Jump to content
SaltCritters.com

Making a TEENY TINY recirc skimmer :) .........


The Propagator

Recommended Posts

i know i just need to get a new pump... i bought it used and the pump was DOA, it looked like the impellor was rubbing inside and it wore through the plastic and shorted the pump out

Link to comment
  • Replies 157
  • Created
  • Last Reply
not_sponsored... a word of advice... this is not RC... d-bags aren't respected here... let him make his skimmer the way he wants and stop acting like a know-it-all jerk... clearly he knows what hes doing... he's built skimmers before, and has very nice tanks... people get to the same end result different ways... stop taking a dump on his thread so you feel better about your self... we get it, your the best and you know everything... now GTFO

 

How is he being a "d-bag?" He posted factual information, and the peanut gallery responds with "you're an idiot."

 

It's obvious from the pictures posted that not_sponsored is a skilled skimmer builder, from what I saw, he was only offering advice. Why do you and prop have your panties in such a bunch?

Link to comment
How is he being a "d-bag?" He posted factual information, and the peanut gallery responds with "you're an idiot."

 

It's obvious from the pictures posted that not_sponsored is a skilled skimmer builder, from what I saw, he was only offering advice. Why do you and prop have your panties in such a bunch?

i believe its because he is telling prop that he is doing something wrong. and clearly he isnt...

Link to comment
How is he being a "d-bag?" He posted factual information, and the peanut gallery responds with "you're an idiot."

 

It's obvious from the pictures posted that not_sponsored is a skilled skimmer builder, from what I saw, he was only offering advice. Why do you and prop have your panties in such a bunch?

 

dude... have you looked at any of prop's set ups? any of his DIY builds? they may not be the most conventional but they are all well thought out and preform wonderfuly... there are many ways of doing things in this hobby... only a few years ago people who thought you could keep a reef under 50g were thought of as idiots... just because people dont follow the norm doesnt make them wrong... just like youll notice i never said not_sponsored was wrong in what he did... there is a little thing called tact my friend, and by joining in a DIY (do it yourself) and saying he is doing this wrong and that wrong... he came across sounding like a jerk... obviously if he (prop) was just some noob making all the classic mistakes then sure you should steer them in the right direction... but just by looking at his tanks, you have to admit that what he is doing works and works very well... now can we put this to rest and let this thread get back on track

Link to comment
The Propagator

Holy Toledo.

Could the REAL peanut gallery please keep their traps shut and stop mucking up the thread.

This is not open for discussion. It has being built already and exactly the way I WANTED IT.

If you dont like it guess what ? I DON'T GIVE A MONKEYS BUTT GO BACK TO REEF CENTRAL.

Got something to say ? Fine post it up but don't be a douche bag about it. Be constructive with out being an boogerhead. THAT IS THE PROBLEM.

Little hint for ya.. if the MAJORITY views some one as an boogerhead or acting like such then guess what ?

They probably are.

so on that note please keep your snide rude comments the hell off my thread so we can get back to things at hand instead of playing the " mine is better then yours " penis measuring contest.

I could honestly give a crap about any one elses project. I really could. Especially when they come off like that about it.

Link to comment

It's great that you are happy with it, no one ever said you built it wrong. Not_sponsored offered advice based on his experience, and you jumped down his throat.

 

I have no doubt that it will work as you intend, but also agree with not_sponsored that the real results will be in a stocked tank, not in a 10 gallon tank already filled with skimmate. It looks like a great skimmer, but you are really being combative about any constructive advice he has offered.

Link to comment
The Propagator

I give up.

Common sense and tact are completely lost here.

SO I will ignore any other comments regarding this situation entirely.

Link to comment
The Propagator

Its not to complicated.

One thing though as Atlantis reef and I just found out when pricing the parts for his skimmer.

Unless you have the scrap lying around to make it from you are better off building a large skimmer versus a small one. The cost of a small build is more then buying one premade of the same size.

Where as the cost of buying a larger skimmer such as the one I made before that is comparable in performance is day and night. It cost me about $170 something to build my large skimmer but a similar size skimmer pre made from a factory is around $400 or more.

 

Its all the ordering that gets ya, as well as the cost of the acrylic its self.

I am working on another skimmer as we speak in case this one flops ( I have a feeling it will because the reaction chamber is just to small. ) The one I am making now has a reaction chamber made from 4" PVC with an acrylic flanged bottom. MUCH more cost effective using PVC. The cup though will be acrylic this time.

Link to comment
The Propagator

Well now I have no choice but to start over :(

I knocked the skimmer off the saw horse and cracked the body all the way through from top to bottom :(

 

BUT I have the PVC body in reserve so its all good.

 

I am following Randy Stacy's design once again only this time I am doing the 4" model instead of the 6" model recirc skimmer design.

 

Might as well lay out a parts list for you if any of you are interested in building one for your self.

Since this will be basically all PVC with little to no acrylic it will be MUCH cheaper then an all acrylic unit. The most expensive parts will be the pump, and the uniseals. The only reasons they will be the most expensive parts is because you may have to order them and the shipping cost will be the catch 22.

 

What you will need that can be found locally easily:

 

1x 13 3/4" x 4" ID schedule 40 PVC pipe.

