My 6" by 30.5" DIY Recirculating skimmer...

[The Propagator]

Here it is in its current state of progress. ( No the bottom isnt glued in place yet )

 

I got the idea from Randy Stacey:

http://www.randystacye.com/diy_needle_wheel_skimmer.htm

and just went a tad taller and used acrylic instead of PVC for my reaction chamber. ( I want to SEE whats going n in there ya ya know ! LOL! )

 

I started out with a 17 7/8" section of 6" O.D. x 5 7/8 I.D. extruded acrylic tube I purchased off ebay for $28.93 shipped.

I didnt have to cut it or sand it. I just used it as it came. I WILL however have to drill and cut out the pump ports and inlet and return's.

 

Then I bought a 2' section of 2" ID PVC from lowes for $3.00 along with a handy little 3-2 4 way floor drain for $7.00.

 

I set the tube over top of the floor drain /cone. Centered it up the best I could.

Carefully stuck my hand in with a fine point marker and traced a line around the inside diameter.

I then removed the tube and measured 1/8th inch UP from my mark and made a new line around the diameter.

Then I used my dremel with a diamond wheel and slowly and evenly cut out a notch around the entire diameter so the cone would rest on the tube.

Then I used my dremel again to carefully cutt of the top of the drain just above the lip I cut.

VIOLA !!! Now I have a nice looking base for the skimmer and it dosent ove hang and stick out like a sore thumb !!

( no pics of that whole process thouhg sorry. but you get the idea I am sure.)

 

So after about 15 -20 minutes of sanding and cutting to make it even and level the best I could I used weld on to glue the cone on the tube.

 

 

Then I took a sheet of 1/8th acrylic I had lying around and trace the inside diameter of the section of the drain I just cut off.

Cut it out carefully with my diamond wheel and dremel as well deburred it and glued the acrylic in place.

 

 

Then I flipped it over making the cut side up and it slide right over the tube perfectly !

 

 

[modularduck]

very cool i'll e very interested in how you project turns out. super cool!

[The Propagator]

I plan on getting a rubber gasket or making on to fit in betwene the removable bottom I made and the reaction chamber for easy cleaning and what not.

I am going to atatch it via 5 nylon bolts screwed into 5 x 3/4" acrylic cubes I will make and glue on the inside of the reaction chamber just above the bottom.

 

OOPS Forgot to tell you about the union !

 

All I did was buy a grey 2" union and cut it flush with the threads, cut a section of 2" PVC to fit in and short enough so that the threaded half would sit flush when glued.

 

 

( I 1st bought a white unin which is a little smaller but it makes it look to weird begin all white and its so small compared to the body ya know)

Since I already cut and glue it here is te little ugly white one I didnt use so you know where to cut it if your to lazy to follow the link to Randy's site LOL!

 

 

I already have my 1 1/4", a 3 x 3/4" uniseals.

Now all I have to do is use a hole saw and my drill to cut out openings in the reaction chamber for the uniseals, buy 3 more unions ( 3 x 3/4" unions so I can remove the feed line, and the recirc pump with ease.)

a gate valve, an 1 1/4" repair coupling, 1 1/4" PVC and one 1 1/4" elbow, decide what pump I need to buy, make my venturi

Then its GO TIME !!

 

I'll keep you updated.

[The Propagator]

YEAH !!!!! My collection cup arrived today !! YEAH !!!!

 

 

I ordered it from Pioneer plastics. Its just like the one Randy stacey used ( its even from the same company) only this one has a lid with a handle.

To make it work all I did was trace the outside of a short peice of 2" PVC

on the bottom and cut it out with a dremel.

I centered it up by eye the best I could and went to town.

 

After 20 minutes or so of playing around with it and clenaing it up to fit I deburred it and used weld on to adhear it to the top of the none threaded side of the union. ( MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE FEMALE PART OF THE UNION ON 1ST BEFORE YOU GLUE !!!)

 

I used some 4" Acrylic tube I already had for the ring inside the cup to direct the skimate to the bottom after exiting the riser tube.

Now this is whats cool about the lid. Its concave on top.

Why is that cool? It will help push the smimate to one side or the other easier to be directed by the ring to the bottom of the cup.

 

 

 

 

So here is what I have done so far..........................

 

 

Now all I have to do is buy a few small plumbing peices, make a venturi, and figure out which pump I want to use. ( I alrerady have the uniseals )

[The Propagator]

Put a drain nipple on the collection cup today.

 

[stoney waters]

Beautiful. Your right it needs to be acrylic so you can see the goings on.

 

Nice work.

[The Propagator]

Thanks

[HecticDialectics]

<whistles>

 

that's one sexy diy skimmer right there

[RBuddha]

nice skimmer propagator. Sometimes the best stuff is stupidly simple to make.

[adinsxq]

pretty slick!

[Maeda]

Be careful with uniseals. I can't tell you how many times i've screwed up a diy skimmer with uniseals.

 

 

I don't trust them anymore, especially using extruded tube. For some reason I could NOT get rid of the small leaks. It would drip a drop of water every minute or so.

 

 

 

I ended up buying an octo NW150 and never looking back. Cost me less then my diy skimmer to make, and works better without leaking. o.O

[The Propagator]

Maeda,

I think its because you used the black instead of white pipe.

Although they say 1" ( or what ever) on them they are most always a tad smaller O.D. then sch. 40. arent they?

 

EDIT: Oh wait I see where you painted the pipe black now. My bad.

Lets just prey it seals tight then huh? LOL!

 

I was a little worried about that as well with this extruded pipe.

