Undertheradar Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 Wow, someone selling their commercially made skimmer to try mine? Thats big...then again, Bak Paks are POSs anyways. RP, yes it is different in the fact that the inlet/injector area is no longer a stream of water that gets angled so it's bubbles end up getting shot over to rise up in the foaming chamber. Although not a major design change from the construction standpoint, it yeilds more foam, finer bubbles, more water level tolerance, and is a major change in concept. Now, instead of trying to shoot the bubbles over, they get forced out all together, straight down, but with such force in a smaller area that they have to move to the side...over to the foaming chamber. Kingpin, If you made it 15"high, 2"deep, and the same width, I think a 200gph pump would work fine...just use a longer spraybar and six holes for the injector. The width doesnt have to change, and the depth doesnt have to either, other than the fact that I need to make the design taller anyways as I am getting bubbles all over. This is really just doubling the depth of the skimmer...heck, if you wanted to make one 10" deep with a 1000gph pump, 15" tall, and 2.5" wide, you could. Or, in another way, you could just make it super tall...like 20", make 5 holes instead of 3, and get a foaming column that shoots down 12" and then comes up in the riser area...this area would need to be increased as well, not only in height, but in width to accomidate the extra bubbles...so perhaps making the skimmer 3" wide would help as well... The possibilities are endless, just depends on if you want taller, narrower, wider, etc... Link to comment
RP Beesh Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 what is the disctance between the spraybare and the surface of the water line Link to comment
RP Beesh Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 i did a 18' inch one and your new design is allsome. so i will trash my 18'. hahah love the diy ####. more pix. sell it. just not with the spray bar. go around the loop hole Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 with the new design, it maintains itself. The outlet hole is higher than the older models, so the overall water level has gone up...but the downforce of the injector chamber keeps the water lower. I have the water levels diagramed properly. Yes, the bubble and outlet chambers are much higher than the injector chamber. The outlet hole is only 1/2" below the injector pipe. And, FWIW, my diagrams are 100% to scale...so measure for yourself if there is anything else you need to measure in particular. Link to comment
Littleoceans Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 Under- Thanks for the plans... by the way... would love to pick a fight with you... I have a evil omen... and a A5 for the woods ;-) Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted June 12, 2004 Share Posted June 12, 2004 for the current one? I would make the new dimensions 14"h, 1"deep, 2.5" wide. It's an extra inch on the collection cup, so the foam doesnt spit out the top...and an extra two on the bottom half so less microbubbles make it back into the tank. I am experimenting with some baffles to help direct the bubbles more sideways after coming out the bottom of the injector, as well as further down to get the bubbles out as much as possible. Or you could keep the existing dimensions and just put a sponge on the output to catch the bubbles...or just keep the skimmer in the fuge like I do... Link to comment
RP Beesh Posted June 12, 2004 Share Posted June 12, 2004 what would you rate your skimmer for what tank? how many hole for the injector if the power head is 200 gph? 6 Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted June 12, 2004 Share Posted June 12, 2004 I would rate it for up to a 20gallon...tops. A 200gph pump is going to turn the new skimmer into a foam machine. When I hooked up a Maxi-Jet 400 (160gph), it shot bubbles straight down to the bottom of the skimmer....Whoah! Maybe with 6 holes this wouldnt be so bad...but thats still alot for such a small skimmer. Link to comment
RP Beesh Posted June 12, 2004 Share Posted June 12, 2004 did a 18x5x3 and notice that the injection only create bubble about 7 inch into the water what can i do? a stronger power head or bigger hole for the injection? Ps what do you think about reefer skimmer? have the same idea as yours but two of it. hahahah more efficent? Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted June 12, 2004 Share Posted June 12, 2004 what is 'reefer skimmer'? Your bubbles may only be going down that far for one of two reasons. The holes are too big, or the pump is two small. For one that is 3" wide (ie 3" spraybar) you should have a 300gph pump & 6-9 3/32 inch holes. FWIW, the only dinemsion you need to increase is the depth of the skimmer...height and width can remain the same. EX: if you want to make one twice as big as the 14"x1"x2.5", you should only double the 1" to 2" double the spraybar length, holes, and pump capacity, and that's it. No more height, no more width. Link to comment
Reefer_Buddha Posted June 12, 2004 Share Posted June 12, 2004 hey radar, i have a question for ya. Are you getting too much foam? My skimmer seems to be producing a lot of foam but not a lot of it is being broken down into skimmate. Its just staying in the collection chamber for a while. Link to comment
RP Beesh Posted June 12, 2004 Share Posted June 12, 2004 i meant Reefer_Buddha skimmer. i have the same problem the foam is not breaking down. Link to comment
Kingpin Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 i believe it means that you need your uplift tube taller so it gets dencer so it will fall from the foam to a liquid. it looks like you get green tea from your skimmer. with taller skimmers like downdrafts you et black mud because foam travels farther and builds up more. Link to comment
RP Beesh Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 is their another way to fix the problem without making a new skimmer? Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 I had to make a cap. The pressure forces the skimmate to go out the discharge. Link to comment
RP Beesh Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 did you cover the hole top or just were the the collection area is. do you cover the output of the water area? did the cap effect the water level? i notice that no micro bubble are entering my tank. i think it is due to the way i did my output. i use a white elbow for the output of the water that goes into the tank. Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 Im gonna kill two birds with one stone here... The skimmer hangs on the tank with the 1" pipe output for the overflow return, as well as a small hanger welded on to the side to keep it level. The lid covers everywhere the foam could go out the top....forcing it down into the collector and out the tube. I think the space thing is an issue...the foam needs more space to condense. I wonder if making it taller will be enough...or if the collection chamber is going to need more room. Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 The lid has a little bit of baffles to hold it in place as well...as well as direct foam. Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...20&pagenumber=5 this shows the hanging system even better. Link to comment
doppler Posted June 13, 2004 Share Posted June 13, 2004 Man,I just put this thing together in about a hour,excellent design.I'll fire it up on my 5 gallon in the morning.I don't pull much crud out of my 5,I might have to give it a real test on my 65 gallon.Thanks for the excellent design Link to comment
trmiv Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 awwww! look at it, it's so tiny. Link to comment
RP Beesh Posted June 14, 2004 Share Posted June 14, 2004 is the top working fine for you? Link to comment
Mai Posted June 15, 2004 Share Posted June 15, 2004 Where would you put the overflow if you were going to use this skimmer as an in sump? Would you leave it in the same spot or lower it? Link to comment
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