Smallest external protien skimmer you have seen?

[Manks]

Very nice skimmer UTR. I am currently looking for the parts in sweden and will post a nice pic of it when I am done so you all can go Ahhh...Ohhhh...wow...

 

Anyway. Just wanted to tell you that I could not imagine that is was THAT small. (i have the parts cutted, just have to find something to glue it together with) It truley is the smallest skimmer.

[cseeton]

I've heard of double posting... but a 9x post! Patience!

[dymaxiun]

Originally posted by Manks

Very nice skimmer UTR. I am currently looking for the parts in sweden and will post a nice pic of it when I am done so you all can go Ahhh...Ohhhh...wow...

 

Anyway. Just wanted to tell you that I could not imagine that is was THAT small. (i have the parts cutted, just have to find something to glue it together with) It truley is the smallest skimmer.

 

Let me quote him for the 10th reporst

[Manks]

I'm so sorry for that 9*post, but my browser went all crazy

[nanofootball]

Does anyone know a good place online that you can order acrylic cut to size?

[christssoldiers]

What a great thread

This is my first post here, first time here in a long while actually since I haven't run a nano since 2002 but after reading about 20 pages I thought I would chime in with a little theory that I didn't see. If this was already mentioned in the past 40 pages I may have missed it Anyway would it be worhtwhile to remove the baffle that prevents the bubbles from going into the tank, lessen the width of the entire unit by the size of the out flow area, and replace the outflow with a PVC tube positiond similar to euroreef fasion instead? It would seem to me that this would have several possible advantages. For starters less baffles means less glueing acrylic which at least to me is a big plus In addition to that if you use a slightly oversized exit tube, say 3/4" PVC, you could put a ball valve on the out flow and by reducing/increasing the outflow via the ball valve you have an easy way to adjust the internal water level without the need to rebuild it and extend the riser near the collection area if your foam is to wet or shorten it if your not getting enough foam. I will edit one of your design images to demonstrate what I am saying. I hope you don't mind.The red line on the right would be the new side wall moved in to the location of the previous first baffle. The thick red "tubes" are the PVC pipe. The ugly thing on the top left is just two 90 degree PVC elbows with a ball valve in the middle. The blue line represents the water flow and the green line is the bubbles. Maybe this is just a waste but the ability to easily manipulate the water level of the unit without modification could be a major benifit in some cases especially like trying new pumps with greater/lesser flow. I doubt that any bubbles would squeeze under that first inside elbow on the exit pipe but if they did you could just leave the baffle in your existing design. Just a thought for what it's worth. Great job at any rate. I will definately try something like this if I convince the wife to let me set up the 20 gallon in the kids room

 

[Undertheradar]

a mini-euro-reef? standpipe? Been there....done that. Works great.

[Undertheradar]

I really must tell you all that I am very sorry. Between companies contacting me about the patent, work & school, building my new computer, getting ready for paintball season, and starting up my new reef tank (30breeder, which has a larger version of the skimmer above @ http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...&threadid=53988)....I HAVE BEEN IN OVER MY HEAD. However, I will spend the next week or so on a strict time schedule that should afford me more time to complete the new "DIY nano injection skimmer & more" thread.

 

The problem with making the skimmer a HOB and using the PVC return is...how to you plumb it so it wont leak? Bonding PVC to acrylic isnt easy. Bulkheads are too big &bulky for this design. My preferred way of attaching PVC to the body is by running the pipe right through and using the fittings (elbow and cap in this case) to hold the washers against the body...not practical unless the skimmer is in the sump and a little leaking is no problem...

 

So, christssoldiers (could you be more biblical? and if so then christ should always be capped...LOL), your idea is sound, but hard to apply. It works great for "in-sump" ones as you can see.

[Davidd]

jwollmer, if you do the cassete surface skimmer "mod", the water level in the back comparments of the nc gets pretty low. That way, you have lots of room for a collection cup.

[christssoldiers]

Originally posted by Undertheradar

The problem with making the skimmer a HOB and using the PVC return is...how to you plumb it so it wont leak?  Bonding PVC to acrylic isnt easy.  Bulkheads are too big &bulky for this design.

