DIY Skimmer - Need Some Help With Principles

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Hi all. I currently have a 10g standard tank and I'm thinking about DIYing a protein skimmer. I originally wasn't going to go with a skimmer because of space and budget constrains.. I figured if it got to the point where I needed one, I would get a sump because most effective skimmers require one. After some research, however, it seems that airstone driven skimmers are still very relevant in the nano space and that many DIYs based off of the Mame skimmer are quite effective. So now, need or no need, I'm sort of wanting to build one just for the heck of it, as a fun DIY project. But, I've never built a skimmer before, so I have a few questions.

 

Here is my proposed design. It is also loosely based on the Mame skimmer, but I plan on making it out of some spare acrylic tube I have laying around.

 

 

My two basic questions are this: first, I plan on capping off the top with a rubber stopper. Does this have to be air tight? For instance, if I drill it in order to run some airline tubing through it and the fit is not airtight, does that somehow affect the operation of the skimmer?

 

Two, my skimmer is probably going to be made out of one piece of tubing to keep complexity and cost low. I notice most skimmers sort of taper off toward the end when they get to the collection chamber. Is there any practical reason for this? Will the skimmer still produce good skimmate even if it's the same diameter all the way up?

 

Thanks in advance for any help that you guys can give. Please let me know if there are any other concerns you guys spot with my design.

 

Thanks again!

[gulfsurfer101]

It will produce skimmate but if your seal is not air tight you can expect a mess. The skimmate will push through and out wherever it can. A bit of silicone should keep everything air tight though!

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Thanks for the input, gulfsurfer. Question though, shouldn't the skimmate just barely reach up to the collection hose outlet? Ideally, I didn't think you'd want the bubbles to go all the way up to the top, because that would likely produce some very wet and not very concentrated skimmate. Or does the skimmer tube need to have an air tight seal on the top in order for skimmate to only go up to the collection tube?

I don't know if I specified (or if it was obvious), but this is going to be airstone driven and hung in the main display tank. Thanks!

[Legot]

You're right, skimmate should not reach the rubber stopper as long as the ID of the outlet hose is large enough. The reason you would want it sealed would be to force all of the air out of the outlet tube, potentially helping the skimmate down the tube and keeping everything clean.

 

It can work either way, but if the top isn't sealed the skimmate will probably be unnecessarily wet.

 

If I were making this I would swap the air inlet and the skimmate outlet so that the airline entered the side and skimmate was lifted through an exit tube at the top.

[gulfsurfer101]

You're right, skimmate should not reach the rubber stopper as long as the ID of the outlet hose is large enough. The reason you would want it sealed would be to force all of the air out of the outlet tube, potentially helping the skimmate down the tube and keeping everything clean.

 

It can work either way, but if the top isn't sealed the skimmate will probably be unnecessarily wet.

 

If I were making this I would swap the air inlet and the skimmate outlet so that the airline entered the side and skimmate was lifted through an exit tube at the top.

What he said! That sounds like a much more functional design. I've done something very similar in a ten gallon with a 16oz dr pepper can, magnets and some airline. It only works so long as it's in the tank lol!

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Thanks very much for the input, gulfsurfer and Legot. I really do appreciate your thoughts.

 

Quick question though, on the original Mame Design skimmer, the air inlet and waste outlet are configured in the same way that I have sketched them in my idea. Is air-in-the-top, waste-out-the-side just not as efficient? Like I said, I know very little about skimmer design, only about how they work in a general way, so any practical knowledge is really helpful.

 

Thanks again!

[Rural]

more efficient as the bubles have to rise farther with the top out design and the mame company did that to save money, as having the airstone from the side would mean also manufacturing a brace to hold it center instead of it just plumbing center itself

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Thanks for the insight, Rural, that's very helpful.

 

Okay, so it sounds like whatever the design, top outlet for waste is the way to go. My only concern with a side inlet is it may be problematic for airstone maintenance. My original plan was to drill and tap the tube for the waste outlet, using a threaded 3/8" barbed connector. I see this being difficult to adjust if the airstone is connected to it. What about running the airline and waste ouputs through the top? Obviously, I'd use a stopper with two holes and run them through different tubes.

 

What are your all thoughts on this?

 

Thanks again for all your help!

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Thanks again for the feedback, everyone. I think I've decided on the design below:

 

 

The skimmer is basically going to consist of a plastic tube capped with a rubber stopper, like the kind people use in home brewing and labs. The stopper will have two holes, one through which I'll run the airline for the air stone, and the other will be plumbed to a waste container. The stopper will be an airtight fit, but the idea is that it will come out of the tube easily for when it's time to clean the device and replace the air stone.

 

Any additional thoughts or criticism is welcome. The toughest part right now is probably going to be figuring out how to mount the darn thing... But, in terms of a basic design, I think this should do nicely. It won't be as unsightly as some of the Coke bottle skimmers out there, and should only cost $20 - $25 for parts (not including the air pump).

