RichConley Posted December 6, 2004 Share Posted December 6, 2004 Question in general, not really DIY skimmer specific: Instead of using a pump, could I just run this off of one of my standpipes from my overflow. IE just have it inline between the display and the sump? Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted December 6, 2004 Share Posted December 6, 2004 momadance, weldon 16 can be used...its just goopier and takesd longer to set. you could also order from tapplastics. RichConley, I wouldnt normally. You could if you have two standpipes, and the higher one can tolerate the flow if the lower one gets clogged. Otherwise, the back pressure will slow down your overflow...and being that an overflow is made to skim big crap as well, you will clog the injector every other day when that chunk of algae, piece of food, buildup in the pipe, or whatever goes down your overflow. A sponge might help...but I dont like using them. Link to comment
RichConley Posted December 6, 2004 Share Posted December 6, 2004 Thanks UTR. Hadn't thought of the big stuff. Will buy a small pump. I was just thinking if this was possible, it would be another nice way to decrease noise. Link to comment
werew Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 I just finished up building a new "modified" version. it's 1"x3"x18" tall. I made this one taller to keep the bubbles from going back into the return area. Another reason for the extra height, I might use a stronger pump which might make this skimmer work for up to a 50 gallon tank. I also made the bubbles riser baffle narrower, my last one was about 7/8" at the top, this one is 3/4". I've raised my injector about 1/4", and drilled and tapped a hole for an air intake valve. My previous skimmer is still working great... i've noticed that it's injector sometimes gets submerged slightly, but the skimmer still produces foam and skimmate. I'll post pics of this new one as soon as it's up and running. UTR, do you have any thoughts on a skimmer like this utilizing 2-3 injectors and a larger collection area, for larger tanks? I think it'd work, this type is much easier to build than an EV-type. Link to comment
NicksAcrylicReef Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 I built mine last night and wow I knew the measurements and Iv seen the pictures but you dont relize how small it really is until you see it in person . The only mistake I made was i thought ied be cool and drill my holes before assembly so my injector holes were about a 32nd off and the pipe was hard to stick in but it works... next time im going to glue it then drill it. Im really impressed with the amount of bubbles this thing produces with fresh water i cant wait to stick it on some salted water tonight I picked up an Eheim 600 pump i think its 125 or 150 gph is that alright? Link to comment
NicksAcrylicReef Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 Another problem I have (i think) is on the angled acrylic that the foam goes up agains at the bottom i put it at 3/8 (where the air is injected) but at the top that put me at liek 1/4" and on the drawings it seems like it should be more like 3/4". is 1/4" to small? Link to comment
Lingwendil Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 Hey Undertheradar, are Rio PH's any good on this? I've heard good and bad things about them for this design, if they are bad, what do you reccomend? Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 Both the pumps mentioned are a little on the big side, but should work alright. You will just have to make your outlet hole lower/bigger to handle the extra flow. As for what you seem to be describing as a narrow foam riser area, Nick, it will work, but with your higher output pump and smaller riser area you might end up with it spitting up more wet foam than desired. The only way to tell is to try it...or you could post a pic and I could give you a good idea... Link to comment
momadance Posted December 7, 2004 Share Posted December 7, 2004 Woo Hoo! I just hooked it up about 10 mins ago. My bubbles seem to break before they get to the top of the riser. Too much flow maybe? I'm using a Minijet 404. Also, the water level at the injector may be a tad too high. Would making the inlet hole bigger lower the level? Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted December 8, 2004 Share Posted December 8, 2004 yes...but remember to do just a little bit at a time. As for the bubbles, with any skimmer, there is a break-in period. Let it run for a day or two...then see. Link to comment
momadance Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 I keep getting a gigantic air bubble building up underneath the lower baffle. Thus, raising the water level and submerging my injector. Ugh... Link to comment
NicksAcrylicReef Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 momadance, I just set mine up tonight and i have that problem when I turned it on the first time then i turned it off it floated out and it hasent rebuilt YET Here is a pic http://www.nicksreef.com/images/diy/baby%2...im%20bubble.JPG Well its up and running... LOTS of bubbles very nice... here are some pics http://www.nicksreef.com/images/diy/baby%2...%20tank%201.JPG http://www.nicksreef.com/images/diy/baby%2...%20tank%202.JPG http://www.nicksreef.com/images/diy/baby%2...m%20bubbles.JPG Link to comment
NicksAcrylicReef Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 OK bubbles back haha.. .IM gonna guess to much flow... any one want to second that? Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 the angle of your bottom baffle should be at 45degrees...yours is 'flatter', so the bobbles have a chance to build up and impede flow. If you were to increase this angle, the bubbles would simply fly back up. This would also indrease the space between that baffle and the wall to allow more flow space. Link to comment
