Wetworx Nano-skimmers!!!

[Pinner Reef]

Welcome back good sir nice to have you amongst us again.

-pinner

[RayWhisperer]

Holy Crap! UTR is back! I was beginning to wonder if you were even alive still. Besides, you've had a nano all along..... MINE! Ha ha, just kidding. You can keep it, I've got too many of them.

[skilter]

keep the same design, just shorten the length.

[Undertheradar]

You know, I am totally embarrased by that. I read your PM last night... I think I opened it a while back but didnt even see it. Im so sorry its been stashed in my basement for so long I forgot. It took a while to get a final design for the skimmer on that thing... I kept getting microbubbles in the outlet, and restricting the pump too much resulted in NO skimmate.

 

Then, one day months and months later, it dawned on me... recirculating! I made the skimmer recirculating with the inlets and outlets connected over the last baffle in the sump of the ole-school NC12. I ended up running a MJ 400/600 on the thing and not a bubble in the outlet! Works like a champ.

[RayWhisperer]

No need to be embarresed, I realize you have a life outside of N-R, and skimmer production. Set that bad boy up, give us a taste of the UTR reef powered by the infamous Wetworx Nano Skimmer!

 

It's good to see you back around.

Later!

[travisurfer]

does regular old plexiglass work. i have some laying around

[Undertheradar]

well, usually extruded plexi is a no-no, but these skimmers are all so small that 1/4" is just overkill, and the only skimmers that are actually external are the nano-HOB ones. They are so small though and have such thin 1/8" bonding areas (which actually works with us here because the problem with extruded is that the acrylic expands when it absorbs water/underwater)... those 1/8" bonding areas are so thin that they cant expand very much... at least not much in comparison to the thick bead of weldon-16 thats in the corners. The other skimmers are all in-sump, so there is no danger if a seam breaks. So yes, for these skimmers, extruded is alright, and 1/8" thick is plenty strong. Ive only had 2 skimmers actually bust leaks along the seams after extensive use/abuse (out of something like 50), and because they were in-sump, nothing happened... I just noticed a few microbubbles coming out of one corner one week. Something tells me that it was like that the whole time and just never noticed.

[RP Beesh]

here are the plans for a HOB MCE style skimmer. The pump is on the side in the first chamber to allow for its output to be angled downward instead of straight up like a MCE. This should extend contact time greatly. The intake pipe also allows for the skimmer to be recirculating by simply putting some slots in it. The pump in the first chamber seems much smarter than the deltec design. It even allows for easier pump removal because the cord is in the same chamber. The upflow chamber is shrunk...it no longer needs to serve as a pass-through for the electrical plug for pump removal...and it was never that great as a media chamber (water passed around media bags, not through).

 

More plans/photos to come of other skimmers Ive been making...

is there a removeable buffer were the mj feed the input of water to the 2nd chamber? i can't see how it would be easy to remove the pump for cleaning. you can't stick your hand in there and reattach the pump the the nozzle? or i'm i looking it the wrong way?

[Undertheradar]

yeah, its just stuck on the pump outlet after you put the pump in, so I just reach in and put it back on (or, actually, my hands are too big, so I ask my GF to do it for me). I was considering just placing a small plate over the outlet to direct the water downwards rather than a plumbing piece. Maybe the next version. Im getting ready to do a bunch more of the nano-sized skimmers.... had a brainstorm a month or so ago on some new techniques I would like to try out, and I have some designs for larger skimmers that I would like to try out on a smaller scale to see if the design methods perform better... one thing I wanted to try is a large scale version similar in method to the Aquaconnect.... I call it the 'tumbler' skimmer.

 

Anyways, the main problem is that I am still waiting on my new tank to be finished up (48x30x20"h starphire/euro tank with steel stand) before I start other projects. I have some smaller projects for the main tank that I should finish up first (like the 'power center' with all the sockets, switches, digital timers, and ballast for the halide and Tunze streams) as the tank is 100% DIY (except for the custom welded stand).

