View Full Version : Downdraft Skimmer in my 10G Sump
captbunzo
08/01/2005, 04:11 PM
I ran across this thread (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=628296) last week on downdraft skimmers. After some thought I decided to give this a try. So this last weekend, I put something together and installed it in my tank at lunchtime today. The results seem to be good as foam is building nicely and skimmate seems to be collecting as expected. At least it's brown water, so I ASSUME it is skimmate... :)
First of all, here is a picture of the whole thing...
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b298/captbunzo/050801/skimmer/1-wholeskimmer.jpg
To views of the top of the skimmer...
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b298/captbunzo/050801/skimmer/2-upperview1.jpg
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b298/captbunzo/050801/skimmer/3-upperview2.jpg
Here is a view of the bottom of the skimmer...
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b298/captbunzo/050801/skimmer/4-lowerview.jpg
A funny view from the top...
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b298/captbunzo/050801/skimmer/5-topview.jpg
Skimmate, I presume?
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b298/captbunzo/050801/skimmer/6-beholdskimmate.jpg
Everybody loves skimmers!!!
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b298/captbunzo/050801/skimmer/7-everyonelovesaskimmer.jpg
(OTHER SEARCH KEYWORDS: gravity skimmer)
captbunzo
08/01/2005, 04:34 PM
Ok. Now here are the basics behind the construction of my skimmer.
The Box
The main box of the skimmer is sitting in a 10x10x3 section of my 10G sump. This section is where the original pipe was that drained water from tank to sump. The box itself was built to just fit in this, side to side. And then it was built to provide about 1.5 inches of clearance in the front and the back.
The box has no bottom. Rather, it sits on the bottom of the 10G aquarium in that chamber. In order for water to exit the box, the front and back side panels are 1/2 inch shorter. With my little tank, that was plenty of room for the water to float out.
The top of the box, per instructions from dugg, was built to rest about 1 to 1/2 inch below the water surface.
The Water Injection Plumbing
This part was simple. I simply made a "bulkhead" with a PVC coupler and some pipe. This was glued into the top of the box. Then I attached this to the drain via a street elbow and a screw together coupler.
Please note that the pipe fitting into the "bulkhead" at the top of the skimmer box is NOT glued. Friction is fine to keep this in place and will make maintainance easier.
The Foam Riser Tube
The foam riser tube was made out of a 1.5x8 inch gravel siphone tube from a LFS. It would have been MUCH BETTER to use clear acrylic or PVC tubing for this, but none was available. The tube was not a standard plumbing size ans required quite a bit of work to get attached to the rest of everything.
Anyhow, it is attached to the top of the box via a similar bulkhead made out of a coupler and some pipe. On the top, I have a PVC plug inserted into the top of the top, and a standard band clamp around the clear tube to hold it in place.
The Skimmate Drain Tube
The plug on top has a whole in it, through which goes the skimmate drain tube. Inside the foam riser tube there is an inverted funnel which was cut to fit fairly snug. The drain tube is pushed through that and held in place (very tightly) by friction.
This whole arrangement makes the drain tube/funnel vertically adjustable. And the funnel causes the foam to climb into the tube a little better.
The other side of the drain tube is in a standard plastic jar from Walmart.
Extra Bubbles, Please?
With drain bubbles alone, I did not have enough foam production for the foam to rise in the tube as is needed. This was expected as I only have a Mag 7 pump on the tank. That's only probably producing 200-300 GPH of water flow through the sump.
Eventually the plan to add more bubbles is a air pump with a limewood airstone. Of course, that is on order right now, so I had to do something makeshift for now.
So, we stuck a powerhead into the skimmer box with the jet pointing at the wall a bit, and up a bit about halfway toward the top where the foam riser tube is. And then we stuck airline tubing through the bottom of the cover screen for the powerhead, and put an crappy little walmart airstone on it inside the cover screen and put it on the powerhead.
Basically, this injects lots of big bubbles into the powerhead and causes them to get mangled nicely by the impeller. This produces TONS of fine bubbles.
I have also thought about reconfiguring the powerhead to have the input screen facing up and sucking water/bubbles directly from the tubulant area where water enters the skimmer box.
