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DIY 15 Gallon AIO, DIY WetWorx Skimmer, and Foam/Rock Wall *NEW PICS 02/14


hcsceo

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  • 2 weeks later...
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Any updates Steve?

 

Hey Evil sorry to take so long on this reply. Ok here's the deal, I've been really lazy about the skimmer. I really need to get on it as I've added all the coral from my picotope now to the tank. However, I've started the Reef Controller with the Arduino microcontroller and am completely emersed in it right now.

 

I've completed ATO and temp controls. I'm building the SSR Relay board as we speak to handle up to 16 outlets. I've decided to use i2c port expanders and staying with the Arduino board rather than using the Illuminato I posted on the other thread. FYI, my idea is to leave this project completely open source and possibly build the PCB's so people can purchase an Arduino, our PCB and mate the two and install it into a project box then load our firmware to get a reef controller. Right now I'm shooting for a price point of $100 total including everything needed to build one yourself from a kit. I'm trying to build it completely modular so you'll be able to upgrade it as you go along. The base unit should include controller, temp probe, 4 outlet power box, alarm, and 4 switched outlets. The control panel will be remote from the controller and include a 4x20 screen and 7 buttons for input. We are planning to design a 8 power outlet unit that can be added, a module that will include PH, ORP, Conductivity, and O2. And to make it really nice we'll have a module that will include ethernet controller with webserver built in for remote monitoring and control. Nothing will be wasted as you build the base unit you just keep added new modules that you want.

 

I'm thinking I'll also offer the unit For Sale prebuilt and ready to go but I'm not sure where we will be on price for that. I'm guessing it'll be more than the other offerrings currently available as we will build them by hand from the kits one at a time.

 

The name of the project is.... "ReefBuddy Aquarium Controller" I've secured the name ReefBuddy.com and will offer all my designs including the skimmer and tanks on this website once I get it up and running. There are three of us working on this project and we all have real jobs so we've given ourselves a year to get the project to kit form. I've got 4 kids and a fulltime job and my brain is stretched ATM.

 

Steve

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Damn skippy, you're pretty strung out there. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

 

I'll probably be trying my hand a the skimmer myself this weekend. Care to share how you were planning on controlling the water level in the skimmer?

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Damn skippy, you're pretty strung out there. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

 

I'll probably be trying my hand a the skimmer myself this weekend. Care to share how you were planning on controlling the water level in the skimmer?

 

Yea water level is controlled by the removable cup. You can lift it up or down about an inch. The output being located where it is gets it very close and the cup gets it exact. IM me your email address and I'll send you the sketchup file that and cutlist for my most current revision. I haven't even built it yet but I think it will work right.

 

Steve

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  • 4 weeks later...

OK I finally got around to building the latest revision of the skimmer this weekend. Took a total of 2 hours from start to finish and that was with telling my kids every 2 minutes to not touch stuff on the table (still managed to loose a marker, I'm sure that will bite me in the A$$). Here is a pic of it and one with it in my tank.

 

photo-9.jpg

 

photo-10.jpg

 

So what have I learned from this revision? Well first off, good skimmer design is not easy. The same thing that makes a skimmer work becomes the one thing you hate. The bubbles are difficult to direct and keep from leaving the skimmer. You have to either reduce the amount of bubbles or flow, or increase the height. The other option is working on your sump design to minimize bubbles from getting to the display. Because this design is an integrated one to work with this tank, I've got to really work hard at keeping the bubbles inside the skimmer.

 

I changed the design in a few ways. 1. I included an uplift tube in the collection cup. Previous revisions relied on a single peice of acrylic at an angle to direct foam to the cup. The problem with this design is that skimmers really need a way to separate the dry foam from the wet foam. The uplift tube does this. 2. I lowered the inlet from the pump to minimize tubing. OK for the record not a good idea. Turns out the location of the inlet tube is important as this will determine how close to the bottom of the skimmer the bubbles get. If the bubbles are too close to the bottom, on this design, you get bubbles in the display. So I'll fix this shortly. I can mod this skimmer without having to rebuild it. 3. I increased the depth of the skimmer by 1/2 inch. This has really helped to slow the bubbles down with the MJ400. I like the depth for this pump and will keep it.

 

So a few things to change. I'm going to raise the inlet tube to about 1/3 of the way up the chamber and I'm going to make the outlet from the chamber a little smaller. Hopefully these two items will help with the bubbles escaping. I still need to meshmod my pump to get the bubble size down. I also need to modify the collection cup to fit further down in the chamber and lower the middle baffle by 1/2" in the bubble chamber to get the water level down a little bit in the main chamber.

 

Steve

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Being a SAHM with 2 young children, I have to say I am extremely impressed that you stuck with this for 2 hrs and got as far as you did with it.

Major Props to you for all the progress you've made, most impressive. :flower:

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Being a SAHM with 2 young children, I have to say I am extremely impressed that you stuck with this for 2 hrs and got as far as you did with it.