 

But I am stoked to get some new designs out... should really give some ideas to Sapphire for improvements.

[RP Beesh]

thanx im planning to build one about 9x3x26 out of 1/4 " acyrlic going to be hob. i'm going to use a maxi jet 1200. my tank is about 40g would that handle 4 fish? i'm so used to building small skimmer for tank under 10g so with a 40g i'm clueless with the skimmer part of it.

 

 

you can use the attachment from the maxi jet to change the direction downward. that pice that can rotate downward, letf, right, and up.

[Undertheradar]

Good call, thats right, the MJ1200 has the piece included, doesnt it? I forgot about that thing... that would work well.

 

9x3x26, large version of the HOB nano-skimmer... sure, thats plenty of space and plenty for 4 fish in a 40B.

[RP Beesh]

how much would the bubble shoot down from the mj1200. i don't have anything clear to test it. thanz

[Undertheradar]

depends on the velocity and pressure you leave it with. if you use a diffuser on the outlet, not far at all.

[RP Beesh]

this is my plan

i'm thinking i will put a mj1200/venture inside the middle chamber. so i can easly remove it for cleaning. and have another pump inside the tank to feed the water into the skimmer. my question is will there be too much pressure for the pump to suck in air if the mj1200 right on the bottom

[Undertheradar]

26" tall is pretty tall for a maxi-jet. It will still draw air, but not as much as if you keep it under 22" tall. That seems to be the ideal for this pump.

 

Otherwise, you might want to modify an Aquaclear 802 for this purpose.

[ReeferMo]

UTR - I have been observing this thread, and some others that you have posted in regarding your nano skimmers and all their variations. Now that you have had lots of time using and tweaking them - I was wondering what your thoughts are on which version you like the best. I'm gonna build one of these for my 15g nano (10g refugium), and was just looking for the version that would be suited to this setup. Thanks.

 

Mo

[Undertheradar]

Well, best is a relative term. There are versions for 'best in-sump', 'best for a nano-cube', and 'best for HOB', as well as size. Which do you prefer?

[jpndave]

What would be the best design for an in-sump skimmer based on the modded Aquaclear 802?

[Undertheradar]

The AC802 can do about 350-500lph of air. This is large enough to run up to a 4 or 5" diameter skimmer, or about 12-18 square inches. If done as a square body, 2"x6" to 3"x6" would be ideal. There is one that I did like this with a bubble plate design that would help.

[jpndave]

Thanks for the fast reply. Where do I find that design? Is there an advantage to either the round or rectangular skimmer bodies?

[Undertheradar]

The rectangular can be much easier to DIY. Functionally, they are almost identical. Ill have to find that design and post it... I dont think I have posted it here. It will require about a 2" length of 4-5" acrylic pipe.

[jpndave]

OK, so 2x6 or 3x6 (would you lean towards the larger or smaller size?) based on the designs earlier in the thread. How tall would you go and what style? Would the recirc design be best or one of the others? Any special features you would integrate?

 

Would you mod the pump like suggested in the tread on RC?

 

Thanks again for the advice!

[Undertheradar]

 

 

The holes on the 'bubble plate' should be 1/4", and rows of 3 or 4 holes wide (how ever many you think you can fit in. 6-8 rows should be plenty.

[ReeferMo]

Well, best is a relative term. There are versions for 'best in-sump', 'best for a nano-cube', and 'best for HOB', as well as size. Which do you prefer?

 

Finally!!! Uhhh, not you, UTR - the site. I haven't been able to access the forum for a couple of days here. Anyway, I guess for my situation it would be in sump (10g). That way, I can hide the skimmer from view, since it will be enclosed in a cabinet below the tank. But just for informational purposes, maybe you could just list what features/design you like for each situation? I'm ready to start cutting! Thanks for all the work you have done on this subject. I know that I, for one, appreciate it greatly.

 

MO

[Undertheradar]

For a 10g, in sump, I would do the 2"x5"x13-15" tall powered by a MJ600 recirculating... unless you want to go smaller. Ill post a diagram later today.