Also I will try just a limewood airstone when the arrive in the mail later this week.
Done with Post
That's it. Enjoy... :)
Very nice. I like the funnel idea, i will be looking into one myself tomorrow. Part of the problem with not enough air, is that you need more drop to the intake. It's that last drop where it gets most of it's air from. I really like the tall thin design, i think that would make a huge difference for our smaller tanks. i think if we keep up working on the idea here, we can eliminate the need for spending all that money on skimmers all together. I always feel like such a shmuck walking out the door after paying $300 for $10 worth of plastic when i buy a skimmer, and even worse when i get home and it never works. Since i set my skimmer up and got the low flow figured out, i haven't had to touch it, and it has had a very consistant output. I'm getting about a pint per week (coffee color), and i think that is quite a bit for a 30 gallon tank myself. What has your temp. change been?
Travis L. Stevens
08/02/2005, 08:10 AM
I really enjoy these downdraft skimmers. Keep the ideas coming. I only see one little problem that you might have Paul. When pump mysteriously stops pumping (IE power outage, broken impeller, etc) where will all the extra overflow water go? It doesn't look like you left very much room in the sump to accomidate the extra water. I could be wrong, but I would rather have a dry floor in the future.
captbunzo
08/02/2005, 09:05 AM
Thanks for the tip, Travis. I already had a little overflow last night, but not because of the skimmer. Rather, when I had previously calibrated my sump fill lines, I had done so with my power filter on. When I turned EVERYTHING off for feeding, I got some overflow. Grrr!!!
But I think I have that mostly figured out now.
Btw. I am helping setup a 90G tank in my sister's doctor office (not in the waiting room, in her actual office office). And I think that I am going to build a much nicer version of a downdraft skimmer for her. I suspect it will work great for her. :)
Travis L. Stevens
08/02/2005, 09:19 AM
That's good to hear. Is she ready for a tank? It can be frustrating if you don't know what you are doing.
Knyght
08/02/2005, 01:40 PM
Interesting.
I may have to get one of the fuge lights like yours.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b298/captbunzo/050801/skimmer/2-upperview1.jpg
:beachbum:
captbunzo
08/02/2005, 02:30 PM
Originally posted by Knyght
Interesting.
I may have to get one of the fuge lights like yours.
:beachbum:
I was wondering if anyone would notice my creative license. :)
Knyght
08/02/2005, 02:42 PM
And all this time I was thinking it was done by one of your skimmer watchers :D
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b298/captbunzo/050801/skimmer/7-everyonelovesaskimmer.jpg
:beachbum:
capt. insano
08/11/2005, 09:14 AM
can we see a pic of the skimmate it's producing and of the foam head on the skimmer?
captbunzo
08/11/2005, 09:46 AM
Originally posted by capt. insano
can we see a pic of the skimmate it's producing and of the foam head on the skimmer?
I will try to get that up in the next couple of days. I have been experimenting with different methods for getting good foam and skimmate. Different combinations of airstones, powerheads, etc.
I should have taken a picture last week before I dumped out the 2-3 cups of nastiness that I had accumulated over the week! :)
Just thought of something very helpfull here. The skimmer that Wayne has on his display tank doesn't have a clear PVC riser tube on it. He uses a water or coke bottle with the bottom cut off of it. The tube fits in the bottle's neck perfectly, and you just slide the bottom of the bottle over the 2 inch PVC coupling mounted to the top of the skimmer. It also fits nicely over the coupling. Since the bottom of the bottle is under the water line, it doesn't effect the skimmer's operation if it isn't a perfect fit.
If you save this pic and zoom in, you can see the bottle and how it fits on.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46077skimmer_in_sump.jpg
HAHAHA, i have tons of water bottles that will fit this. I will never have to clean that nasty crap out ever again SWEEEEEEEET. Just pop a new bottle on and chunk the old one. That just did away with my most hated chore. :D :D :D :D
Here are a few pics of the new one i built today Paul. You can see the amount of air i have inside, and see the quality of foam it is making. It has only been up for about 8 or 9 hrs when these pics were taken. The funnel is a really great improvement.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46077100_0693.jpg
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46077100_0700.jpg
You can kind of see to the right side where i have the powerhead mounted, facing the back about 2 inches below the intake. It points straight back at the back panel. Maxijet 1250
Awright
08/14/2005, 01:14 AM
Great idea. I think I will try one.
