How to make a water bottle skimmer
 

I've searched the web high and low looking for the infamous water bottle skimmer and found this site,

[url]http://nucalf.physics.fsu.edu/pfohl/Fish/Diy/SKIMMER.BMP[/url]

Seemed like a lot of work with some drawbacks .

I've also checked out the design of the infamous but largely unavailable picollo skimmer . A pic is on this page,

[url]http://www.thefishworld.co.uk/id32.htm[/url]

So I decided to build my own water bottle skimmer,

[IMG]http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/2DSCN0812.jpg[/IMG]

Details to follow,

Agu

Here's the exploded view,

[IMG]http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/2DSCN0814.jpg[/IMG]

From left to right,

8 oz water bottle with a piece of the bottom cut out to vent and pour out skimmate.

1/2 " pvc about 3" long, with the right water bottle it's almost a perfect fit. There's an O ring with some teflon tape just above it to seal the collection cup.

1 liter water bottle with the bottom cut off. Cable ties were used for two reasons, It keeps the airstone horizontal, and it prevents the bottle from collapsing.

Mounting bracket is a heater bracket rubberbanded to the water bottle.

Hole was drilled below the cable ties so the airstone inlet protrudes out of the water bottle, which is where the airline connects.

The airline does have a air control valve.

The air pump, which I had laying around, is a Whisper with dual outlets that T'd together.

Agu

Top down view,

[IMG]http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/2DSCN0813.jpg[/IMG]

In the sump,

[IMG]http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/2DSCN0816.jpg[/IMG]

And skimming,

[IMG]http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/2DSCN0817.jpg[/IMG]

Agu

Does it work good? If i made one could i use it in my main tank cause i have about 9 inches of my tank that is not viewable. I would love to make one and use it in my main tank. LMK. Thanks

Kris

The skimmate at best is like a weak green tea color. Think of it as a water change mechanism where you only remove dirty water.

This skimmer works best submerged in between 3 and 4 inches of water. I used old water change water in a 5 gallon bucket to calibrate optimum depth. It depends on your pump and airstone how well it'll work for you.

I see this as the beginning not the end. There are a lot of smart people here who can improve on this design.

Finally, a moment of silence for the innocent water bottles I've abused and mutilated the last month testing out various designs.















Long enough, let's see the improvements :smokin: ,

Agu

Good enough i guess. I'm gonna try it out this weekend. Have nothing else to do so why not try my luck. My tank is fishless so this may be ok for a while until i decide to get fish, if i ever do.

Hey AGU, What if you used a small powerhead, like a mini-jet and put a venturi on it? If you need more reaction time, get a bigger bottle. If I had a small powerhead laying around I would try it. But I don't.

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by AJP [/i]
[B]Hey AGU, What if you used a small powerhead, like a mini-jet and put a venturi on it? If you need more reaction time, get a bigger bottle. If I had a small powerhead laying around I would try it. But I don't. [/B][/QUOTE]

So go out and buy a venturi powerhead. I've polluted my body with enough "natural spring water". Take one for the team ;) ,

Agu

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Agu [/i]
[B]So go out and buy a venturi powerhead. I've polluted my body with enough "natural spring water". Take one for the team ;) ,

Agu [/B][/QUOTE]

Truth is I have a Aqua C Urchin on my tank, so I don't really need this. I was trying to shoot you some advice. I figured you might have a small powerhead laying around. Also if you don't want to pollute your body, you could try a soda bottle. They make them up to 2 liters :lol:

Disregard my stupidity, mod away.

Very cool Agu!

