My new DIY skimmer - Page 3

CHEAPREEF · #21 04-22-2003, 04:07 AM

Yeah, email them to me and i'll see if i can post them for you if you want. I do have another HOT finished but haven't been able to borrow a digital camera yet.

I guess i'll just have to break down and buy one.

Clinton

Dale D · #22 04-22-2003, 05:47 AM

I e-mailed you a couple of pictures of my skimmer.

How about a drawing of the HOT instead then.

I'm very interested in seeing how you designed this thing.

CHEAPREEF · #23 04-22-2003, 06:17 AM

Very nice, looks better than mine.

Here are Dales pics.

Had to resize them, i don't think they lost a whole lot. I'll see if i can get a pic or two up in the next few days on the HOT.

Clinton

Troy F · #24 04-22-2003, 11:47 AM

Dale, very nice work! I have to ask a few questions for curiousity's sake, what's the reason behind adding two 90s before the beckett? Also, why did you do the holes at the bottom of the column in that fassion?

Dale D · #25 04-22-2003, 06:20 PM

Troy

I put the 2 90's on the input because the sump the skimmer is going into will not be too big so the pump will probabily be pretty close to the skimmer. I guess I could put 1 90 on it and then used plastic hose and bent it toward the skimmer. I still haven't finalized the input plumbing so it may change in the future.

Besides I saw skimmers for sale from other companies on the net that did it that way. So, I did too.

I am also going to put a union on the input near the 90's so I can disconnect the skimmer from the pump easier.

The holes in the bottom of the first riser are to let the water back out into the box. The water comes down the Beckett injector tube and through 2 2" 90's inside the box. The water and air them come up a 2" injector tube (not shown in place in the pictures) in the middle of the first riser. The water then exits the riser through the holes into the box and out the valve.

I stole the idea from Cheapreef

He borrowed it from a guy on RC who makes them for sale. It looked like an interesting idea.

DJ88 · #26 04-23-2003, 12:32 AM

Dale,

What are the dimensions of that baby? and how much to make..

Looks great BTW.

CHEAPREEF · #27 04-23-2003, 02:39 AM

Just to add to Dales comments, the reason i built mine with the 90^ elbows at the end of the injector tube was for more contact time and less bubble return. The holes t the bottom of the riser column were also to minamize bubble return.

Clinton

Dale D · #28 04-23-2003, 05:50 AM

Darren the skimmer is about 28" high. The box is around 10"x 8"x 6"

Cost is hard to figure out. Most of the tubing had to be bought in a 3' lengths, so I bought more than was needed. I had enough 6" left over to make a waste collector and I still have a bunch of other sizes left over for other projects. Plus a couple of prototype screw ups

resulted in some extra material needing to be bought.

I fired it up today at work for the first time.

I started removing junk from the rock tank it was on after about 10 minutes.

After a couple of hours the level of water/bubbles in the second riser fell and needed to be adjusted. I spent abit of time trying to get the level to remain constant (not too low and not too high). It's alittle touchy using the ball valve to adjust the level and will take a bit to get used to.

Cheapreef.

On your Beckett skimmer how high in the second riser did you set the water/bubble level?

Did you try to set it just below the collection cup riser?

In the pictures you posted of it in action it looks like the level is quite low in the second riser and in some pictures it looks like it is only in the first riser.

Did you just set the level low and let it run for a day or so?

If so, did the foam just start to form and rise up the tubes after awhile?

If I try to set the level to high it runs ok for a while, but, sometimes it would start to bubble over into the collection cup too fast. If I set it too low the level would drop and stay at about the half way point in the second riser. Maybe I just need to let it run at lower level for awhile and let it settle in.

I'll get this thing figured out sooner or later.

One last ?

How long did the center injection riser (in the first riser) end up being on your skimmer?

Thanks.

CHEAPREEF · #29 04-23-2003, 05:56 AM

I set the water level about 1/2 way up the first riser and let it settle for a while, then added the air and readjusted the water level to 1/2 way again. That was that ran great for three weeks that way until the store added more live rock to the tank and it went crazy and overflowed, but you shouldn't have that problem. The injector tube ended up being about 2" into the first riser, any higher and i couldn't control the washing machine effect.

Any more ?? fire away. Glad it works the first go, and again it looks very nice.

Clinton

Dale D · #30 04-23-2003, 06:19 AM

Glad you don't mind ?'s

One nice thing about this skimmer design is that there was no bubble return at all into the tank it was running on.

After you added the air and adjusted the water level again where did you leave the final level of water and bubbles sitting when you let it run for a while? Was it in the first riser or the second and how far up in the riser.

I think I need to set it up on my tank at home and just let it run for a couple days and see what happens.

I cut the center injection riser down to about 2.5" When it was about 5" long I was getting a clear band of water at the bottom of the first riser.