DIY Skimmer!

[Chris's Fishes]

Hello!

 

So, I've recently put together a janky skimmer for use in my 10 gallon - it's definitely ugly, but it seems to be getting the job done. I do have a few questions, though.

 

I used a well-rinsed Powerade bottle for the body of the skimmer, and used an old gravel vac hose to connect the skimmer to the collection cup. I'm just using a cheap Whisper pump for air, along with a wooden airstone meant for use in a Biocube skimmer. I pretty much copied one of the DIY MAME skimmer designs that you see floating around.

 

It collected over 700 mL of skimmate during the first night, and it was all the color of urine. Kinda smelled like it too. I did some adjusting, and collected nothing yesterday (I had it way too far out of the water, I guess), and today, I've collected around 75-100 mL of yellow-brown liquid. Doesn't have too much of a smell, but it's definitely darker and a bit thicker than what I collected the first night.

 

From what I've gathered online, 75 mL of skimmate in a 12 hour period is still super wet skimming for a ten gallon, is it not? What can I do to skim a bit drier, besides lifting the bottle up farther (because then it seems to stop collecting anything at all)?

 

I've read that some people absolutely LOVE wet skimming, and that others despise it. From what I've gathered, wet skimming removes more from the water, but at the cost of removing saltwater and requiring that you empty the collection cup more often - is that correct? If not, what exactly are the pros and cons of wet skimming?

 

I plan to revisit this project soon, and to try and make it look nicer and more efficient. I have a pretty limited skillset (and toolset), so keep that in mind while you're suggesting - but what can I do to make this better?

 

 

So far, I definitely plan to use a clear, smooth water bottle next time. Probably a Smart Water bottle, for the shape. I also plan to shorten the airline that goes to the airstone, as I'm pretty sure my airpump isn't pushing quite enough air through the airstone - not a huge problem, but I think I can improve on that pretty easily.

 

Thoughts?

 

[Tamberav]

Little air driven skimmers like that always wet skim for me. I have had various models but they all work similar.

[Superdave]

While I have never owned a skimmer, I did help a friend make one like you did back in the 1990s!  

 

You are achieving the goal of cleaning up your water for a fraction of the cost so I say whatever you have to add in terms of saltwater is still a win.  I believe your "dilemma" (which really isn't one in my book) is what people identify as the drawback of the DIY skimmer.  An adjustment of a few millimeters of the amount of air, the size/shape of the water bottle/skimmer body in your case, placement in the tank, placement of the airstone can alter the skimmate significantly.  While it is not impossible to tweak, it is pretty difficult with "fixed" adjustment points like in manufactured skimmers. 

 

If you are committed to making it work, consider making some marks on the size of the body of the skimmer so can "measure" and have a reference point for small adjustments of the placement in the water as well as the airstone/tubing.  You could also try an airline valve to let in more or less air to the air stone.  There are cheap, plastic varieties like this one from Petco for $1.49.  

 

My final thought to consider is that most owners manuals/guides say you need to give the skimmer several weeks, even a couple of months to "break in" as whatever it is skimming now (assuming you set this up recently) will change.  I am not sure why this is the case but I'm sure someone on here can explain.  

 

Good luck!