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#1
03/24/2007, 01:38 AM
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Calling all Skimmer builders!
I've read many a time on these forums where folks building skimmers wanted to buy single short pieces of Acrylic tubing. Here's a eBay source I found. For those interested.
Guy Tubing Link |
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#2
03/24/2007, 02:33 AM
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there is one big problem with that tube. its extruded tube.
__________________
a wise man once told me.... " there is no right way to build a reef tank but there is alot of wrong ways to build a reef tank". |
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#7
03/24/2007, 09:04 AM
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extruded tubes are fine for making skimmers.
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Harold |
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#8
03/24/2007, 09:15 AM
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Quote:
Guy |
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#9
03/24/2007, 09:55 AM
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I thought plexiglass and acrylic were different? The product he is selling says plexiglass acrylic??? anyway to my understanding plexiglass will turn more brittle over time than acrylic.
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JTCCB(jebo tuners club for cheap bastards) |
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#10
03/24/2007, 11:19 AM
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you dont want to use extruded with ozone.. but i think its been pretty much agreed that ozone will just hurt your skimmer performance and should be injected into an ozone reactor.. so if your trying to save money i dont think there is any problem with the extruded
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#12
03/24/2007, 01:43 PM
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That's the guy I ended up getting my tube from. Good stuff, and shipping time was fine, but they don't seem to be very good with emails.
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#13
03/24/2007, 01:47 PM
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the reason you dont use extruded is because everywhere you place a hole in the tube there si a good chance it will burst at that point. extruded is very weak compared to cast. also extruded will absorb alot more water than cast will. when it absorbs this water it expands and causes stress on all the glued joints. this stress will cause fractures to occure in the tube.
__________________
a wise man once told me.... " there is no right way to build a reef tank but there is alot of wrong ways to build a reef tank". |
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#15
03/24/2007, 02:03 PM
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Burst?!?
We ain't building nuclear reactors here! We're talking about protein skimmers with what, 5psi max, if that? I can't count the times I've built stuff out of extruded to save money over the prettier cell cast plastics. I've yet to see any of the ailments you've mentioned. Good grief!
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Guy Smilie |
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#16
03/24/2007, 03:42 PM
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There is an internal pressure/tension within the extruded acrylic... so much like a piece of tempered glass, cracks can propigate.
The real danger is with the joints failing. Extruded can absorb something like 60% of its weight in water, and it expands as it does. Companies like Deltec use extruded to save costs, but they bond the acrylic with a very flexible and special cement that attaches it to the ABS bottom and riser neck. Clear PVC would be a better choice than extruded FWIW. Dont get me wrong, I have built many skimmers with 1/8" acrylic sheet as test dummies, and some fail, some dont. Is this the chance you want to take? I had a US Aquarium skimmer once that was extruded, and the bottom of the skimmer fell off!!! Pretty bad considering its a HOB!
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"If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it" -Al Einstein |
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#17
03/24/2007, 03:55 PM
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Well I don't know where you all been getting your extruded plastics, but where I've been getting mine must be different. I've not had any of these problems with the many skimmers & reactors I've built with it over the many years, and I've abused the living daylights out of them.
Oh well, it was just a friendly suggestion for those in search of a low-cost and manageable size of clear tube for your every day casual skimmer. Sorry I blew up....
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Guy Smilie |
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#18
03/24/2007, 09:37 PM
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Thank you for the link... wether I can use the pieces or not, it was nice of you to include us in your finding
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If you can't afford it.....Engineer it yourself |
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#19
03/24/2007, 10:33 PM
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Quote:
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#20
03/24/2007, 10:51 PM
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Sorry, no. Its something Ive held onto from years back when I started using acrylic. Dont get me wrong, cast does too... but not as much. I have had cast overflows which expand enough between two panels of glass in a tank to cause the glass in the tank to be pushed apart (thats a mess)... but with cast, it expands in every direction, not just in one direction like with extruded. So when cast expands, it expands in length, width, height, and the bonds between two pieces at a 90 degree angle dont get sheared apart because everything expands equally. With extruded, the pieces expand in one dimension only, so in a joint where pieces are attached at an angle, one piece will expand across the joint surface and the other wont... and the pieces break apart under their own pressure.
Deltec gets away with using extruded on their skimmers because they dont have any points where extruded is bonded to extruded directly, or any angles. The extruded is also bonded to the ABS pieces with a special putty-like cement that allows for expansion w/o failure.
__________________
"If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it" -Al Einstein |
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#21
03/25/2007, 12:46 AM
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Interesting stuff, thanks for the info.
__________________
Click the "little red house" in this message's header to visit my reef blog. |
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#23
03/26/2007, 12:26 AM
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Quote:
Whenever I read your commentaries. I learn a lot..........sincerely !! .......,I would like to see a picture of your Skimmer made by you. Greetings ------------------------------------- |
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#24
03/26/2007, 12:57 AM
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Ill be making a thread for the building of my 12" diameter recirc bubble plate skimmer soon... just waiting on the 12" acrylic and getting the flanges made. Then Ill slap in the wet-neck and be ready to rock.
__________________
"If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it" -Al Einstein |
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#25
03/26/2007, 11:05 AM
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Quote:
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Linear Mode