Thanks,
Hey Paul, i got this thing working like a champ now. It's the skimmer in the pic, with an Aquafina16.9 oz water bottle for a riser. Cut the bottle to where when it is set into the 2" PVC coupling, the rounded part of the top of the bottle, is sitting on the rim of the PVC. Just stick the hose in the top of the bottle and set the bottle in the coupling. It took it about 30 minutes to rise up, as if maybe the residue from the inside of the water bottle was killing the foam at first. It rose up about 1/4 inch at a time and dropped back, until it had contacted the entire inside of the bottle, then it went to work. It is running very consistant. You could almost set a watch to the time it takes each bit of foam to go through the tube. It is perfect foam also, not wet, not dry. I will post a pic later when i get back home.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46077100_0702.jpg
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46077100_0703.jpg
That is the skim it has made since i made the new skimmer.
Awright
08/15/2005, 10:39 AM
Looks good. How long did it take to make that skimate on the new skimmer?
It is making about 1/2 to 3/4 cups per day, but i feed really heavy. I expect it will slow down some after the water gets clean. Wayne gets about 1 quart per week out of his skimmer that this is designed after.
New discovery! You can control how wet or dry this skimmer is skimming by controling the exit rate of the water. I placed several small pieces of live rock in front of the exit slot, and raised the foam head pressure considerably. I plan to re-do the skimmer and add a ball valve for the exit instead of just having a slot in the bottom. This way i can fine tune the output. I got the idea from reading an article on skimmers by Anthony Calfo.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=554786
Very interesting info in this thread, worth a read.
captbunzo
08/17/2005, 09:24 AM
I wonder if you couldn't accomplish something similar by using a powerhead to recirculate the water back into the skimmer box.
Anyhow, I have finally gotten my skimmer working again, and it is doing pretty well. The skimmate isn't as dark (kind of a watered down coke color), but it is definately making good foam and pulling some nasty out of the water.
Seriously, I would like to see the results of people with a lot more skimmer experience then I have playing with this idea. I think this could make a major change in the way we do skimming in tanks with sumps.
captbunzo
08/17/2005, 10:42 AM
As I said in my last post, I would like to see some major research and experimentation done in the area of downdraft skimmers. I think they provide so many benefits at so little cost.
I will get on that soapbox soon. For now, let me report some of my findings, so that it might help others later. My downdraft skimmer experiment has been pretty interesting.
Please keep in mind that ALL of this process was severely hampered by the fact that I came into this with NO experience with skimmers. Yeah, I am a little nuts. And I need to save the $$$.
Chapter 1: The Original Downdraft Skimmer
As I described at the start of this thread, I created a downdraft skimmer for my 29G tank (w/ 10G sump). And it just worked great.
It basically consisted of nothing more then a acrylic box into which the water from my main tank overflow dumped. There was a riser tube for which foam to rise into. And there was an inverted funnel attached to a clear tube that allowed foam to exit the system.
There was, however, a couple of "flaws" in the system. First of all, the way it worked, as you read above in this thread, a powerhead and air pump were required to get foam rising properly. Secondly, the way I attached the drain input, and foam riser tubes to the top of the skimmer caused about a half inch of air to collect at the top of the skimmer box.
On account of these issues, I decided to experiment with things some to see if I could either:
A. Improve Skimmer Production
B. Eliminate the Powerhead and/or Air Pump
Chapter 2: Causing Myself Pain and Agony
Ok. This pain came in two parts.
First, I got some limewood airstones in the mail and tried them in the skimmer box. I removed the powerhead and added just the limewood airstone. Well, the result was that I got foam, but not the same kind of dry foam that was spitting through the tube and creating chewing tobacco spit colored skimmate. I mean the original stuff was dark and nasty. But the only thing I was getting with the new airstone was relatively clear. It still stunk a bit, so I could tell I was getting something.
