wood air stone skimmers

[mike31154]

Nice work there rayjay, I like your take on the collection cup, a little different than the conventional setup around the outside of the reaction chamber. Since you've resurrected this thread, it might be a good time to present a few photos of my DIY basswood air stones.

Here's my first attempt after being in use for many months (lost track but it was still working quite well). I put a rock inside before assembly to weigh it down.


Assembly of the new one, in service now. Since the basswood plank I have is relatively thin, I need to fuse two sections together for each of the four sides to get a good sized diffuser out of the deal


As you can see here, I don't use precision tools, just a hand saw & miter box, so I don't always get an even cut. A bit of sanding takes care of that and it's really not that critical due to the large surface area you get from the box design


And the new one, ready to go. Not quite as clunky at the top & bottom as my first effort and I used basswood for the ends, whereas with the first one I just used some pine I had laying around. I find there's a bit of a break in period with these DIY diffusers and they actually get better with age, to a point...

[rayjay]

My stones are solid.
I use a 7/8" boring bit with extension on it for depth. I ground a little off each side to make the hole just under the 7/8". Then I tap the top part using a piece of pipe with 7/8" OD thread, I think it's 3/4" pipe where I cut long narrow "v" groves along the length of the threading and then squeezed the ends together so now the threads have a slight taper but still have a gap.
I screwed the other end of the pipe into a "t" for the same dia. pipe and shove a large screwdriver through the "t" when using it as a tap for the hole in the basswood.
I use 3/8" nylon firm tubing inside the skimmer, fastened to the stone with 3/8" vinyl type air line, and the same vinyl air line from the top end of the skimmer to the linear compressor.
I tried to get mileage out of trimmings left over after making a batch of stones, gluing together like yours appears to be, but it came apart in only a few days. I guess I didn't use the right glue.

[josie]

2 months since the skimmer is in action!

We really think it's working great! I think this old technology is quit "soft" on the water... compare to using a needle wheel or other pomp that are hard on water...

our hait algae problems seems to end, the algae is dying and disolving!

The polyps extension is amazing!


















mike31154: what glue did you used?

[lastlight]

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?

[josie]

Originally Posted by lastlight

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?

yes!
good skimmer dont have to cost 3000$!

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by josie

2 months since the skimmer is in action!

We really think it's working great! I think this old technology is quit "soft" on the water... compare to using a needle wheel or other pomp that are hard on water...

our hait algae problems seems to end, the algae is dying and disolving!

The polyps extension is amazing!


mike31154: what glue did you used?

Gorilla Glue

[KevinK]

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

[josie]

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)

[mike31154]

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.