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Okay, I think I've finally decided on a final design. I was able to find a cheap source for clear PVC, so I was able to rethink how I was designing the skimmer. I really like the looks of the Mame Design skimmer, but I wasn't able to find cheap clear PVC, which is a must since I want this thing to look nice. While dimensions of this skimmer are hard to find, I was able to make some pretty informed estimates. I took the information I know (total skimmer height) and a good, proportional listing image of the skimmer, and I used a photo editing program to measure the dimensions of the various parts against the known info (total skimmer height).

 

Here's what I've come up with:

 

 

Total height will be about 12"-13". The triangle in the middle is going to be a standard 1.25" to 0.75" PVC reducer (probably painted black for looks). The top will be about 2" of 0.75" PVC and the bottom will be about 9" of 1.25" PVC. The top will be a standard rubber stopper with two holes in it. One hole will feed the airline tube to run the air stone, and the other will simply be an outlet for the waste.

 

Any other critiques or criticism are still welcome.. but I think I'm going to move forward with this design!

[Moolelo]

How did this design work out? Haven't heard yet if you built this and tested it.

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Hey Moolelo, I haven't built this, and I think I'm going to go another direction. Parts for this clone would probably only run about $40 (excluding air pump), but there were a few things that I was having trouble figuring out how to nail down elegantly (a mounting solution that allowed for a wide range of adjustments, a nice looking clear PVC reducer, etc). There are solutions out there for my problems, but none that I was in love with. So that meant custom fabrication, which is not impossible for me, but difficult. I don't have a ton of tools and getting them would be outside of the scope of this project. I'll gladly share what I've come up with, as it may help others. I just don't want to invest the time and money if it's not going to be perfect. I'll settle for cheaper.

 

It's tough to find some of the more detailed specs about the Mame Design skimmer, but I found enough to get a rough idea of what this thing should be. I found one site (SWC, I think) that provided a total height of the skimmer, as well as a quality image from the front of the unit. Using that information, I was able to use GIMP and measure the rest of the parts in pixels and extrapolate their size since I already knew the height of the skimmer.

 

Here are my estimated raw measurements:

 

 

Section A

Description: total height of skimmer (less stopper)

Dimensions: 12" tall

 

Section B

Description: bottom section with airstone

Dimensions: 9" long, 1 1/4" ID

 

Section C

Description: top section with stopper and air pump inlet/waste outlet

Dimensions: 2" long, 3/4" ID

 

One of the few sites that I found that offered small quantities of clear SCH40 PVC was Flexpvc.com. I was planning on using 2" of their 3/4" PVC (about 0.8" ID) for the top section, and about 9" of their 1 1/4" PVC (about 1.36" ID) for the bottom. I was having trouble finding a clear PVC reducer but I considered just getting a white 1 1/4" to 3/4" slip reducer and painting it black. For the stopper, I was just going to get a two hole rubber stopper off Ebay that matches the dimensions of the thinner upper section. For the fittings for the airline tube and waste outlet, I was going to just go to Home Depot and find some barbed and threaded fittings that fit. The one thing I couldn't figure out was a bracket to hold the skimmer. I was having trouble balancing function and form without fabricating something.

 

I ended up finding a primitive and cheap Chinese skimmer off Ebay that I'm going with instead. I'm sure this skimmer would have looked reasonably nice in my tank, but between not finding a great solution for mounting it to the side of the tank and not being able to find a perfect clear PVC slip reducer, I decided I would be better off just going with ultra cheap. One day if I get the itch I may still try to build this thing, but that'll be a bit down the road.

 

I hope this was helpful. Let me know if there's anything else you're curious about.

 

 

 

[Moolelo]

Thank you, your post is very informative. I had built a glass airstone skimmer similar to a gnome skimmer in the past, but both the design and performance left a bit to be desired (skimmate evidence of performance). But having all the extra aeration and little bit a skimming seemed to really give my tank a boost.

Thanks to some of your ideas I am moving forward with a new all glass design. I plan on doing a 50mm diameter 12" glass tube with stopper. This will have a glass tube running down center for airline and offset from this is a 15mm skimmate exit tube (bent glass). I am hoping that the size of the chamber will provide enough foam rentention time and the exit tube will be large enough to just get waste out (not too small like gnome or mame skimmers). Besides my terrible glass bending skills, my biggest challenge was also attachment. I think I will try using aquarium safe silicon to attach/cover neodynium magnets to chamber and then outside tank (this way it is adjustable). I will let you know if this works and post a picture when I am done. My last challenge is drilling the rubber stopper for the airline and waste tube.

[chipmunkofdoom2]

That's really cool, I'm glad I could help. if I had glass blowing skills, even mediocre ones, I'd probably give it a shot.

