Jump to content
Pod Your Reef

my DIY mini HOB protein skimmer


werew

Recommended Posts

Many thanks to UTR!!! VERY efficient design! Pic was taken after 6 hours of run time. In 2 hours it does the work my Backpack takes 2-3 days to do.

 

1" deep x 3" wide x 14" tall

Link to comment

PH is at 8.3

Water temp is 76, but it still foams the same as low as 55 in the test bucket.

I've done 3 test runs with it to find out how fast to run the powerhead, faster=wetter foam, slower=dryer & darker foam. Fast or slow, this thing really cranks out the crud!

 

I've tried to get it to produce some muddy stuff with success but it's not a good idea to keep it running this way because it'll clog up the collection areas drain plumbing.

 

The stand... good ol' ingenuity... take a look at what's on top of the lid. It's purpose is important... without it, the foam literally blows the lid off! After this test run i'll be putting it on my 29gal. reef tank which is fully stocked with softies, LPS's, SPS's and 5 fish.

 

UTR has a thread giving some details on it's dimensions, mine differs a tad bit from his in that mine's 3" wide where his is 2.5" wide. If you're going to build one, look for the 14" tall plan/picture.

 

J-Bass, Yo no habla Espanol.

Link to comment

Daemon,

A taller collection area isn't really necessary as the foam breaks down as more builds up.

 

Another thing that will help a lot that I havent done yet, putting foam dispersion baffles on the lid. These will help "fold" the thick layers of foam that build up inside the collection area. It usually does this on it's own, but sometimes it'll go apenuts and the new foam being blown into the area busts the lower layers of foam down.

 

I still have to install drain plumbing and an external collection container on the collection area's chamber.

 

The next one I build will be 3" taller, with the extra 3" dedicated to the main foam rising chamber. This I HOPE will keep 100% of the bubbles created recycling instead of being vaccumed into the return.

 

This skimmer is a trip, I still can't believe how well it's working! It'd be cool to make one that's 3 feet tall with a 250-300gph pump on it, the bubbles contact time would be longer and I estimate it'd support a much larger tank.

 

I've also thought about making one that has 2 or 3 injection chambers & pumps for much larger tanks.

 

So far so good!

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions

×
×
  • Create New...