Major Props to you for all the progress you've made, most impressive. :flower:

 

LOL yea the kids are the most challenging part of the hobby for me and at times the most rewarding when they ask questions. I never worry about a flood or lost livestock. What keeps me up at night is thinking about a toy flying through the front of one of the tanks. Anyway, thanks for the kind words and you are still the coolest :)

 

Steve

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Nah, YOU da bestest. :flower:

It will probably sound silly to most ppl, but I actually found your persistence somewhat inspirational cause of my own frustration with trying to get tank stuff done with all the interruptions.

Finally, someone who understands!

I've been enjoying the questions lately too, though.

My kids have recently started sitting on my lap in front of the tank and asking me what different corals are.

My 6yo and I decided that our favorite coral in the tank was the Long Polyped Green Toadstool.

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I love the part when you are deep in thought and working hard on a DIY project and ALL the kids want to sit in your lap or when you reach for that peice of acrylic you cut only to find someone has superglued it to the dining room table. Inevitably two will always pick up a couple of razor sharp tools and start sword fighting to the death. Sometimes having to think of things like locks on the aquarium doors so that the kids don't turn the timers for you turning your MH's on and off 16 times in 2 minutes. I've got 4 kids all 5 yrs or younger. That pretty much tells the entire story. My wife is a SAHM also which means she does 15 times the work I do without compensation.

 

The questions are unending when it comes to the tanks. My favorite time with them is right at bedtime when we feed and put the tanks to bed. Sometimes the questions are simple "Daddy, why does Nemo hide in that plant?" and sometimes more complex "Daddy, why does the tank make a funny noise when I pull all these tubes?". In the end, all questions lead to one thing... "Can we put this in there?" In the end kids really add another dimension to reef'n that isn't really talked about in books.

 

At the end of the day, my only goal is to try and make this hobby affordable through good DIY. If that inspires someone to expand our hobby through good captive breeding techniques then I'm happy.

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I love the part when you are deep in thought and working hard on a DIY project and ALL the kids want to sit in your lap or when you reach for that peice of acrylic you cut only to find someone has superglued it to the dining room table. Inevitably two will always pick up a couple of razor sharp tools and start sword fighting to the death. Sometimes having to think of things like locks on the aquarium doors so that the kids don't turn the timers for you turning your MH's on and off 16 times in 2 minutes. I've got 4 kids all 5 yrs or younger. That pretty much tells the entire story. My wife is a SAHM also which means she does 15 times the work I do without compensation.

 

The questions are unending when it comes to the tanks. My favorite time with them is right at bedtime when we feed and put the tanks to bed. Sometimes the questions are simple "Daddy, why does Nemo hide in that plant?" and sometimes more complex "Daddy, why does the tank make a funny noise when I pull all these tubes?". In the end, all questions lead to one thing... "Can we put this in there?" In the end kids really add another dimension to reef'n that isn't really talked about in books.

 

At the end of the day, my only goal is to try and make this hobby affordable through good DIY. If that inspires someone to expand our hobby through good captive breeding techniques then I'm happy.

 

:wub:

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Quick update. Skimmer has been running a half day on the tank. Two things to note. 1st. The bubbles really aren't making it to the display. I'm still going to work on the design but it seems the sump in my AIO is doing a good job of keeping them out. 2nd. It is loud. the water falling over the middle baffle is loud. Easy fix is to cover that bubble trap area and drill a small hole to let air escape. Finally, it is pulling skimmate. Still needs to be adjusted but so far so good. Here is a pic of the skimmate for a half day. Sorry for the poor pic but my iphone was getting interferrence from my lights.

 

photo-9.jpg

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OK we are at the 24hr mark and the skimmer is performing well. I'm happy with the skimmate produced. The performance can be increased with some modifications to the pump and I'll post more on that later. Here is a pic

 

photo-10.jpg

 

Now I've spent a bunch of time thinking about microbubbles escaping from the skimmer and I came up with an idea that is part crazy and part innovation. I think it will solve one issue I have with most skimmer designs, it will make this skimmer easier to build with less plumbing, increase the reaction chamber size without increasing the footprint of the skimmer or height, and hopefully reduce microbubbles by slowing them down in the bubble trap without restricting the flow needed to keep the water from backing up. Can it be done? you bet it can.

 

Steve

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  • 2 weeks later...

Tagging along.

 

I need to build this skimmer.

 

Will you be creating another thread with all the DIY Skimmer details?

 

Also where did you get the Black Acrylic? I am planning a 20 L tank next or a 30 High.

 

"Z"

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Tagging along.

 

I need to build this skimmer.

 

Will you be creating another thread with all the DIY Skimmer details?

 

Also where did you get the Black Acrylic? I am planning a 20 L tank next or a 30 High.

 

"Z"

 

Once I get the skimmer in good shape I'll do a DIY skimmer thread or a writeup for the DIY library. I get all my acrylic from estreetplastics.com

 

 

Steve

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*in a Scottish accent* Drop Dead Sexy

 

Im sure it was answered before but how thick do you buy your sheets of acrylic?

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Im sure it was answered before but how thick do you buy your sheets of acrylic?

 

On this tank I used 1/4". I'm really glad I did as it matches the top nicely and is easier to cut the slats for the overflow without worrying about it cracking.

 

Steve

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redneck_reefer

wow that skimmer is insane. u need to make them.. its such a small foot print. i would buy one in a heartbeat for my 10g if u sell them let me know

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