 

As for the stopper, most stoppers can be found with two holes already. Try searching Ebay for "two hole rubber stoppers"

[Moolelo]

Just waiting for silicon on magnets to cure. You can kind of get an idea of size just from airline tubing and airstone. 12" chamber with 48mm diameter, using a glass airline down center and larger 15mm skimmate exit tube. Magnets on side will secure it to glass.

Not my cleanest work, glass cuts aren't even on the large tube and the exit tube bend is out of this world strange.

[chipmunkofdoom2]

That's really awesome, I didn't even consider magnets to hold this skimmer in place. That's a good solution. One question though, how did you waterproof them? I've searched about that before and the general consensus is "use two part epoxy." There are so many, I don't want to use the wrong one and nuke my tank.

 

Still, looks to be off to a great start, and should hopefully skim very well. What air pump are you using? I went with a ridiculously overpowered one for my skimmer that I ordered (the Tetra AP150), figuring I can always scale back air flow if it's too much.

[Moolelo]

That's really awesome, I didn't even consider magnets to hold this skimmer in place. That's a good solution. One question though, how did you waterproof them? I've searched about that before and the general consensus is "use two part epoxy." There are so many, I don't want to use the wrong one and nuke my tank.

 

Still, looks to be off to a great start, and should hopefully skim very well. What air pump are you using? I went with a ridiculously overpowered one for my skimmer that I ordered (the Tetra AP150), figuring I can always scale back air flow if it's too much.

 

I actually attached the magnets with a spot of hot glue to hold them while I silicone them on. So they are completely covered in a spot of aqua safe silicon (I also purchased magnets with no copper in their coating just to be safe). Unfortunately the magnets aren't quite what I had hoped. They hold up the tube just fine (as I tested it), but with everything hooked up it gets pushed off easily. What I did was use 3M foam tape to secure magnets on outside of glass to keep them from sliding and it seems to hold better, but I have a temporary wrap around the top holding on to the rim (I fear it dropping and the glass tube breaking on the bare-bottom of my tank.

I am currently using a Petco adjustable air pump I had purchased a while back (has rheostat, running at about medium). I think I will stick with this pump since I can adjust the foam column without moving the skimmer and it is dead silent.

[tigerman66]

On 3/7/2016 at 8:07 PM, chipmunkofdoom2 said:

Hey Moolelo, I haven't built this, and I think I'm going to go another direction. Parts for this clone would probably only run about $40 (excluding air pump), but there were a few things that I was having trouble figuring out how to nail down elegantly (a mounting solution that allowed for a wide range of adjustments, a nice looking clear PVC reducer, etc). There are solutions out there for my problems, but none that I was in love with. So that meant custom fabrication, which is not impossible for me, but difficult. I don't have a ton of tools and getting them would be outside of the scope of this project. I'll gladly share what I've come up with, as it may help others. I just don't want to invest the time and money if it's not going to be perfect. I'll settle for cheaper.

 

It's tough to find some of the more detailed specs about the Mame Design skimmer, but I found enough to get a rough idea of what this thing should be. I found one site (SWC, I think) that provided a total height of the skimmer, as well as a quality image from the front of the unit. Using that information, I was able to use GIMP and measure the rest of the parts in pixels and extrapolate their size since I already knew the height of the skimmer.

 

Here are my estimated raw measurements:

 

 

Section A

Description: total height of skimmer (less stopper)

Dimensions: 12" tall

 

Section B

Description: bottom section with airstone

Dimensions: 9" long, 1 1/4" ID

 

Section C

Description: top section with stopper and air pump inlet/waste outlet

Dimensions: 2" long, 3/4" ID

 

One of the few sites that I found that offered small quantities of clear SCH40 PVC was Flexpvc.com. I was planning on using 2" of their 3/4" PVC (about 0.8" ID) for the top section, and about 9" of their 1 1/4" PVC (about 1.36" ID) for the bottom. I was having trouble finding a clear PVC reducer but I considered just getting a white 1 1/4" to 3/4" slip reducer and painting it black. For the stopper, I was just going to get a two hole rubber stopper off Ebay that matches the dimensions of the thinner upper section. For the fittings for the airline tube and waste outlet, I was going to just go to Home Depot and find some barbed and threaded fittings that fit. The one thing I couldn't figure out was a bracket to hold the skimmer. I was having trouble balancing function and form without fabricating something.

 

I ended up finding a primitive and cheap Chinese skimmer off Ebay that I'm going with instead. I'm sure this skimmer would have looked reasonably nice in my tank, but between not finding a great solution for mounting it to the side of the tank and not being able to find a perfect clear PVC slip reducer, I decided I would be better off just going with ultra cheap. One day if I get the itch I may still try to build this thing, but that'll be a bit down the road.

 

I hope this was helpful. Let me know if there's anything else you're curious about.

 

 

 

The simple and cheap skimmers on ebay really work.  I paid $8 post included.  Works well in my 20 gal long salt tank.

[Noinoi24]

Any update?