feixjai Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 hey undertheradar do you make the skimmers for the nanocubes also? because i would like one for my 24 like doncb's. Link to comment
sammydee Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 Ahh I see... So I have to use compression fittings then - not glue right? Sam Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted January 3, 2006 Author Share Posted January 3, 2006 well, on the narrower body skimmers (1"), its simply easier to have a PVC cap on one side and an elbow on the other. The lips on these two pieces sandwich two o-rings against the skimmer body from the outside. No compression fittings...no bulkheads...just PVC. Kind of like how PVC is used to compress a 'uni-seal' into place... but for pennies in cost. Link to comment
sammydee Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 I'm sorry I must be really dumb... you do mean gluing it in place right? How else does the pvc stick to itself? How do the pipe and endcap adhere together? Sam Link to comment
doncb Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 I'm sorry I must be really dumb... you do mean gluing it in place right? How else does the pvc stick to itself? How do the pipe and endcap adhere together? Sam No glue, friction. Link to comment
sammydee Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 Odinary endcaps that are sold with PVC pipe will have enough friction for that right? Sam Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted January 4, 2006 Author Share Posted January 4, 2006 Well, yes, but I want to point out that the pipe used here is not 1/2" PVC, but CPVC...smaller diameter, which is very important. Link to comment
sammydee Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 The only stuff I could get was ABS (at least that's what I think it is) which has an OUTER DIAMETER of 1/2 inch. I'm assuming that will do the job right? Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted January 4, 2006 Author Share Posted January 4, 2006 That should work fine as long as you can find similar elbow and cap pieces with washers to make the injector. Link to comment
sammydee Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 Yep they are all here: http://www.stm-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Imperial_Fittings.html Sam Link to comment
sammydee Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 UTR, how do you adjust the height of the acrylic riser to get the right 'wetness' of skimmate? Sam Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted January 4, 2006 Author Share Posted January 4, 2006 Well, the overflow outlet is the only way. That is the one shortcoming of this skimmer since you have to 'dial it in' as you are building the skimmer, and then, for the most part, it is set permanently. That is why I include details about how to start and adjust the outlet hole in the construction phase. BTW, that was the reason for me to develop the removable collection cup on the HOB model. This collection cup design addresses several issues that the original has. I am currently testing it out, and this will prolly be the design I end up using to sell auction style. Link to comment
sammydee Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 Aha I see... I was planning on using a pvc pipe as a return, so adjusting the height of the outlet hole is difficult. Do you think it will be possible to not glue the acryulic riser, merely leave it held by friction (if it is very slightly wider than the rest of the skimmer)? Then it will be possible to adjust. Sam Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted January 5, 2006 Author Share Posted January 5, 2006 Um, uh, which version are you building anyways? Link to comment
sammydee Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 The original Venturi one. I was thinking about it last night and I thought it was probably best to glue that riser in place, a little shorter than the plans state, then putting another piece of acrylic in there not glued, to slide up and down and increase/decrease the height. when I get it right I can make another one with the right height riser in the first place. EDIT: Just thought of a different idea: I was aiming to have the outlet exactly the same as the inlet, with PVC pipe. If I drill a very small outlet hole into the PVC outlet pipe, the water level would be forced very high. If I slowly make the hole bigger, I can bring the water level down to exactly the right level. Right? Also, stupid fish shop told me it was 1/2inch outer diameter when it wasn't! It's 3/4 inch outer diameter! I expect it will still do the job though - just gotta change a few of the dimensions to accommodate the larger diameter. Cutting 3/4 inch holes is no big deal for me. Sam Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted January 5, 2006 Author Share Posted January 5, 2006 That pipe that is 3/4" OD will most likely be too large for the skimmer. I have seen it tried and it didnt work out so well. 1/2" CPVC is thinner. Link to comment
sammydee Posted January 5, 2006 Share Posted January 5, 2006 Oh, ok. I will try and find the cpvc stuff. What do you think about the outlet hole size idea though? Will that work? sam EDIT: Look I'm sorry about all the questions. After reading the original mammoth 45 page thread, I understand that every question I ask has probably already been answered three or four times. Jees, it's been nearly two years since the original was made. You're very patient UTR, thanks for helping everybody (and me!) out. Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted January 5, 2006 Author Share Posted January 5, 2006 Well, it sounds similar to how I do it. I start with a small hole up high on the body....test it, then enlarge the hole downward, test it, and keep doing this until I get a good water level...then I weld-on the outlet pipe. You might also wait until I post diagrams for the final version, whiuch will also boast a removable/adjustable collection cup so that the level can be adjusted, much like a CPR Bak Pak or Remora can be. Heres a preview...havent worked out all the kinks for an exact dimension diagram yet, but that doesnt stop anyone else. That riser neck is a acrylic cube that I have bored out a funnel in the center of so that the foam rises inside and then the pipe above it in the collection cup is a 1/2" ID tube, which after experimentation, might end up being a 3/8" ID tube. Link to comment
sammydee Posted January 6, 2006 Share Posted January 6, 2006 That looks awesome. I wait with anticipation for the final design! Sam Link to comment
doncb Posted January 6, 2006 Share Posted January 6, 2006 OK, let me horn in here. Here are a couple of pics of the skimmer I built for my 24g DX Cube. I based it on UTR's design. As you can see, I made it w/ a removable cup. I also took the inlet pipe and drilled a snug fitting hole on one side of the skimmer for it. The pipe itself is plugged on one end w. epoxy. Water level is controlled by the surface skimmer that lowered the bay 2 & 3 levels to 1/4" over the top of the divider. Note the curved piece on the lid to help direct the foam into the cup. Link to comment
sammydee Posted January 6, 2006 Share Posted January 6, 2006 That looks cool doncb! Can you post plans? Link to comment
doncb Posted January 6, 2006 Share Posted January 6, 2006 That looks cool doncb! Can you post plans? See if this helps: Link to comment
sammydee Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 Right... So you can adjust the bubble height by changing the height of the collection cup - right? That means that there is NO adjustment of the outlet pipe needed, and I can make it a pvc bulkhead? Would it work if I extended it to 3.5" wide and 18" high? I need the height so that the outlet is over the lip of the tank. Also, that's an injector system right? Can I use a venturi with it? Design looks pretty cool! sam Link to comment
doncb Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 Right... So you can adjust the bubble height by changing the height of the collection cup - right? That means that there is NO adjustment of the outlet pipe needed, and I can make it a pvc bulkhead? Would it work if I extended it to 3.5" wide and 18" high? I need the height so that the outlet is over the lip of the tank. Also, that's an injector system right? Can I use a venturi with it? Design looks pretty cool! sam This one is sized to fit in a Nano Cube, but I don't see why you couldn't increase the length. I am also using an 80gph pump. If you make it wider, you might get a bigger pump that you can throttle down the flow on. It is a venturi model. UTR's very first design was an injector. To make it an injector you'd just need to drill an air inlet hole above the inlet pipe and then you wouldn't need to have an air tube from the pump. The tube on mine isn't visible because I moved it out of the way for the picture. You can either adjust the cup height, or the water level to adjust the wet / dry skimming. Link to comment
sammydee Posted January 7, 2006 Share Posted January 7, 2006 I can't really tell from the pic... how do you adjust the cup height? Can you post what parts are needed and how big they have to be exactly? Thanks! Sam Link to comment
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