NicksAcrylicReef Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Well darn that will meen a 3rd skimmer for me haha. I got the angle mine is because I thought the opening at the bottom between the baffle and the wall needed to be small is that not the case? If i were to angle it more the opening would probly be like .75 to 1" rather than the .5 that it is now. thats alright? What is everyone doing to get their water out of the skimmer? I know to drill a hole but are people making troffs? I made a troff for mine but its a pain just wondering if there is a better way. Link to comment
momadance Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 My angle is a little off, but I'm not building a new one. This thing is kind of weird. Its been skimming like crazy since last night. Bubbles are going into the cup but now liquid doesn't seem to accumulate. Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 Nick, Normally the size of this opening is about 1/2" in my skimmers, but you are increasing the flow a bit, so you will need more. momadance, whats your background on skimmers? Sounds like normal skimmer behavior to me....unless you are taking that in to account already when you say that. Link to comment
momadance Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 Tis my first skimmer. I figured it was normal behavior. But, I was somewhat stumped when I saw all of the bubble falling into the cup and there was skimmate 6 hours later. Link to comment
Lingwendil Posted December 9, 2004 Share Posted December 9, 2004 When the skimmer is first set up, what would be normal operations? Like bubble size, heighth of bubbles from top of riser, etc. Link to comment
huari Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 I wasn't getting any dark skimmate just light brown green tea type liquid from wet foam rising near the top of the riser baffle. The pattern that I am seeing is first the pump is turned on, the injector shoots water ABOVE the water line making lots of bubbles, so much that I can't see the beige CPVC injector. As time goes on, the water line in the injector chamber rises and the injector shoots water AT the waterline making for the most optimal conditions for the bubbles. Meanwhile the foam is rising nearing to overflow. Then after 15-30 mins the injection chamber water line goes above the bottom of the injector holes flooding the injector so that water is now shooting BELOW the waterline and the bubbles decrease to the point where I observed more water than bubbles and can see the beige CPVC. I subsequently enlarged the overflow hole by progressively drilling down and found that this prolonged the period of optimal bubbling. Eventually however after about 8 hours the injector got flooded again producing very little bubbles. Since I originally made my riser area too narrow and as a result got 1/3 of gallon of water dumped to the drain, I started making another skimmer with a riser area that is more like 3/4 inch instead of the near 1/3 inch, but this morning I found the skimmer making foam?!How could that be? I left that going for a day and then this morning I got foaming overflowing to the collection area from the no to little bubble state?! According to one of UTR's posts, that narrow area would make for wet foam and hence instant WC! He suggested lengthening the bubble baffle but I didn;t wait. I've studied werew pic of the 3" skimmer and that riser area is wider but look at the yummy rich color of the skimmate! So on my next 2, the riser area is wider. Hopefully that will concentrate the skimmate. I'm learning that patience is worth the wait and that skimmate production is a function of salinity and other tank conditions. I should have tested the skimmer longer before using my tank as the test bed. now that it is in sump, it doesn't matter though. Link to comment
huari Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 So here is the watery skimmate that drained over night when I first tested the skimmer in takn. I was excited that the skimmer bubbled but was disheartened to find my water level down. Luckily I turned off the ATO also by UTR. Link to comment
huari Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 Gee now the skimmer seems to be working all of the sudden even after a steady state of little to no bubbles, for some reason the skimmer kicked in and started to foam Link to comment
werew Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 huari, What your skimmer is experiencing is too much head pressure from the bubble riser baffle's spacing only being 1/3". This is "choking" your injection chamber now and then, and creating a lot of wet light colored skimmate. Your return's drain is probably too high also. There are 2 ways to fix this: 1. Enlarging your return's drain hole, which could create problems with it having to create too tall of a foam head... decreasing efficiency of the skimmer. 2. Building a new skimmer, this time making the bubble riser baffle's spacing 3/4"(if you're using a 120gph PH) and try putting the return about 1/2" lower than what's in UTR's 14" skimmer diagram. I wouldn't hesitate lowering it 1/2" because your injection keeps getting submerged so much, normally you want to slowly lower it. If it's too low, you can always patch it off and re-drill a new drain hole. I put mine on a buddie's 150 gallon tank to see how efficient his venturi skimmer was working and holy cow... mine started pulling dark gunk out within 3 minutes! His venturi is rated for a 250 gallon tank and pulls crud out, appears to be tuned correctly, yet it's not sufficient for his 150 gallon! Link to comment
NicksAcrylicReef Posted December 10, 2004 Share Posted December 10, 2004 werew, make 20 or so of these little ones for your friend and he can hang them all along the back of his tank haha Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.