Snailman's Skimmer Design 101 - Good?

Myka · #1 03/06/2004, 01:00 AM

Ok, now that lighting is figured out the next priority is SKIMMING! Stand and canopy is the easy part apparently...

Just wondering if anyone's done a basic counter current air stone skimmer like the one in the diagram on this site:

Snailman's Skimmer Design 101

The skimmer will be for a 55 gallon reef. Would 4" acrylic tubing be the appropriate size? I figured 4 feet tall, how's that? According to the plans you only want to turn the water in your tank over TWICE in a DAY? So I would only need a 2 GPH pump? That sounds ridiculous! Although the chart shows that I would want a 55 GPH pump...? What size pump would I want?

Any comments good/bad on these designs are welcomed!

Mindy

scotmol · #2 03/06/2004, 01:48 AM

Mindy,

I built a 6' Snailman skimmer with a few slight mods using 4" acrylic tubing. I have to say that this is the bast skimmer I have ever owned. I am using a Medo air pump (which I got cheap on Ebay) and built a "KW Awsome Air Diffuser" (see Snailman's DIY section). I followed the recommendations in "Snailmans 101" for flow rate. The science behind his recommendations makes sence to me and I am seeing good results. However, if you are looking for a "set it and forget it" skimmer this design is not the one. I usually make daily adjustments to the air flow (which only takes me seconds), but I don't mind that because for me, tinkering is half the fun of this hobby. The water pump I am using is from my old Red Sea Berlin Turbo skimmer. It has an adjustable flow rate which I was able to set at the target rate based on the charts on his 101 FAQ. Such a low turnover rate sounds crazy when you are use to seeing "Becket" skimmers and other designs which rely on large pumps to be effecient and effective. Don't worry, with this type of CC skimmer the recomendations in the 101 FAQ are right on IMO. Go with the recomendations and look for a good quality pump in the GPH range suggested. As for the heighth of the skimmer, for a 55g tank, 4' should work well. However, if you can go to 5 or 6' all the better IMO. You might as well build yourself as large a skimmer as you have room for. If you upgrade to a larger tank in the future (and you probably will), you may not have to upgrade the skimmer along with it. If you take a look at my gallery, there are a couple of pictures of the Snailman Skimmer I built. They are not the greatest pictures but you can get the idea. If you have any other questions or would like better photos of my skimmer I would be happy to oblige.

Good luck,

Scott

Myka · #3 03/06/2004, 08:43 PM

Scott,

Thank you very much for your reply!

There's something that doesn't make sense to me, though. The pump goes on the inflow right? So that it pumps water into the skimmer. If there's more wate coming in than going out (for whatever reason) then eventually the skimmer is going to overflow into your bucket. Would putting the pump on the outflow (sucking the water through the skimmer) be a wise idea? Then you know that there's going to be a consistent water level in the skimmer.

Scott, if you could post some photos that show the upper portion and the lower portion of your skimmer that would great! What I mean is, I would like closer pictures, but I don't need to see the whole reasction chamber.

Thanks SO much!
Mindy

Hawk72 · #4 03/06/2004, 09:09 PM

According to the charts I have you need about a 35 or 40 GPH pump. 4" dia tubing will work just fine for a 55 gal.

Jason

scotmol · #5 03/06/2004, 09:19 PM

Mindy,

Unless you are pumping such a large volume of water in (which defeats the science behind this design) that the out flow plumbing couldn't keep up, you won't have a problem. My pump is connected to 1" spa flex to the skimmer and I have 3/4" PVC on the output back to my sump. I've only had one problem with flooding and that was because I had too much air going in which raised the water level of the skimmer too high. However, my waste collector is positioned over the sump so the flooding water drained back to the sump thus preventing any flooding in my basement. That was early on while I was still trying to get the skimmer "dialed in".
I will try to take some close up pictures tommorow and get them posted (just don't make fun of my amateur plumbing).

Scott

Myka · #6 03/06/2004, 09:38 PM

Jason: I was figuring on 55 gallons for the tank, 20 gallons for a sump, and 5 gallons for a refugium, but I might upgrade that to a 10 gallon refugium...

Scott: I won't make fun of plumbing, I'm sure mine will look similar!

Maybe you could include a picture of your pump and that sort of thing. To me, building it is the easy part, figuring how to hook it up is the hard part.

Can someone reccommend a good pump that will do 60-70 gph?

Mindy

CaptiveReef · #7 03/06/2004, 11:22 PM

Hello Myka,

It's a great design,only thing is you will have to install a valve on the bottom tube so the skimmer will fill up with water.
On the flip side if the tube on the bottom is too small and the water flow too great going into the top of the skimmer, the valve will go on the tube at the top where the water goes in, to control the flow. Myka here is an easy skimmer design, 90% of the parts can be purchased at Home Depot, it does 400 GPH.

