1105 Posted July 18, 2005 Share Posted July 18, 2005 I have two tanks so I was going to make another one for my other tank. I'll stick a piece of foam on the outlet to reduce the bubbles. Link to comment
david3d Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 I've been slowly accumilating all the parts to build myself a couple of these skimmers. I got the Maxijet Turbo Venturi Kit from Premium Aquatics and it arrived today but it does not fit onto a MJ400. What's the best method to go about to retrofit this onto a MJ400? -David Link to comment
david3d Posted July 19, 2005 Share Posted July 19, 2005 I hate answering my own question but I came up with a pretty good way. I had some 1/2 vinyl tubing laying around here. It was a little on the small side however. So I took a pair of needle nose pliers and put a 1" piece of tubing on it and stretched it out under hot water. This helped enlarge it as well as softened it up. I then put this on the pump and slide the venturi valve into it. Once it cooled down it's a pretty secure connection. -David Link to comment
huari Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 Thanks for the tip, David. Some folks use that grille attachment as support for a piece of airline tubing stuck into it and up toward the impeller blades. I haven't used a MJ400 yet, but I found that the minijet 404 works pretty well after a small hole is drilled to the intake. Gonna try to get that Turbo Venturi kit though that UTR talked about. seems it was the latest thing when it came out, but now I can only find it at Premium Aquatics. Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted July 21, 2005 Author Share Posted July 21, 2005 Got something new for you all....I spent some time trying to find just the right parts...or to make them...turns out I shoulda thought about these plastic electrical pieces all along...conduit. Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted July 21, 2005 Author Share Posted July 21, 2005 Why would I ever want to use that? ...well... Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted July 21, 2005 Author Share Posted July 21, 2005 They come in 1/2" and 3/4"...tight turns, yet low flow restriction. They fit perfectly on the intake and outlet of a MJ1200 with little more than some hose and teflon tape. The hose is impartant because there is a hole in it for the air intake. anyone see where I am going with this yet? A recirc skimmer...the water enters from the top...only about 50gph or so from a larger pump...on the way down it gets recirculated by the MJ1200 multiple times, with gobs of air, and eventually goes out the bottom bulkhead and back into the sump. Since the actual flow through the skimmer is so slow, microbubbles are nil coming out the other end...yet I can use a MJ1200 on a skimmer that is only 2"x5"! And because the skimmer is plumbed so tight and close to the skimmer body, fitting it in my cramped sump is easy. Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted July 21, 2005 Author Share Posted July 21, 2005 I also made the collection cup removable...much easier to empty and clean now...just a little trickier to make...you have to be very exact and square when cutting and bonding the parts. Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted July 21, 2005 Author Share Posted July 21, 2005 ...and here it is after 5 minutes. No microbubbles are coming out. The foam production is great...well it is a 290gph pump. Its intake is so loud I made a muffler...its that 1/2" PVC pipe. Just drill 2 holes in the ends put endcaps on, and run the tube in one end with the valve on the other. No more noise. Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted July 22, 2005 Author Share Posted July 22, 2005 You can buy the turbo venturi kits direct from marineland/aquarium systems. Call Kathy @ 1-800-822-1100 ext 3903. The kit is $4.20 direct + shipping...however any order over $25 is free shipping...so get 6 of em and its free...split them up...etc. Link to comment
jmorris Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 UTR - pm sent, but mailbox is full. I need some cpvc, and can't get it localy... can you hook me up? Jared Link to comment
phenom5 Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 okay...i got a problem with my skimmer. i finally got my pump last night (thanks UPS ). i got a MJ 400 with the venturi kit. the venturi kit doesn't fit the MJ 400. no problem, i figured i could rig it up, so i cut out some of the "grates" on the end of the cone shaped inlet cover that comes with the MJ and stuffed the tube through it so that it was up close to the impeller. the problem...no bubbles...no bubbles at all. any suggestions? Link to comment
