|
|
|
|
#1
12/13/2007, 02:50 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
5g water bottle skimmer
Check out my 5g water bottle skimmer.
It's using 2 sicce mesh moded pumps for re-circ. (Ignore the silicone mess...lol... i didn't use enough tape on a couple of joints... It looks much cleaner now..lol  )Question... These bottles are made from poly carbonate. Does anyone know if that is safe to use with ozone? 
|
|
#2
12/13/2007, 03:00 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
nice!! and
[welcome]
__________________
a left over shrimp shedding is not "a sicilian message meaning luca brasi sleeps with the fishes" 9 out of 7 times ive spent more on my tank then i'd planned too |
|
#5
12/13/2007, 07:35 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Polycarbonate is listed as "Excellent" on the Reefkeeping list of Ozone safe materials, so I would say yes. Heres the link. Its about 3/4 down the page:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-04/rhf/index.php |
|
#6
12/13/2007, 07:43 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
The rest of the skimmer, pumps etc. are probably not ozone safe though. It's best to use a disposable reactor for ozone. I've used it before and at higher levels is really hard on air lines, fittings etc.
|
|
#7
12/14/2007, 12:44 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
scrmbld33- thanks for the WELCOME!
jhuggins - when i first built it, i didn't have silencers on air hoses - It was freakin loud.... like i can't describe how loud... Luckily i got a couple of good silencers from an lfs and now it's actually not bad. The skimmer will be in a fish room/office, with insulated walls, so that will also help. Kung- It performs incredibly... I give credit to the mesh mod pumps. Those sicce pumps suck in so much air its unbeliveable. I didn't have the lid on my cup fully secure, and one moring I woke to find it on the floor. The air pressure from inside the skimmer managed to rotate the lid off. I had to punch a few more holes in the lid. I got the mod idea from an lfs owner where i'm from. He actually started the sicce mod thread here in diy. My only regret is that I did not make the cup wide/large enough. Theres so much foam it exits the breath holes. A wider cup with breath holes closer to the edges would prevent that. (but that's easily fixable. |
|
#8
12/14/2007, 12:55 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
nice mod....
quick question on the pumps , hows the heat on those bad boys ? I thought they should not be run outside of water due to the inability to vent heat well , thus getting hot as hell ? |
|
#10
12/15/2007, 02:53 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Nice, how do you have it plumbed? Or do you have a separate intake pump?
__________________
http://thebinaryreef.com The Red House = My Tank Thread Livestock: A. Ocellaris Mated Pair, Six Line Wrasse, Lemonpeel Angel, Fiji Golden Sailfin Blenny, Purple Firefish Mated Pair. |
|
#12
12/15/2007, 08:10 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
i looked at building one of these a long time ago but i couldn't find the 5gal water jug without the handles. I think i will look again, not that mine currect one isn't working - a DIY 6" PVC Skimmer. How are you feeding this? I don't see the in/out lines. I have lots of room in my current setup, so maybe i will take a look at making one of these again, other projects first. Looks nice over all....i think i would have used uniseals
|
|
#14
12/16/2007, 02:03 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Jedireefer- there's a powerhead located in the sump behind the skimmer
annewayne-yeah, i just used whatever pvc parts found at HD glued and siliconed for good measure. I couldn't find anywhere local that had uniseal. It was my first attempt, if i was to do it again, i'd make it prettier. draleigh- there's a sump in the back that you don't see. the input is a 1/2" tube fed by a 300gph power head. The output is 2" pvc with a ball valve to control the height of water in the skimmer. I just recently re-positioned the skimmer and just got a new digi-cam. I'll post new photo's soon. |
|
#16
12/16/2007, 11:41 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
ozone can make any type of rubber (rubber seals) brittle, just as an fyi.
__________________
"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction." |
|
#17
12/16/2007, 11:46 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
not sure what you mean by leak proof... I have the same sump size as you, and this skimmer can't fit in there for sure. the height doesn't fit under the stand either, So I had to put it beside the stand.
As for pvc connections... I found a glue by loc-tite that bonds polycarbonate to other plastics. (the bottle is made of poly carbonate). So I drilled holes with a dremel, screwed in the pvc parts (male-female pvc) glued them to the bottle... added some silicone to seal it and that was it. I wish i took pics of the build process... rats! |
|
#18
12/16/2007, 11:49 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Im going to do the same thing! Few questions:
How big of a tank ( and total system volume) is this going on? Can you take pictures of the in and out? You are off to a great start, 5 posts and a DIY thread with pics!
__________________
- Tanner |
|
#19
12/17/2007, 12:27 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I made one of these once, using the handled variety flat sides to mount the outlet and inlet bulkheads-I could not figure that the round sides of the container were very conducive to a leak-proof mount. The skimmer worked very well, but my foamate collector design was much too narrow at the top (2 inches) and it was a delicate issue to control the flow. In fact, it was so delicate, that minor variations in my house line voltage caused the H2O skimmer levels to jump around such that it sometimes the skimmer looked more like 'old faithful' rather than a skimmer. I see your big foamate collector, and that extra water mass on top would have solved my water spout issue. Nice job!
|
|
#20
12/18/2007, 12:42 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Kentanner11, the skimmer is running on a 120g + 30g sump
1st pic is of the input and output into the skimmer. 2nd pic is of the input and output from the sump. Again, ignore the silicone mess. This was my first run at building this skimmer knowing what i know now, i'd make things more permanent and cleaner. :P a couple of notes... The skimmer is beside the stand and raised a little higher than the sump for 2 reasons. 1) the skimmer is too tall to fit under the stand. I could fit it under, but i'd have hard time taking out the cup for emptying. 2 ) the body of the bottle is too short. If i didn't raise it up, then the water line in the bottle would be right at the neck and i wouldn't have the option to adjust water height. (factor in the air and bubbles, and i'd be overflowing before i got skimmate)  
|
|
#21
12/18/2007, 09:29 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Thanks and I am dealing with the same problem of getting the height correct with my sump, I too think I will have to elevate it.
__________________
- Tanner |
|
#23
12/18/2007, 01:28 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
There is one here on RC...
Mine is based on the schematic on page 6 http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...5&pagenumber=6 |
|
|
Linear Mode