CaptiveReef

CaptiveReef · #8 03/06/2004, 11:29 PM

This skimmer does 400 GPH, you can make it shorter to go under a tank, at that height you can 200 GPH out of it. You can also make it tall and install it to a bulkhead, just make the smaller diameter return tube a little shorter than the main skimmer tube.

CaptiveReef

Myka · #9 03/06/2004, 11:41 PM

Hi CaptiveReef,

Thanks for your input. I saw your skimmer on that thread of yours, but didn't look at it much since it is SO huge!

Is there some "blueprints" for it somewhere? What type of skimmer is it?

Mindy

CaptiveReef · #10 03/06/2004, 11:51 PM

Just imagine it shorter, still use the 4 inch PVC for the main skimmer tube, and the 2 inch PVC for the return. You can make it any height, just decrease the flow as you go shorter.
The one I just built can handle 400 gph max, that's it. If I go with more gph, the bubbles produced by the venturi that is installed midway in the skimmer will be pulled into the return tube.
I will draw it out and post the drawings. It's very easy to build and not expensive. The big skimmer cost me $80.00 in PVC.

CaptiveReef

Hawk72 · #11 03/07/2004, 12:00 AM

Mindy,

You can always plumb a ball vavle inline to control flow to the skimmer. If you want one that only does that flow the Mag drive mini is 65 GPH.

Jason

sfsuphysics · #12 03/07/2004, 12:29 AM

nevermind.

Myka · #13 03/07/2004, 01:33 PM

CaptiveReef: I guess I could still built it out of acrylic too, eh? I think being a newbie it would be easier for me to adjust if I can see what's going on...

Jason: Wouldn't that be hard on the pump?

Mindy

scotmol · #14 03/07/2004, 02:49 PM

Mindy,

Here's an over view shot of my skimmer...

scotmol · #15 03/07/2004, 02:50 PM

A shot of my pump in the sump. The pump I am using is from my old Red Sea Berlin. It has an adjustable flow rate...

scotmol · #16 03/07/2004, 02:51 PM

The pump is connected to 1" spa flex which goes into the skimmer via this bulkhead fitting

scotmol · #17 03/07/2004, 02:54 PM

The water flows down counter to the air which is flowing up and flows out through here (the ball valve is a drain for the skimmer if it needs to be emptied for maintenance)

scotmol · #18 03/07/2004, 02:56 PM

Because water seeks its own level, the out put water moves back up the 3/4" pipe you see on the right...

scotmol · #19 03/07/2004, 02:58 PM

The 3/4" drain connects to more 1" spa fles and back to the sump via this bulk head...

scotmol · #20 03/07/2004, 03:03 PM

Here's the collection cup, (also from my old Red Sea skimmer). I once again used 1" spa flex for the drain to my waste collector. The size of this drain is larger than in Snailmans plans. I wanted to be sure the drain could handle any overflow if things got out of whack...and it has.

scotmol · #21 03/07/2004, 03:08 PM

And finally, introducing the "Scotmol 2000" waste collection system (patent pending). It is positioned over the sump so that if I have an over flow problem, the water will just drain back to the sump and not onto the basement floor. Works exactly as designed...

scotmol · #22 03/07/2004, 03:11 PM

Here's my Medo air pump which I found cheap on Ebay. This is a great pump and I recommend this if you decide to build this type of skimmer. I wired in a dimmer switch to that I can vary the air output...

Hope these pictures help clear up a few questions, sorry for the poor quality...

Scott

sfsuphysics · #23 03/07/2004, 03:16 PM

Wow, lots of messy stuff behind the scenes, where does all of that stuff go/come from? I wouldn't want that in my living room because well it'd look icky.

Curious though where does one get that clear piping. I'd rather have that then the white pvc just so I have some peace of mind things are working as planned. Btw love the collection cup overflow, I was thinking something similar for my design incase things got "out of whack" and its nice to know "my" idea has been done so it'll work.

scotmol · #24 03/07/2004, 03:25 PM

sfsuphysics,

The reaction chamber is just 4"id clear acrylic tubing. I found it at a local plastics manufacturer and got 6' for $19. I chose this instead of PVC for the same reason as you state, I just need to see how things are working inside...

Scott

Myka · #25 03/07/2004, 10:00 PM

Scott,

Thank you very much for the pictures! That helps a lot. I also like your idea with the overflow. Your "mini" air pump looks pretty heavy-duty!

Just so I understand...that "skimmer output" that works like an overflow and goes back into the sump so that if the input is more than the output your skimmer won't overflow. Is that the idea?

Mindy