Anyhow, so I decided to work on issue #2 - the air collection at the top of the box. You see, I had attached the two tubes going out of the top of the box by taking 1/2" slices of PVC couples and glueing them to a short stuf of PVC pipe that was stuck through the 2 holes in the top of the skimmer box. That left a 1/2" piece of PVC/coupling extending down into the skimmer box. Well, that section would catch the air and causing it to build, and the gush, build and then gush.
Apparently, that might have been a good thing in the "get dark skimmate" department.
I THOUGHT that the air collection up there was bad. So I basically used a stick and a half of two part aquarium epoxy (http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=3961&N=2004+113817) to fill in the space at the top of the skimmer box that was gathering air. In fact, I even "landscaped" the epoxy a bit to sort of make an concave section around the foam riser area. Basically, I wanted to force ALL of the air to go up the tube.
So I got all of this done and decided to try it out. The next week or so was kind of blurry. Basically, I didn't get any quality skimmate until the last couple of days.
I experimented with powerheads... Without powerheads... With airstones... Without airstones.... Every-freaking-thing!
In the long run I have settled with the powerhead (maxijet) in the box upside down. I have it situated so that when the water/air bubbles rush into the box from the tank overflow, they fall directly onto the powerhead intake screen. This causes the powerhead to suck in the bubbles and chop them up wonderfully. I also have a limewood airstone in the skimmer box, pumping some pretty good air in as well.
And for the last couple of days I have been getting better skimmate. I still have not got the nasty dark stuff that I got at first. However, I have been getting sort of a coffee to waterred down coffee colored skimmate.
Analysis
First of all, I am sure the axiom applies here: If it's not broke, don't fix it. However, in the interest in the continual improvement of this hobby, I am glad I played around and have made these varied mistakes.
First, I suspect that the air section at the top of the skimmer box was actually a GOOD THING. Before I added the epoxy, foam would leave the box as it was very solidly propelled upward by the gurgling motion. The gurgling actually created quite a bit of force, sort of more "selectively" ejecting foam from the skimmer.
Now, with the epoxy, there is a CONSTANT gurgle going on that basically causes more regular ejection of foam. While this is still putting out good skimmate, and maybe just as much organic matter, it comes at the cost of losing more water from the tank.
As for the airstones, powerhead, etc...
First of all, let me note that supposedly a tank with flow on the order of 1000+ GPH should be able to successfully use a downdraft skimmer with no extra airstones or powerheads required. This, of course, is the real coup here - no extra pumping, heat, or power required for skimming.
With my small tank, however, something more was required.
The best discovered I made was that instead of putting a cheap walmart airstone in the powerhead input screen, the powerhead input should simply be pointed up. After all, the drain is causing plenty of air to enter the system - we just need to use that air more effectively.
Limewood airstones, of course, do create good fine bubbles. Not all are created equally, however, as one of the two brands I tried created pretty large bubbles. Could have just been a fluke or something.
I suspect if I hadn't added the epoxy, I could eliminate the powerhead and allow the gurgling to provide the extra force required to eject foam well. As it works now, the airstone really helps the system to a nice tall head of foam.
Another quick comment. Dugg suggested, while chatting one day, that the foam/skimmer output may have simply been disturbed by the curing of the aquarium epoxy. He relayed some stories about painting a house and having his skimmer stop working for a couple of weeks after that due to stuff in the air.
Where To Next???
First, I am leaving the current skimmer box alone. It's working and, despite my desire to get this downdraft skimmer thing perfected, I REALLY do need it working on my tank.
So I am probably going to get some more acrylic scrap from the LGS (Local Glass Shop... :) ) and build another couple skimmer boxes. One I am going to build exactly like the first. The second, I am going to build like the first to start out, and then I am going to cut some teeth or holes in the PVC pipe/coupling sticking into the skimmer box from the foam riser tube. I am wondering if something like this might be some sort of a compromise between the gurgling and the current setup. If all else fails, it should probably be an easier way to recreate what I have working now, without using all that epoxy.