 

Ah yes, I had just thought bulkhead but of course your right, far to big for your design. Oh well. Anyway a friend just gave me one of those minibows today. Do you thinks a coincidence that I make a post to a nanoreef forum and the next day someone gives me a minibow tank?

[nanofootball]

UTR, you are killing me with anticipation for the new venturi style design. I am going to make one for my ten gallon but want to make it big enough for anything up to about 30 gallons for possible future upgrades. Keep up the killer DIY!

[ucisweetart]

ok so i went to buy all the stuff for the project and first of all they didnt have 1/8th plexi glass and it was pretty expensive for a 18 x 24 sheet was like 10 bucks plus all the drill bits i'd have to get. It would just be expensive for me so if anyone wants to make be one i'd buy one for a good price! BTW i have a 7 Gallon would my setup benifit from a skimmer?

[NCNBilly]

Read a thread about using electrical conduit as cheap bulkheads because it isn't tapered like CPVC fittings - I think you can get it down to 1/2" too.

 

Don't we all need some free time?! I had some, then needed to do an emergency repair to a top-off pump that finally died.

[Scoot]

Hey man, you should maybe invest in these, if they work that well i would buy 2 of em off of you and im sure alot of people would buy them too

[Carinya]

Ok, I just plugged in the pump to see my UTR skimmer in action for the first time (injection method, not the new venturi method) and things did not go as expected. The whole thing proceeded to quickly fill entirely with water such that water was spilling freely in over the baffle, filling the skimmate area and draining out. I unplugged it quickly, lest it overflow the top of the entire unit. Was my pump just too much for it? (Rio 600?) Anyone have suggestions? I will try to get a pic later.

 

As I'm not too experienced at DIY, I took my time, did things slowly, "measured twice, cut once" and I'm pretty darn sure I have this thing assembled correctly. UGH!

 

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

C

[Carinya]

Oh and I was indeed getting a ton of micro bubbles.

[Undertheradar]

post a pic if you can...that is the easiest way to diagnose. The pump was prolly too big...a rio 600 is pretty much double the size of pump you need for this. You might want to run a T and bypass valve on the pump's outlet so you can adjust the flow as well as let the extra run off back into the tank.

 

Carinya,

where are you in wisconsin? I am in milwaukee.

[RP Beesh]

yes the rio 600 is too strong for this skimmer. if you put a bypass valve the back pressure will force the rio 600 to make noise. i try it on my skimmer. work great as a venture no back pressure and lots of bubble. but i have to make it 18'' high and the out take of water is 1'' diameter. planning to make a smaller one for my 7MB.

 

UTR i think your final version on page 14 i think is a great skimmer for both venture and injection skimmer. tried both and work great. i did about 5 of your skimmer and its work great. the only different was the hight and out take of water to the tank.

 

very simple design and ez diy.

[Carinya]

Thanks to both of you. I will try to get a smaller pump this weekend and if that doesn't do the trick, I will post a pic. I was messing around with it last night & if I raise the unit up so it's several add'l inches higher, the bubbles & flow look right (albeit no skimmate yet) so I think a smaller pump is the answer, then just giving it some time to break in for skimmate.

 

UTR, I am in Madison. My parents lived in Brookfield while I was in college some years ago & I really enjoyed spending my summers in Milwaukee. It's a fun town.

 

Thanks again,

C

[BillyBlanko]

here`s the 1 i made about a yr ago & it skimmed like a charm

[Undertheradar]

BillyBlanko

No offense man, but if you read the rest of the thread (or just a little) you will see you are in the wrong thread as far as the basic idea of the thread is concerned.

 

RPBeesh,

He doesnt need to buy another pump...as a T + bypass wont add backpressure to the pump. You are thinking if he puts a valve on the outlet of the pump...Im talking about if he splits the output, having one go to the skimmer, and the other to a valve. Then, he just closes the valve until the amount going to the skimmer is just right. If nothing else, he would gain an added flexibility in that he would be able to adjust the pump's output to the skimmer in a very wide range without adding back-pressure to the pump. Or, he could simply enlarge the skimmer to be 4"wide, 1.5" deep, and 16" tall...with 6 holes on the injector. Should work just fine.

[reefeiro]

I have a 700l/h PH (185gph).

