DIY mame skimmer - need input!

[dcknipe]

So at home depot and thought about making a diy skimmer modeled after the mame. 

 

Is this braided vinyl reef safe? 

 

Think this could work? I want it to fit into the back of my IM10. 

 

So I would run the airline through the top leading down to a limewood air stone.  Then silicone the back adapter into the side for the skimmate

 

 

What I'm holding is approx $10

[ReefGoat]

I use that type of tubing for water changes. It's just attached to a submersible pump and I use it to pump from a brute trashcan on wheels into the tank. So I think you'd be ok. I don't know how affordable you want to go. But I remember seeing this homemade  skimmer mod one time. I thought it was pretty sweet. Looks like he did it for 3 bucks lol. 

 

[dcknipe]

1 hour ago, ReefGoat said:

I use that type of tubing for water changes. It's just attached to a submersible pump and I use it to pump from a brute trashcan on wheels into the tank. So I think you'd be ok. I don't know how affordable you want to go. But I remember seeing this homemade  skimmer mod one time. I thought it was pretty sweet. Looks like he did it for 3 bucks lol. 

 

Ya that's super low tech haha. I want mine to fit in the back of my IM10 so a normal sized bottle would be a tight squeeze 

[RayWhisperer]

The vinyl is fine, it won’t harm anything. I don’t think your idea will work, though. Main reason is the design of the mame forces skimmate down into the drain tube. Your idea doesn’t. 

 

Besides all that, I question the effectiveness of any of the really small skimmers. The fundamental operating design in any skimmer is reaction time, or dwell time. That means the amount of time the bubbles stay in the water column, before reaching the top. In old skimmers, this was done with height, newer skimmers have used Venturi effects, and other flow patterns, as well as recirculating, to increase dwell time. Without that, I think you’re just pushing water, with very few hydrophobic elements right out of the tank. In other words, I doubt it removes much of anything. I’m sure it’ll have a positive effect on your ph, though.

[dcknipe]

4 hours ago, RayWhisperer said:

The vinyl is fine, it won’t harm anything. I don’t think your idea will work, though. Main reason is the design of the mame forces skimmate down into the drain tube. Your idea doesn’t. 

 

Besides all that, I question the effectiveness of any of the really small skimmers. The fundamental operating design in any skimmer is reaction time, or dwell time. That means the amount of time the bubbles stay in the water column, before reaching the top. In old skimmers, this was done with height, newer skimmers have used Venturi effects, and other flow patterns, as well as recirculating, to increase dwell time. Without that, I think you’re just pushing water, with very few hydrophobic elements right out of the tank. In other words, I doubt it removes much of anything. I’m sure it’ll have a positive effect on your ph, though.

I agree that the effectiveness of a small skimmer is less then a full sized skimmer.  Mame and reef glass are popular and apparently work pretty well based on the reviews and people that have them. 

 

Is a mame beneficial on a 50 gallon, probably not. Is it on a 10 Gallon probably. 

[coopaloop]

Never had a skimmer and not sure how well this worked but here's a diy I took a screenshot of awhile back