DIY Skimmer

Well decided to make a better skimmer than my last one.  This time I decided to put a little effort into one besides a needle wheel pump mod.  I decided that I'd make one with a box base with a round chamber attached to another riser and collectoin cup.  I figure the box base will be the easiest to DIY since it will give me flat surfaces to work with when adding the pump and output.  As for demensions I 'm thinking along the lines of 6x6x10 for the box. 6x12 for the chamber tube.  Then a 3x6 riser into the colection cup.
Here is the material I have to work with.

 

Well after doing some figuring the box will be 6.5"x6.75"x10".  That gives me the largest box out of the acrylic I have.

 

 

I orgininally thought of putting a 1" bulk head in the top of the box.  A 1 1/4" bulkhead in the side to follow the more popular box type skimmers out there.  After some thought I went with 2 x1" bulkheads on the top of the box.  I'll always beable to put 1 1/4' out the side if I need to.
 
Dremmel makes a circle cutting attachment that I decided to go with.  If you ever decide to do this remember that dremmels are not heavy duty.  So, go slow or you'll burn up the motor.  There spiral cut blade also gives a nasty looking cut.  I ended up spending some time with a drum sander cleaning it up.

 

  After doing some edge work I glued up the box.  I also attached the 1" slip fit bulkheads.  I ended up with the out put pipe 5/8" off the bottom.  The input from pump I put on a 45.  Nice thing with the slip fits are the ability to change them if not correct.
Pretty classy creen huh.
 

 

ok here is the end for today.  I'm going to have to shave off 3 inches from the hieght.  I'ts currently at 27 1/2" and my stand is only 25 tops.  I guess I'll take an inch off each the riser, the chamber tube, and the collection cup.

  

 

Thanks, eins,
I agree, I hate to cut down the main chamber but I'm going to have to. I think if I took out the neck I'd have a hard time controling the skimmate. The collection cup will be cut down some too. I figure this way it will have a 6" neck.  I'm not to worried about the height as long as it is under 24.5". With the thumb screws that will attach the neck and collection cup to the main camber I'll need 0 clerance to remove the top to clean.
Eventually it will be a beckett or a dual beckett. ATM I do not have a beckett injector or the pump to drive it. I'm just going to run it with a juiced up Rio 2500 with a mesh mod for the time being. I kinda designed it to have the option to upgrade in the future. I have a CPR SR4 running on my basement tank that seems to work great with a similar design. Although a 500+ gph pump is really not enough do drive this skimmer to its potential the lower flow will create a longer dwell time for the bubbles it produces.
I'm hoping by tomorrow night to have this wrapped up.
As for you getting the Zeo reactor I can not wait either. As you know that is going to be my next project. Although that reactor is nice I beleive it will be easily improved. I really would never think of getting a non automated reactor. I just did the skimmer first because I need it to reduce nuetrients more before a Zeo reactor.
I do have a few other things planned to DIY after the Zeo reactors so I guess my vacation is pretty full.

 

Posted By IowaKevinK on 03/23/2008 12:42 AM
That is really impressive. Amazing the talent in this club. Thanks for sharing, keep the pic's coming. /site/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/_default/emoticons/smile.gif src="/site/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/_default/emoticons/smile.gif" align=absMiddle border=0>
Thanks,
Right now it is just a pretty piece of plastic.  Will see what it can do in a bit. 
I did get some work done on it this morning.   I ended up taking 2 inches off the main chamber and an inch off the collection cup.  The neck/riser is a total of 5 inches now.  I hope that will give me enough play when it is in action.  The top I'm adding a piece of the green and also at the bottom of the neck.  Then the little critters in the sump will have something more pleasing to look at.  The height of it is 24.25 inches now so it should fit fine under my tank.

 

Thanks bill,
I might take you up on that offer in a bit.

 

  I did get a few more things done today and started attaching some of the main pieces.  I ended up making support rings too for the top and bottom of the main tube.  You can see the one support ring here inside the tube.  It will add over 6x the glueing surface.  The top piece on the right I added a bevel to, on Waverz suggestion to stop large bubbles from forming and to keep the flow of the bubbles more consistant.  Here is also a pic to show what the top will end up like.
 

 

  I had to cheat placing the thumbscrews.  I ended up doing a search for a hexagon then just photoshoped it to the right size.  Here are a few more pics of the progress.  first is the template.  Next is after I put on the thumbscrews and riser in place.  The last pic is at almost completion.  I still need to do some work on the collection cup and drain for it.
  

 

Went to Roe's Aquarium and Pets today.  They actually had these pumps half off.  I got both.   There is a pretty good thread on RC about modding these pumps and getting them close to the Red Dragons.

 

Well, Thanks to Bill for leanding me his pump and a beckett it is finally operational.  For now I just have it down in my basement being tested.  I'll have to adjust the heigth of the Beckett and the output along with the water level.  I'm actually surprised at how quiet it is.