If you want to use a ph, I suggest using some kind of MJ w/ the air intake stuck into the ph's water intake. This will suck the air and chop it into very fine bubbles. I did this mod on my Excalibur HOB skimmer when the Rio crapped out (imagine that). When I hooked the airline up the normal air intake for the MJ it did nothing. Once I hooked it into the water intake it created a very thick cloud of very fine bubbles.
Nice design Agu. This is a great skimmer for someone looking to set up a reef on a tight budget. This will come in handy since I am trying to design a very low cost system for people who always ask me how to set up a reef tank but are dicouraged when I start talking about initial equipment cost. I figure if they can start out cheap (without any comprimise to water conditions and the life in the system of course) they could upgrade their equipment over time.

just a couple of questions

how reliable are those picollo skimmers?

could you post a picture of how much skimmate you get from that water bottle skimmer per week or something.

im still kinda confused about the ph mod...how would you hook the air intake to the intake of the ph. wouldnt the intake of the ph be too big to fit the air intake on. srry i just learn better when i see stuff instead of reading it. maybe you oculd post pics of the mod you did with a ph.

clown fanatic: I don't have any exp. w/ the piccolo skimmers so all I can say is they are hard to get and I have heard alot of people rave about them over the years (especially in the nano communities.......they're like the Euroreef of the nano world). On the MJ ph intake there is a a bracket up inside the intake tube that helps hold the impellar straight. All I did was pinch some air tubing and and slide it into one of the slots to the side of the impellar shaft. Don't insert the tubing too far or it will hit the impellar. This method works great, it draws in lots of air and the impellar chops it into very fine and thick bubbles (kinda like a needle wheel........which is where I got the idea).

Never considered a powerhead mod because I was trying to build a countercurrent skimmer not a venturi skimmer. To use a venturi you'd need a way to mount the powerhead and an outlet with a way to control water height in the skimmer. That would add substantially to the size of the skimmer, I was looking for a compact solution. Even if it can be done the water bottle lacks the structural strength to make it worthwhile imo.

CF , Picollos are good little skimmers if you can find them.

After running the DIY in actual tank conditions it works better than the prior tests in the bucket. I suspect it's because my test water was so dirty it exaggerated the action of the skimmer. I'm now getting more stable foam and darker skimmate :D . I've also discovered it stops producing foam for a couple of hours after feeding the tank :( .

It's only been running a couple of days in the tank and I'm pleased with the skimmate output.

fwiw,

Agu

Agu,

Great to see you leading the way here in the nano forum where you belong. I tried to make a counter current recently. I will post the results in a thread tonight.

Before you started skimming, did you already have good water? (O nitrates, etc.)

Glenn,
I was an AE on the 65's. Got out after a "hard landing." I saw in another thread you are in E city, I feel for you.

Carl

Tank is set up as an experimental nano where I've tried a few things.

The water quality is OK but not what I'd call pristine.

Agu

Agu,
Do you keep a skimmer on your 10 and 10?

And if so what kind?

Carl

hey agu i was checkin out your gallory, so your a floridian too :) . what part of florida do you live in maybe your close to me

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Carl_in_Florida [/i]
[B]
Glenn,
I was an AE on the 65's. Got out after a "hard landing." I saw in another thread you are in E city, I feel for you.

Carl [/B][/QUOTE]

:D
Was it you responsible for the tail section I had to completely reconstruct? j/k. Yeah, AR&SC @ EC is a political jungle. I'm currently walking the tight rope trying to get a civil service position instead of contractor. Don't get me wrong my company does good since they mirror their system after civil........but it's not civil (and we all know they get away w/ anything :lol:). I'm not good on the lingo what's AE (once you say it I'll remeber I've heard it a hundred times).

Aviation Electrician. Also a flight mechanic.

okay, so i figured i'd give it a shot since i've got everything i need to make a little water bottle skimmer.

for those of you who have one setup, what kind of break-in time do you see before your skimmer started producing any or good skimmate? i'm still playing with it, trying to get it adjusted. we'll see how it goes, and i'll let everyone know.

Keep us posted Phenom. I am gonna wind up doing one of these.

[b]Keep us posted Phenom. I am gonna wind up doing one of these.

[/b]

i will, too early to tell right now...we'll see how its doing tomorrow.

okay, here's a shot of it in action, day 1. might redesign it, i think it needs to be taller.

[img]http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/31947DIY-PS.jpg[/img]