I would also like to experiment with some powerheads of different strengh. Right now I am using a Maxi-Jet 600. I would love to see how stepping up and down a notch or two would change things.
Request for Help, etc
First, if anyone with REAL experience with skimmers has any comments, input, criticism, etc, please speak up. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Secondly, I would like to see some more people experimenting with this idea. Downdraft skimmers are good for our tanks. They take less power to run, skimmer a higher percentage of the tank water, and are just all around awesome. I think that a real contribution to this hobby could be made by experimenting around with these enough to figure out how to make them work more easily. I think, in the long run, that these could be trivially simple little items.
And they'd save a whole lot of money, too... :)
Perhaps sometime I will write my thoughts about this a little more intelligently then just saying that they are "just all around awesome". But I do need to go now... :)
Thanks for your time and energy!
captbunzo
08/17/2005, 01:59 PM
Yet Another Update.
Dugg - that thread (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=554786) you pointed me towards by Anthony Calfo & gang did prove to be very illuminating. It definately will cause me to rethink many things about the way I implented this skimmer.
Who knows what the future may hold! :)
Glad you are so enthusiastic about this project Paul. After reading the thread from Anthony, i am convinced we are on the right track here to build a better skimmer using the surface overflow water instead of taking in random water from the sump using a pump or powerhead. I feel like this hobby is being taken advantage of by the companies that are building current skimmers that cost hundreds of dollars for a product that cost pennies to build, just because it is a nessesary item to keep our tanks healthy.
When you get started on your next attempt, Put some real thought into controling the exit rate of the water from the skimmer. Blocking my exit a little really made a huge difference in the foam head pressure, also the water bottle riser has been a huge improvement. I have cut 3 different height bottles, for wet, medium, and dry skimming. I think a ball valve glued on the box for an exit instead of just a slot in the bottom will make a huge difference in adjusting the foam, so the different height bottles won't be needed. Maybe even a 90* elbow on the inside attached to the back side of the ball valve to help keep the micro bubbles from coming out the exit hole might also help.
As for attaching the PVC to the acrylic, PVC cement works really good. It takes a few minutes to set up, but is very solid when it sets up. No need the pinch the acrylic between 2 fittings.
Another idea i got from talking to wayne the other day, is to use a large pump (1000 gph) that doesn't run through the tank, but instead just runs from the sump to the downpipe, creating the amount of flow and air needed to run the skimmer more efficiently. I don't have an extra pump to try this with, but maybe if someone in COMAS has an extra pump you could borrow it to experiment with. You would need a T in the 2" pipe with a reducer on it to fit a line coming from the extra pump. I know this defeats the purpose of doing away with the extra pump needed to run a normal skimmer, but may create a super skimmer of sorts for small systems if it would work. You shouldn't need any added air going this route, so it does save some.
Thanks for jumping in the guinea pig pen with me here. The more the merrier. Maybe when we perfect this, we can sell our $10 skimmers for $800 each and retire lol. Oh i forget, i'm already retired lol but maybe we can retire and be rich lol. We'll save the last detail for the patent office and the comas club ;)
captbunzo
08/17/2005, 09:14 PM
I have been thinking about a couple of changes as well. For instance, I have been contemplating replacing the funnel with a traditional collection cup. I haven't really decided. I am probably going to think about it for a couple of days...
Willy18T
08/25/2005, 10:38 AM
So in a way this is working like a becket skimmer by injecting the water into the skimmer using gravity and also using the mirco bubbles already being formed. Yes or no?
Is the skimmer top to the outside bottle connection air tight so that a vaccum is formed?
Travis L. Stevens
08/25/2005, 11:13 AM
Would adding the bioball mod on the maxijet increase finer bubble production and increase your skimmate productivity?
captbunzo
08/25/2005, 10:23 PM
Willy18T: Yes, this is attempting to create the require bubbles using the force of gravity. On my small tank, this is not terribly successful - thus the requirement of adding airstones and powerhead.
As for the vaccum question, I don't completely understand what you mean. Can you rephrase?
