dl5 Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 well i got tired of seeing all that film and stuff on the water surface and being paranoid that the gunk would be harmful to the water params, so i decided to look for a surface skimmer. they do sell kits for about 20 bucks, which was no way in my price range so i made a trip to home depot and this is what i have. i used 3/4inch tubing to reduce the diameter of the pvc to accommadate the AC20's intake tubes. lmk what yall think and if there are any improvements that can be done. there's a small sponge inside the pvc intake to save any little critters that my get to curious Link to comment
doncb Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 Pretty good solution. The only mod I'd make would be to take a piece of pvc pipe long enough to reach a 1/4" above the surface and cut slots in it so it is really pulling off the surface. The slots will help keep critters out to. Link to comment
Llamaguy Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 try using the second AC intake tube as the screen Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 That's actually a pretty freakin' awsome solution. I'm a big cheapskate so I love solutions that cost less than $1. How is it working so far? Link to comment
schaadrak Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 Why won't anyone use my suggestion? Read my thread Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted January 14, 2006 Share Posted January 14, 2006 Why won't anyone use my suggestion? I read the thread and it is an interesting idea, but I am curious about how you would attach it to the HOB intake without having to glue it. I wouldn't mind gluing it, except that I would then have to purchase a new intake pipe if I ever wanted to revert back. You would also have to tinker with it to get a good balance of aesthetics and water flow. The U-tube has an obvious attachment and requires little modification. It would also allow for enough flow w/o having to tinker too much. That being said, I like the capped pipe idea better than the U-tube b/c there is an easy way to ensure that you get enough surface water without too much air. Link to comment
dl5 Posted January 14, 2006 Author Share Posted January 14, 2006 Why won't anyone use my suggestion? well its a good idea, i would try it but its just that i was just at home depot and this is an easier mod for a noob like me. i'm too worried about screwing something up to use that suggestion. i believe what you have is pretty much like an overflow intake and that would be pretty awesome for any tank if someone here is crafty enough. well today i went and bought a strainer for a penguin 300 filter and i'm going to adapt it so that it is the main form of suction under water, and then i'll use the AC20 intake portion that i have now to protrude out of the water to be an actual skimmer, pictures to come! thanks for the comments! Link to comment
dl5 Posted January 15, 2006 Author Share Posted January 15, 2006 well here's the pictures i promised. the pictures are quite self explanatory, the only thing that gave me some trouble was adjusting the height of the skimmer intake so that it would actually pull a noticable amount of water down it to make it efficient. let me know what yall think, and if there any questions, fire away. happin reefin all! Link to comment
doncb Posted January 15, 2006 Share Posted January 15, 2006 After the Pico contest is over I'll probably make one for my tank. Right now in the Stock category modding is a no-no. Link to comment
FLIPbmw Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 Does that mod even work to skimm the surface? Doesn't look to efficient. I'm not sure if I should try DIY 1 and have it look weird (2-3$ in parts) or buy the AC skimmer for 16$ and have it look decent. The problem i'll face is that i run a powerhead to power my AC so i'll need to mod it anyways. Let us know how it goes and how you fix it if u do. Link to comment
robmacy Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 nice rubber size reducer. great idea! Link to comment
dl5 Posted January 25, 2006 Author Share Posted January 25, 2006 it actually works great! i've never had the "film" on the water surface again. i just have to make sure i clean out my sponge every 4 days or so now because i do notice more things being caught in it. i agree it isn't the most efficient design, but for a 2.5 gallon, i think it does its job. i have a pretty good/strong flow "down" affect into the skimmer, now that i've adjusted the height and turned the AC20 all the way up. no regrets on making this mod, and i'm happy that i've saved close to 20 bucks. i'm just waiting for some coraline to grow on it and cover up the white pvc. now that i no longer have surface gunk, i'm going to probably get a power head to stop things from settling on the rocks and what nots in the dead areas of the tank. oh well that's for another day and when my wallet is fed. thanks all. Link to comment
dl5 Posted January 25, 2006 Author Share Posted January 25, 2006 there's a picture of it now. as you can see, i pulled the intake tube out of the pvc pipe a bit so that i could increase its height so that water would actually "fall" into it and create the skimming effect. you can actually see the meniscus in this picture of the water level inside the intake tube. it's a big high right now because i just did a top off, but halfway through the day its at the the point where the intake tube disappears into the pvc piping, and is a lot more efficient. the "plastic reducers" are actually 1/4 inch diameter clear tubing that i dremeled just slightly to be able to fit the AC tubes inside. if there are any questions please ask. sorry the picture is blurry, i loaned out my tripod, and don't mind my damsel, he's a curious bugger. Link to comment
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