This pump can be used in a skimmer this stile?

It can "hold" up to how many gallons nano?

I´m talking ´bout the smallest skimmer stile.

[Undertheradar]

The injection skimmer could handle up to a 20gallon...I use it on a 10. The pump you have might be a little big, but you could simply enlarge the skimmer like I mentioned above to the guy with the 200gph pump. If you want to keep the size down, you will want to find a pump that is much smaller...a Maxi-Jet 400 would be good.

[Polareef]

Add me to the list of satisfied builders!

 

My quest for the skimmer is over. Two weeks ago I tried out a CPR BakPak, and while I thought it was a good product, I didn't want it on my tank. It was simply too much equipment for my little 10g. It was too big, too noisy, and just too far away from my ideal tiny aquarium. It seemed everything else out there was also either too big or had just horrible reviews (Skilter) so I was ready to start considering an air driven skimmer or just go back to skimmerless but two things happened.

 

Over the weekend on a training ride I happened to find a big sheet of plastic on the side of the road. It appeared some sorry sap lost the window out of their truck, trailer, or canopy. I don't normally pick up stuff from the side of the road but thought this was a keeper.

 

The second thing was that I decided to read this thread. I didn't make it through all 800 posts but a good part of it

 

So I thought to myself, why not. I got free plastic and I need a skimmer.

 

Building:

Overall this thing took about five hours to build. This is probably more time than others spent because I had to mill the pieces more.

 

The plastic I used was not acrylic but 3mm polycarbonate (trade name LEXAN). It's tougher than acrylic and more resistant to cracking and shattering. That's why it's used for eyewear, safety equipment, motorcycle windshields, and bullet proof windows. That also means you will spend more time cutting. You cannot score and crack polycarbonate like acrylic or glass - it just doesn't work. Polycarbonate is more flexible than acrylic so some projects may require a thicker sheet or more framework to hold a shape. It is also supposed to be easier to scratch however I didn't notice much difference from acrylic. Polycarbonate can be bonded with various adhesives however I was told honestly by a plastics shop owner that CA ("Super Glue") works just as good however it mars the surface so be neat. He was right. A thin bead of watery glue made a strong weld like bond within minutes.

 

I made the long cuts with a large router table, 1/8th inch bit, with the material held firmly between two fences. I made the smaller crosscuts with a japanese flush cut saw and an old shop trick with scrap material and clamps to keep the saw running absolutely on line vertical and horizontal.

 

The edges were fairly clean however the guy at the plastics shop said much of the quality of the bond depends on the smoothness of the surface. Using blocks to maintain squareness I carefully sanded the pieces all the way down to 400 grade sandpaper. I checked and rechecked the sizes and squareness along the way and if in doubt I left a piece undersanded rather than undersized.

 

Assembly and glue up went pretty smooth.

 

For the exit spout I glued on a 3/4 CPVC elbow.

 

Set up:

 

I set it up on the tank, plugged it into a Zoo Med Mini Powerhead (rated for 30-70gph but I removed the center adjustment thing so it is now probably 100gph) and it started right up. After less than half a minute however the center portion would fill up with water and stop producing bubbles. I tried drilling different nozzles but still no dice. I suspected a vapor lock or something. I went back to read the read the plan and sure enough discovered I needed to drill that tiny air vent hole. When I did the whole thing took off and I got bubbles galore

 

Run:

 

I put it online late last night and within an hour it was creating foam and by morning it was pulling out gunk. I don't suggest putting it online before bed time. I kept waking up to make sure it was working and not spilling water all over the floor.

 

In the next few days it should increase output. I will let you know.

 

 

Noise:

The previous comments are right; if you're farther than a few feet away then you won't hear much. The noise it does produce is actually a pleasant gurgling fountain like noise. Venturi skimmers produce a more harsh crackling, crushing, sucking sound that can really put me on edge.

 

I will post pictures later.

 

 

Thanks Undertheradar. You've invented and shared a great item.

[ojyarumaru]

Can you pleaase list all the materials needed for this project? I really want a skimmer without burning a hole in my wallet. note: Is this project hard, because it's the first DIY I'm doing.

 

I'm referring to this one:

 

Thank you!