Travis: I suspect that anything that caused finer bubble production would be an improvement. I think, however, improvements will be more easily made through:
1. Getting nastier water to the skimmer. For me, since I already have a nice long (1/3 of the back of the tank) horizontal overflow, this should be easily accomplished by creating a new "insert" for the overflow that is straight - eliminating the teeth. This is all about skimming a nice thin surface of the top of the tank water column off, as this is where all organic material in the water is going to naturally migrate. Read Anthony's thread on skimmer improvement for that. See expert forum: All Things Salty.
2. Increasing the pressure in the skimmer box. This will be accomplished by eliminating all openings in the bottom of the box and forcing water to leave the skimmer via a gate valve that can be closed and openned. Again, see Anthony Calfo's skimmer production improvement thread.
3. Creating a new foam riser tube with a more traditional collection cup. I am suspicious that the crazy (but very COOL) funnel tube and vertically extending tube we are using causes the skimmer to have to work extra hard to get skimmate out of the water. Actually, for V2 of my skimmer, I am going to create one riser tube using each design (traditional and inverted funnel), so I can experiment with how effective the funnel REALLY is. Right now, there are TOO MANY screwed up parts. I need to fix some of those, and then see where to go next.
4. Getting an air pump more appropriate for use in an air driven skimmer. The $10 walmart pump ain't hacking it and will be replaced with either a TetraTec Deep or a Luft.
Anyhow, there is my plan.
Unforunately, I am limited by lack of funds to buy such things. Hopefully I can afford parts 1-3 sooner, as they are less expensive and I can use my existing pump for now, or even by a second $10 pump and T them together. And then I can add the better pump later...
P.S. If anyone has a luft pump they would like to give/loan me... :)
Paul, don't waste your money on the tetra tec deep.I have been through a few of them and they always got noisy pretty quick. If you look around you can find a luft for around $39. The luft can be repaired with new diaphrams and will last forever.
captbunzo
08/26/2005, 12:34 AM
Yeah - I had pretty much decided that I am going to have to find a luft pump.
captbunzo
08/29/2005, 09:15 AM
Originally posted by Travis L. Stevens
Would adding the bioball mod on the maxijet increase finer bubble production and increase your skimmate productivity?
Travis - I have finally got around to looking up the bioball / maxijet mod. And, well, it looks like it has some serious potential. I am going to try this as part of phase I of my new skimmer. It might help me avoid buying a $45 pump.
Thanks!
Travis L. Stevens
08/29/2005, 09:33 AM
I thought that I was going to get cute this weekend and add the bioball mod to my skimmer. I went through some pretty extensive lengths to get one. Pre-Thanks to Jena and Scott from Aquarium Oddballs. Only to go home excited from a 1 hour drive that I might make my skimmer run even better only to clip up the bulk of a bioball and open up my pump to see that it already had a needle wheel. I was so disappointed.
captbunzo
08/29/2005, 10:11 AM
:)
Willy18T
09/09/2005, 03:59 PM
How tall should i make the riser??? It is 2 in diameter.
My box is 6Wx 8Lx 12H, with an air pump w/ two air stones. My drain for the box is a 1" ball valve that is 90 degreed up with an extension to make the water level between 12.5 and 13" (.5 to 1" above the box) on my drain coming from the tank (2X 1" into one) i put a 45 degree coupler on the inside of the box to kind of redirect the bubbles towards the riser tube.
Anything else you guys can think of, please let me know. I will be hooking it up tomorrow and i will let everyone know how it works.
captbunzo
09/09/2005, 04:23 PM
My riser is ABOUT 2" in diameter and is about 8-9 inches tall. However, the funnel is always near the bottom - about 3 inches up. That just clears about an inch past the white PVC.
Ok, here is my final version. This thing is working great now. I have a total cost of $50 including the powerhead.