phenom5 Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 nevermind...just needed a little tweaking. now i got plenty of bubbles. Link to comment
huari Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 That is frigging amazing, UTR! I love the s-shaped riser and how the recirc pump is plumbed so close. Looks like input and output are bulkheads instead of your previous designs with the pipe plumbed through the skimmer. I still can't believe how awesome that looks. Great job! Is this new skimmer EnergyStar rated? :-) Link to comment
RP Beesh Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 what with this picture? is it to reduce the sucking sound? Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted July 23, 2005 Author Share Posted July 23, 2005 huari, energy star...LOL...well, it sure does rock. I'd put it up against my cousin's remora pro any day...and that thing uses a big Mag. RP, yes, that PVC setup is a muffler. You can even stuff it with some floss if you make it out of 3/4" CPVC and have an air-filter as well. Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted July 23, 2005 Author Share Posted July 23, 2005 I like the recirc design much better. The skimmer itself can be any height and result in no back pressure on the mixing pump like with one where the mixing pump must draw from the sump/tank. The throughput can be adjusted and kept low. The whole 2"x5"x20"+ tall tower is solid bubbles. Only in the bottom 1" do the bubbles clear out...luckily that is where the outlet is. Here is a side view of it working...see the bottom 1" where it clears up? LOL. Try getting it that good with a non-recirculating...you would have bubbles all over the tank! Link to comment
phergus_25 Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 lets see some skimate!! I love the design i think I might go for one Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted July 23, 2005 Author Share Posted July 23, 2005 I shall call it "Mini-deltec"...LOL. Heres a moneyshot for ya... Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted July 23, 2005 Author Share Posted July 23, 2005 Ok, its 2am here...the cup was cleaned at 10am today...heres a good day's load. Link to comment
phergus_25 Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 how much and where do I send $$ Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted July 23, 2005 Author Share Posted July 23, 2005 Still in the worx...the larger HOB asperating version made out of 1/4" acrylic and a larger mixing pump...maybe even larger than a MJ1200. This is pending my testing of a new version of the nano-skimmer with a removable collection cup which I will carry-over to the larger one. Then, I will make an external HOB recirculating skimmer...prolly something in a 60gallon capacity...with a sedra 3500 or a couple MJ1200s for mixing. Then I might feel confident enough to start selling some. Sorry that I havent yet...I want to make sure that what works for me works for everyone else. Dont want a premature release and get bad press for it here. Link to comment
phergus_25 Posted July 23, 2005 Share Posted July 23, 2005 haha well if you need someone for a test dumy on an in sump verson I'm your man Link to comment
CollegeReef Posted July 25, 2005 Share Posted July 25, 2005 I built the nano skimmer. almost exactly like the plans, but i used PVC since i couldnt find CPVC. i just made the injection chamber a little bigger to accomadate the larger pipe. I also made a square "waterfall" type return, instead of the pipe return. its bubbleing well, i just need to let it break in and get cleaned out. I just have one question though, what about those micro bubbles?!!! i put a little (1"x 3/4" x 1/2") peice of filter sponge on the end of my return ramp and that helped some but i stll have a good many comming through any thoughts? i am going to be hanging this thing on the side or back of a HOB fuge after a while so the bubbles may become a non-issue. thanx, great design, bringing the luxury of a skimmer to the college students of the country, plus its hella small!! Link to comment
CollegeReef Posted July 26, 2005 Share Posted July 26, 2005 a problem!! my skimmer is failing to maitain its water level in the injection chamber. the water is too high and as a consequence the water is being injected right into the water, and not through air, which pulls the bubbles in. here are some pics. they are on a bucket of freshwater, when on the saltware the bubble are much smaller. If i cant find a solution for the micro bubbles this thing may not make it to the tank. heres the front view of my "waterfall"... the other side with not enough air in the injection chamber, yes i did drill an air inlet hole... Link to comment
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