1 x 1/4" barbed nipple.

3 x 1/2" slip end unions.

5 x 1/2" schedule 40 PVC 90 deg. elbows.

1 x 1/2" schedule 40 PVC "T"

1 x 1/2" schedule 40 PVC ball or gate valve.

1 x 1/2" schedule 40 PVC slip fitting with barbed nipple.

A length of 1/2" schedule 40 PVC pipe.

A length of 1" schedule 40 PVC pipe.

1 x 1" schedule 40 PVC ball or gate valve.

1 x 1" schedule 40 PVC slip end "T"

3 x 1" schedule 40 PVC 90 deg. elbows.

1 x 1 1/2" slip end union.

A length of 1 1/2" schedule 40 PVC pipe.

1x 6" x 6" square bell drain trap.

Hack saw or Dremel.

6 each 1/4 x 20 nylon nuts and bolts.

1 piece of 1/4" thick acrylic ( just enough to make the bottom flange and flange plate. I think HD sells them in 12" x 24" sections ? )

Circle cutter for drill press, or a steady hand with your Dremel.

Small tube of silicone.

 

Things you need that will more then likely have to be ordered :

 

No. 16 weld on acrylic cement.

Gen X 1500 needle wheel pump.

Part number 296-C, a 5 1/8" x 5 1/8" plastic cup with lid found here: http://www.littlebobbycreations.com/ROUND%...0CONTAINERS.htm

3 x 1/2" uniseals.

1 x 1" uniseal.

 

I will go over the list again to make sure I have all the parts listed but I think that's got it.

Tomorrow I will post photos of how to modify the unions, and the floor drain for use.

Now, you do not have to use any acrylic at all for this project and you certainly do not have to use a flange. I just like them :D

You can use a 4" rubber cap if you like and just slip it on the base.

Link to comment

Hey Prop...great build...I'm really impressed with that cone..I would never have figured out that one...

 

I have an Octopus NW110 and have thought about recirc modding it....hope this isn't seen as a hijack, but would it be realistic to try and use the original pump for the recirc and to supply with a different smaller pump? How difficult do you think that idea would be to make work? Never tried a mod like that...

Link to comment

i just read through the whole thing, and i am very impressed that you built that. very well done. cant wait to see more pictures of it in action.

Link to comment
The Propagator
Bah, a little Weld-on & it will be as good as new! (like my DI towers >_>)

 

HA ! Tried that Dae. Its messed up ! BIG CRACK all the way through and the #16 is just to thick to get in between. seeing as how this is for the wife I had better NOT hand her a "pre stressed" skimmer :haha: That may turn out poorly ! :o

 

Hey Prop...great build...I'm really impressed with that cone..I would never have figured out that one...

 

I have an Octopus NW110 and have thought about recirc modding it....hope this isn't seen as a hijack, but would it be realistic to try and use the original pump for the recirc and to supply with a different smaller pump? How difficult do you think that idea would be to make work? Never tried a mod like that...

 

I don't see why you couldn't honestly.

Just literally flip the pump upside down, use the port that is now the out put for the intake, and make a port for feed, and a port for the intake on the pump and you are in business. for safety's sake though.. which pump doe sit have ? We want to make sure it can be ran in line / out of water.

 

i just read through the whole thing, and i am very impressed that you built that. very well done. cant wait to see more pictures of it in action.

 

It's on hold until the pump, and seals get here.

Maybe a week or so.

Link to comment
The Propagator

OK.. so I made a ghetto fabulous collection cup today with one small section that wasn't cracked to hell and back from the skimmer that got dropped.

I'll post some pics soon.

I have to list, and relist coral auctions on eBay tonight though so that will keep me busy as a one legged man in a butt kicking contest for awhile here tonight.

Link to comment
The Propagator

Ok ... so here is where I am at now...

As I said before I used a small section that was not damaged from the original body for the collection cup.

I also made a press fit lid that I will later add a deflection ring to.

collectioncupconeassembly.jpg

 

Newcupandcap2.jpg

 

Newcupandcap3.jpg

 

Newcupandcap.jpg

 

All I did was flush up both ends of the cut off I used for the cup, then glued on a piece of acrylic to the bottom, let it cure and then routed it flush with the cup to for the bottom. I used a hole saw to cut the hole for the neck.

Luckily 4" diameter schedule 40 PVC fits almost air tight over top of 1/4" 4" ID acrylic.

I did the same steps above to make the lid only I used a couple small dabs of super glue to hold it in place while I routed it. This left me with the lip I needed to remove the lid from the cup.

Then I rounded and finish sanded a center knock out ( the part left over after the hole was cut using my dremel for the last set of flanges ) of a flange I made for the old skimmer. I rounded it off with the router, then used sand paper to hone it to a press fit. Then I centered it on the lid and glued it in place.

This is the 6x6 square bell drain trap I used and cut the cone from.

 

COnecutout.jpg

 

You have to cut off the "bell trap" from the inside of the drain also.

 

conecutout2.jpg

 

The threaded section you see mounted on the cone is the lower half of the union.

You want to cut the part you insert the pipe in to on the threaded side all the way down so it is flush with the start of the threads to conserve on height. Other wise it will be to tall.

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions


×
×
  • Create New...