I used the original box that i started with, and cut one of the top corners off at a 45* angle, leaving no flat surface for the bubbles to rest and expand. I used the plumbing design from a Euro reef skimmer. I installed a ball valve in the exit pipe, for adjusting the internal pressure, and plumbed the maxijet 1200 into the box, making it a reccirculating pump. It draws water from the box, and pumps it right back in on a closed loop pipe. It also has a venturi installed, to add air through the intake of the powerhead. I am not using airstones at all now. The venturi pruduces far more bubbles than needed by it's self. The venturi is hooked up to my luft pump, and the bubbles it is producing are far finer then the limewood airstones produce. It is producing about 1 to 1 1/2 cups coffee dark skimmate per day, and is easily adjustable for wet or dry skimming. The powerhead closed loop plumbing is 3/4" PVC, the intake plumbing is 2" PVC, and the exit plumbing is 1 1/4" PVC. I did away with the hose, and added an old collection cup i had laying around. The cup could easily be made with clear PVC. I plan to build a bigger collection cup later, because the foam is blowing the top off of the small one i am using now.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46077100_0795.jpg
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46077100_0790.jpg
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46077100_0794.jpg
captbunzo
09/18/2005, 12:01 AM
That sucker is beautiful! I am on hold on my skimmer redo for now as I am planning on upgrading from a 10G to 20G sump sometime in the next couple of months and will have more room for a skimmer at that time.
Nice job! I still need to find one of these good air pumps for a good price.
Btw. Can you describe what you did for the venturi on the Maxijet intake?
For the venturi, i used 3/4 pvc and capped it where it meets the powerhead. I drilled a hole in the cap that fits the PH tightly, and drilled a hole just below the bottom of the PH intake. I used an airhose union and glued it in the hole i drilled. None of the PH plumbing is glued together except where it is fitted to the skimmer box. The powerhead can easily be removed for service. I thought i would need to make a needle wheel, but the stock impeller breaks the air up extremely well, so i am sticking with this one.
It is still staying very consistant on production. 1 to 1.5 cups per day. Closer to 1.5 cups. The ball valve is great. It makes it simple to turn the skimmer off during feeding time. Just open it full open, and the foam head drops down out of the riser. Close it back up a little and it is skimming again in seconds. Here is a pic of the skimmer running. It's just the cup because the skimmer it's self is burried in the LR, but you can see the color and the foam quality a little. It does have a good size foot print in my sump, but no prints on the wallet, so i am very pleased with it.
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/46077100_0796.jpg
captbunzo
09/19/2005, 10:49 AM
Cool stuff. I can't wait to upgrade to my bigger sump so I can go round 2 on a DIY skimmer... :)
CaptainCoral
09/22/2005, 07:40 PM
Hey folks, I decided to jump on the Gravity Skimmer bandwagon. :)
I've had this project on the backburner in my head for a while now, and I've finally implemented it.
This I've named Kent. ;)
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/CaptainCoral/kent2.jpg
It's Going to be fed from one of two AGA megaflow overflows which will house three (needle modded) 1200 maxi jets. The maxi's will be strapped to a 1/2" pvc pipe and lowered into the overflow which will be modded with a strait pipe drain. It's a 7.5 gallon salt bucket with a 3" union and 3.5" wet neck. It stands 31" tall.
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y16/CaptainCoral/6f2dd5f8.jpg
I sprayed the inside with Krylon Fusion so the Great Stuff foam would stick. Then I shaped the great stuff, applied a layer of 100% polyurethane and sprayed the fusion again.
Now I have to wait 7 days for a full cure on the Paint and I'll be ready to challange my existing Aqua C 180 to a duel. OMG I can't wait to see it go.
Whoops, I just realized this thread is in a reef club forum. Sry folks, now I have to move to Oklahoma. ;) I'll open a new thread In the DIY forum when I'm ready to pit Kent against the spray skimmer.
captbunzo
09/23/2005, 09:43 AM
No problem - we're glad to have you post here! Make sure at least to post a link here to your skimmer thread in the DIY forum.
capt. insano
09/23/2005, 10:07 AM
to many captains and not enough sailors on this thread :rollface:
man, I crack myself up
CaptainCoral
09/23/2005, 03:37 PM
to many captains and not enough sailors on this thread
Well, you know great minds think alike. ;)
Yeah, thanks for having me here.