Thats why I am making removable ( and adjustable ) acrylic supports for the pump, and out put.

Did you use a hole saw to cut your ports with for the uniseals?

Thats pretty much the only thing you can use aside from a circle cutter on a drill press.

 

An NW150 costs well under $140.00 wholesale and from $160-$200 on the webz.

So far even if I include the price of the pump I have yet to order I am WELL under $140.00

Including every thing I have purchased for it so far I have roughly $77.53 in it so far.

The pump is gonna cost me another $40- $50 bucks.

So when its all said and done I will have about $127.53 in a skimmer that will out perform an Octo needle wheel ( cause its a recirc and its 7" taller ) and capable of skimming 200 plus gallons.

 

EDIT AGAIN !! LOL! :

So far this is my cost with out the pump: $122.51

The pump should be around $50.00 shipped. So I figure with the gate valve ( if I get one) and the cost of the pump I will be in the $200 - $220.00 ( $170-$190 using the ball valve probably)range for a recirc skimmer that is comparable to an Octo DNW-150 Recirc( and mine is 3.5" taller at the reaction chamber I think? So that will up the tank volume it can skim a little as well ) that goes for $300.00.

Thats still a huge savings when you take shipping into account for an Octo DNW-150 Recirc. (If it works LOL!!!)

 

 

Thanks fellas !

 

Buddha,

Aint that the truth !

You can spend all day trying to figure out how they made a certain part, and then when you least expect it it hits you.........

**OMG THATS SIMPLE !!**

 

LOL!!

[The Propagator]

Update..............

 

Made my return and installed my 1 1/4" uniseal today.

Nothing is glued in place yet so I still have complete flexibility.

specificly with the ball valve. If I can find a 1 1/4 " gate valve I will use that instead for better controll of the water level in the reaction chamber.

 

[fishstick41]

cool

[The Propagator]

THanks

 

Well I decided on using a Genx 2400 NW pump today and ordered it.

It puts out about 633 gph.

I plan to mesh mod the impeller and make my own venturi using Randy Staceys "quick patch" method and playing arond with different size diameter air inlets.

The goal is to get the pump to pull air in a as close to 30-35 scfh as possible.

That will creat MASSIVE amounts of microscopic airbubbles and make the funkiest looking skimmate you have ever seen LOL!!

[Maeda]

Thats still a huge savings when you take shipping into account for an Octo DNW-150 Recirc. (If it works LOL!!!)

Thanks fellas !

 

I'm sorry i had to be a quitter and buy a premade skimmer.

I just went through 3 skimmer bodies, and all leaked. Even if they didn't leak all my skimmers were LOUD and i have my tank 12 inches from my ear at night.... so I decided, i'm done for now(i'm going to to try again with a square mce600 like design soon).

 

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you! I hope you can inherit all the skimmer luck I never got. o.O

 

ps. I wouldnt worry about the extruded tube much. Most of the "high quality" cast tubes are less then 1/2 the thickness of ANY of the extruded tubes I saw or used. They do tend to absorb more water so it can swell and break the joints. Just keep an eye on it.

[Travis]

Why is it crooked?

 

Edit: Looks great BTW lol.

[travisurfer]

nice work

[The Propagator]

Why is it crooked?

 

Edit: Looks great BTW lol.

 

 

[The Propagator]

Ok..... So here is where I'm at now with this little monstrosity:

( as always...no cracking on the basement steps LOL!!)

 

 

I drilled out all my inlets, outlets, and feed line.

 

I modified all the 3/4" unions via cutting off the excess down flush with the threads just as I did the collection cup to conserve space through length the best I could.

 

As you can see I went for the Euroreef design.

I like the reputation and I have seen the performance those monster give so I figured I might as well try my best to copy it since I dont have $300.0 laying around. LOL!

 

The 1st thing your going to notice is the stock venturi that came with the Genx-2400. Dont flame me just yet Its still in beta stage.

Then your going to notice the venturi seems to be glued to the pvc union. IT IS hehe. In efforts to keep costs minimal ( and because its an odd size) I simply deburred it and used

weld-on #16 to glued it to the union ( in the same manner as the collection cup). So far its worked out nicely.

 

Then your probably gonna wonder how in the heck I have the PVC union mounted to the pump outlet?

In efforts to keep costs low and (in true DIY fashion) I used what had. I simply used the largest barbed fitting that came with the pump and used my trusty dremel to cut the barb off down flush with the last step down after the barbs ( just above the nut).

Then I rounded the flats of the nut off with my dremel and VIOLA !! It fits PERFECTLY into a 3/4" solvent union!

I used my weld-on #16 again to glue it. ( I think some where before I said I used #12 but it is infact #16)

 

The rest is straight forward and as you see it.

 

Tomorow night I will give it a test run in a 13 gallon rubbermade container full of fresh saltwater and 2-3 cups of skimmate.

 

( I'll post pics of individual parts and give a better description of what I did later.)

[reefinnewb]

looks great man, i suggest using the 4100 pump. I have a diy skimmer that is only 5" x 22" and I use the 2400. I started with the 1500 and it didnt cut it, the 2400 is perfect. Hopefully I'm wrong.

[The Propagator]

Thanks man.

 

If its not enough I have the cure-all and I can still use the same pump

MESH MOD.

More than enough tiny bubbles with that mod guaranteed.

[Needreefunds]

Nice job D, can't wait to see how it does!

[The Propagator]

I'm gonna test it out tonight.

 

I'm gonna test it out tonight.

[Maeda]

finally!

 

the trouble with new diy skimmer is it's still subject to a break in period, so dont' be too disapointed if its not kicking butt right away.