Carbon filter for skimmer out-flow

karburn · #1 04/01/2004, 10:33 PM

I know the drill about ozone, but I need a clever DIY idea to run the water from the two outlet tubes on a RedSea Berlin skimmer through carbon before the water hits the sump. I'm trying to avoid a plumbing nightmare, so I thought about hanging a carbon basket just underneath the outlets so the water drains through the carbon. Whatever solution I use can't cause any back-presure on the outlets. The skimmer has a carbon filter cup for thes waste cup itself, but I don't have anything rigged yet for water. Anxious to start using the ozone (with my Redox meter/controller, of course), so any ideas, links etc. are appreciated.

kgross · #2 04/02/2004, 03:57 AM

An easy way to do this is to get 2 peices of pipe that will stand up under the drain pipes of the skimmer. Then cap the bottom end of these pipes, drill a bunch of holes in them, and fill them full of carbon. Then as the water drops down into the the pipes, it will flow through the carbon.

Kim

zenguitar · #3 04/02/2004, 12:14 PM

This is a good idea and I tried something similiar to it a while back. The only thing to keep in mind is be sure the water can flow freely thru as the one I made after a week or so would begin to get dirty and the water would back up. If I was to make one now I would probably make a square basket and have two areas. The first area with some of that blue and white floss and a piece of acrylic with larger holes to dispurse the water for it to flow over the carbon and then holes just small enough to hold the carbon in. I would also make it so in case the water did back up it would simply spill over the box and into the sump.

chewie70 · #4 04/02/2004, 01:43 PM

Hey Karburn,

Sounds like you are running the exact same setup as my self. What I did is super easy. Go to Home Depot and get two 3/4" threaded PVC fittings, Two 3/4" PVC T's, and some PVC pipe. Unscrew the water outlets on the Berlin and screw the fittings in. Make sure to use teflon tape. Cut your pipe as long as you want it and glue it in the fittings using PVC primer and cement. Glue the T's on the ends in the vertical position so that the water drops straight down and air can escape through the top. Fill a 4x8 bag full of carbon and pull up over the T's and tie behind. Now you're done. The water should flow out of the T's and straight down through the bag of carbon.

Matt

karburn · #5 04/02/2004, 04:57 PM

OUTstanding! I like all these ideas. I just ran out of ingenuity by the time I got to setting up the ozone device. Thanks very much.