked and boiled a few of them in a vinegar solution in an effort to get more life out of them. The performance wasn't that great after that, but I was able to use them a little longer.
For my skimmer I don't need a piston air pump, the Rena Air 400 diaphragm pump is more than enough and along with the small AquaClear 301 powerhead, you can barely hear a thing. My lighting fans and VorTech pumps pretty much drown out the low hum produced by the Rena.
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Mike 77g sumpless SW DIY 10 watt multi-chip LED build ![]() Last edited by mike31154; 11-09-2010 at 03:14 PM. |
#27
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![]() I use the pondmaster linear compressor and they are extremely quite.
For my air stones, I use a pair for each skimmer and change them every 4 or 5 weeks, cleaning the removed one and drying it out and using it at the next change. Two stones get me more than a year service. The advantage of boring the centre hole is that you don't have to glue an assembly together. |
#28
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![]() Great thread. Tagging along
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Andy |
#29
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![]() none of these pics show what I would consider significant skimmate at all...
I respect a simple, cheaper alternative but I think its pretty clear these skimmers dont even seem to perform better than a coralife skimmer. Not to knock whats working for you, but there is no way I would never put one of those on my reef...especially with how affordable a lot of the venturi, needlewheel and beckett skimmers have become lately. I would potentially try one on a nano though...in fact, I think I may just make one this weekend and try it out. |
#30
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![]() Quote:
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