BG123
09/23/2005, 10:08 PM
dugg, I have just read all three of these threads discussing this skimmer. I am amazed. I am currently setting up a 125 FOWLR and trying to save as much money as I can but not skimp on things I really need. I though for sure I would be buying a big $$$ skimmer but now you have me thinking differently. I plan on using a mag 12 as a minimum return pump so I think this might work for me without the added powerhead mod.
What is the total height of the skimmer now? Also do you think you could sketch out exactly how and what materials I would need to make one. Thanks.
The original version of this skimmer is designed for 1000 gph flow rate. If you have high flow like that you don't need any added air. It will stand up to any skimmer out there IMO on a large tank.
3.99AfterTaxes
09/24/2005, 11:42 PM
.. holy crap! I could make one of these in less than an hour! That's it, I'm heading to HD tommorow and picking up parts. I also have access to needle wheel pumps really cheap. You guys rock!
errrr, sorry to break into the club, ahah.
impur
09/27/2005, 05:33 PM
Great thread guys. I've been battling poor skimmer performance since i dropped 140 on my first skimmer and 115 on a used remora. Neither produce a decent skimmate. I've got a 29gal with a 10 gal sump but i think i have a bit larger area where my drains are than Paul. At any rate i'm going to give this badboy a shot, luckily i have a needlewheel pump from my first crappy skimmer i could incorporate as a closed loop. I can't wait to actually get decent skimmate and not have to pay 300+ bucks!!!!!
CaptainCoral
10/01/2005, 05:52 PM
Ok folks, I've got it installed. Here (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=680363) is the link to the DIY Forum thread. I'm hoping it works as well as all of you'all. ;)
BTW, I didn't know what I was talking about when I stated "wet neck". I believe I meant cupless. ;)
barryhc
10/12/2005, 11:31 AM
I've read all of this thread, and most of the links, WOW!
I think RC needs to make a new award category called "thread of the year" Just so that proper "homage" can be given to this fabulous thread.
I was thinking just along these lines, over the past month or so, while I'm designing my new "display-sump-refugium", and then I stumbled across this thread today.
"Fantisimo", EXACTAMUNDO, and "Holy Great Practical Thinking" to say the very least!
The skimmer manufacturers will be crying about this for the next decade at a minimum!
Great job "dugg", "nobody does it better". > barryhc :)
barryhc
10/12/2005, 01:25 PM
Sorry captbunzo, for the reference to "dugg" ONLY, in the previous post, I've read so much today, in both threads, and all the links, I'm getting "fuzzy brained" about "whose which is what".
It' s all such great information, and the collaboration, is "par excelance".
Kudos to both of you and the contributors, for the "thread(s) of the year"!
> barryhc :)
captbunzo
10/12/2005, 01:34 PM
Ah - no problem. I am glad that you have enjoyed these threads!
mikeatjac
09/23/2006, 07:12 AM
Has anyone had one these skimmers working for a while?
Mine has been up and running for about a year now. The original version was working just fine, but a friend gave me a piece of 6 inch acrylic pipe, so i reworked it and made what will be my final version. The round pipe made a huge difference in the consistancy and ease of adjustment. I also have done away with the ball valve and replaced it with a gate valve. That was the best upgrade yet. The gate valve makes adjustment easy. If you are starting from scratch, you would have between $75 and $100 total cost to build this skimmer. That includes the Maxijet 1200 and all plumbing parts. Here is a picture of my final version. This picture was taken before adding the gate valve, and there is no foam in the riser in the pics because i had to move everything around in my sump, and scrape the glass to get the pictures, so it lost it's foam head from all of the stirring around in the tank.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a151/dugg/100_1199.jpg
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a151/dugg/100_1197.jpg
mikeatjac
09/23/2006, 11:21 AM
I have a 10' drop to my refug. Do you think I need the maxijet?
With a 10' drop, i think all you need is a big collection cup lol. The fall alone will create some real nice bubbles and should be plenty turbulent i would think.
mikeatjac
09/23/2006, 12:01 PM
Thanks Dugg
fishoutawater
02/06/2008, 08:03 PM
I am soooo glad I had to put my reef tank on hold for a while, reading threads like this one and being able to implement some of the ideas into my project will make it all the sweeter
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