Diy Re Pvc Euro Reef Skimmer

[skinutt]

How interesting ,,Great work..JFL and BRL

[tailored]

thanks ski nutt ..............i'll let you know

[BlueBadger]

Just twoi quick questions...

What do you feel is the largest pump you could put on this skimmer. I have a mag 12. Would this work or should I build it larger.

And what is your opinion on using a beckett instead of teh venturi.

Dan Blue

[skinutt]

Hey Blue you are skirting on the edge of my knowledge. I really think the mag 12 would be to much on this size skimmer. I am afraid it will cause you to flood. However, I think if you increase the height of the skimmer you might be able to compensate for the added power. The problem is how much higher does it need to be to handle the mag 12 and you are getting a shorter reaction time in the chamber. The water will be blown out of the skimmer really fast. You could try this, increase the height of the 6" pipe by at least 2 times the original design, then increase the size of the water out pipe. The pipe from the mag 12 to the inside of the skimmer in the original design had a 45 degree elbow for directional flow. Change that to a pvc slip tee that will kill some of your flow and it will direct it toward the wall of the skimmer creating a circular flow. You may want to increase the height of the 2" pvc to the collection cup. If you use the beckett just make sure that it is making a ton of tiny bubbles. I know very little about the beckett design. Sorry I could not be more help. Good luck..

[Pete Jaenecke]

Thanks The DIY skimmer works great!!!!!

[zanclus]

Skinutt.. you drew a drawing for jmsilhy think you can sent it to me also i would like to build your skimmer also

[samsfishnchips]

can you please post the drawing, thx

and to make bubles smaller use this ?

"using a beckett instead of teh venturi."

where can I buy it, thx

sam

[-NexXxus-]

Great Tutorial - I plan to build your Skimmer for my soon-to-be reef within the next few weekends.

If anyone has any additional points-of-interest that they discovered while making their skimmer - post em here. Also - If anyone managed to get a hold of skinutt's illustration - let me know - that would be a huge help.

[tailored]

do you think i could use a mag 7 instead of the 5 if i am using the same dimensions as directed?

would i just have to restrict the flow into the skimmer?

btw, i still haven't tried it out because i'm waiting to move so i can break down the tank then....

tia

[totalpackage181]

anyone tried a full needlewheel mod on this....like a sedra 5000 or maybe even a 9000 ? if so, would it have to be recirculating with a second pump to input water? or would the sedra create enough bubbles and water movement the first time through?

[KING OF THE REEF]

skinut i have a 20high with a small stand. can i make the skimmer smaller? by that i mean shroter. thnx. also can i use a powerhead for the pump to the skimmer and pwerhead for the return?

[skinutt]

Imareef, you can go shorter but keep in mind that if you do it will change the dynamics of the skimmer. In theory the skimmer should still work. If you shorten it to much then it will blow water out of the top and you will never get any skimmate. You will just have to try it and find out.

I have only used the mag 5 for my skimmer pump. I am sure you can use other pumps you just have to make sure you get the venturi to work. Good luck

[KING OF THE REEF]

thanks i will talk to my engineer dad when i can and get his approval and ideas from him then start thanks again

[Homebrew]

skinutt - I nominate you for the prize for finding the best use for a Seaclone collection cup!! (This, of course, includes its original *intended* use!)

Nice work!


I apologize, in advance, if I have offended any Seaclone owners. I also have one..... in a box... somewhere.

[Cindarian]

The question I have is , Will this work in a out of sump system. Meaning, I have a 2 140's stacked and using one Sump/Ref. I understand the taller and wider the more it can handle. hence room. FOr my system I would probably go 24 inch tall 8 inch PVC. Would this wrok with free standing outside the sump system? I dont see why not myself but would rather ask then do something stupid.

[packman9111]

I'm with totalpkg - think the heart of ER is the needle wheel pump. I would be interested in knowing how that would enhance performance?

Rick

[BrianZ2]

Skinutt just spent an hour in the garage and this is what I came up with. I used 4" pipe instead of 6" cause I had some left over. If i did my math right the 4" pipe at 16.5" should be the same volume as your 6" at 11" using 3.14 x radius squared x length of pipe. I also offset the inlet pipe so it would make more of a vortex inside the skimmer. I hope this works. The seaclone makes an excellent donor skimmer for parts as mine is stock and does not really get a lot of skum out of my water. Now all I have to do is wait for my mag5 to come in the mail and I can test this sucker!

[skinutt]

Thanks homebrew, I always wanted to put that collection cup to good use and I finally found a way to do it.

Cindarian, I would say that the taller and wider you make it the better! Keep in mind that it will be much harder to locate the conecting peices with a 8" pvc pipe. You may also need a larger pump! Yes it should work out of sump if you seal it up with pvc glue. Just make sure that the extention on the end of the Pvc T is a bit longer than mine. That way if you need to make a big adjustment it will not spill over on the outside.

Brian, WOW! That looks great!! GOOD JOB!! I actually thought about doing the offset inlet hole but changed my mind at the last minute. It looks like you have a fantastic skimmer there! As you do your testing remember that the level of the water in the sump will make a differance in the performance of your skimmer. Brian you are going to want a short pvc pipe connected to the last 90 degree elbow on your water "OUT" this should help any adjustments you make up or down to change the flow. It looks Great!! Later... Skinutt.......

[skinutt]

Cindarian, one more thing, if you do plan this out of sump, make sure that you test the mag drives ability to pump the amount of head presure you will need. The pump will have to work much harder for an out of sump system if you do not drill the side of your sump. I tried a out of sump skimmer with my 1st DIY skimmer and I had some bad problems. The pump was not strong enough to push the water up the skimmer. Remember that if your pump fails all that water will go back into your sump from your skimmer causing a flood. That skimmer was much different than this new one. I built this new in sump skimmer because I am not blessed with a large sump. My sump is only 18" long x 8" wide x 14" deep. Good luck

[ratimpulse]

Ok, i dont feel like spending 1,000 + on a PM skimmer or somethign like that to skim about 600 + gallons. Soo im thinking using if i can find it 8" or the largest diameter i can find. And then trying that. Probally using 5' of pipe and running a large pump like iwakii or such on it. Do you think that would work???

[skinutt]

Ratimpulse, It is possible but you would need something on a much larger scale at least 12" and 48" high. I would recomend looking at downdraft skimmer designs for that many gallons. It is possible with this design but would be tough to build or find pvc that is 12" in diameter. You would want to build it out of acrylic. Good luck...

[skinutt]

Ratimpulse, what size tank do you have? If you do choose to go with my diy design you are going to need three to four big mag drive pumps. I really do not think that one pump could do the job because you loose so many gallons per hour when you add the venturi. Good luck!

[Cindarian]

Skinutt, My total water volume is 420 gallons would a 8 inch 4 ft all skimmer be better. I plan on using a CA Pump but what are the GPH requirements? I have a group of these ranging from 500 to 1200 GPH what would be best?

[ratimpulse]

AHHH, ok its going to be for breeding tanks. But im not sure about the total thing right now the sump and fuge together is going to be 350 gallons.

[Cindarian]

bump