My ghetto DIY beckett

[Fuegofish777]

Hey everyone,
Im sure you saw my other thread about my future tank, and in addition to practicing my hand at acrylic tanks I also wanted to build my skimmer. I've used needlewheels before but I wanted to try something different. With alot of reading I decided to make a dual beckett skimmer. I only plan to use one injector at first, but I wanted to make it upgradeable. My biggest concern was cost, so this thing is uses bare bones stuff and I think you'll like it. Check it out:

Here are the parts: Food containers, assorted pvc fittings, o-rings for bulkheads, 2" union, marine epoxy, and a sharpie.


heres the sump box, its an air-tight food container made by Click-clack. it does have Stainless steel on it, and there are models with all plastic, but the right size wasnt available. The one I used retails for 10-11.99. I paid like $2 at ROSS. The cylinder is also made by click clack. its a spaghetti container and it retails for around 10 bucks. $3 or $4 at ROSS.



Here are the containers all measured up:



Heres the reaction chamber with the hole cut out and union epoxied onto neck:


Next up I had to drill out the holes in the lid of the sump (food box):



Here it is all cleaned up:

[Fuegofish777]

Tested fittings: the white pvc will not be glued so that I can adjust them as needed. I used DIY bulkheads. The male threaded piece is epoxied to the lid with the thread coming upward through the hole. then the female coupler is screwed on with an o-ring. I positioned the pvc to make the water spray in a circular motion.



Here it is will all the epoxy curing:



Whats left: I know the union wasnt very cheap ($10), originally i wanted to custom make something out of standard pvc parts, but I got tired of it and wanted something leak proof and reliable....so i caved. I am going to use 2" pvc pipe to make the rest of the riser tube and some other food container for the collection cup. it will just be glued to the other end of the union. it doesnt have to be very big because I'm going to have a drain fitting in it anyways. there's also going to be a gate valve on the skimmer exit but havent decided what size yet.
Also making the injector housings myself. I ordered beckett foam heads, but the ebay order got all screwed up, they are 3 weeks late, but I will have them this weekend. I think thats about it though. let me know what you think (both good and bad)

oh yeah it stands at around 24" (with potential cup included) with a 6"x 8" footprint.

Keep in mind I'm under $30 still (no pump picked up yet), and some of you may have some of this layin around anyways. Also, all cuts were made with a Dremel! I used a 1/8" drill/cutter bit. had to punch holes all the way around the circles then drag the bit around until it cut out. then took a cylinder shaped cutter bit and made a smooth(er) edge. Then I smoothed it out with sandpaper. (I'm out to prove that a router isnt necessary for DIY projects.....until I have enough money to buy one )

Thanks,
Sam

[hawaiian_boi]

nice...if thats getto i hate to see what my work is

[thriceanangel]

Man that is sooo cool. MacGuyver style. I bet you built some interesting things in college huh? Nudge nudge, wink wink.

[RichConley]

Very clever.

IMO, the reaction chamber is WAY too small for 2 becketts.

[Horace]

Originally posted by RichConley
Very clever.

IMO, the reaction chamber is WAY too small for 2 becketts.

Im thinking your probably right...Your reaction chamber is about the size of the neck on an MR2. The reaction chamber on an MR2 is 6" I think. Feel free to check www.myreefcreations.com to verify though

[Fuegofish777]

Rich- I was thinking this too, but I figure I can always try it and if it doesnt work i'll just stick to the single.

hawaiian boy- i tried my best to make it look clean, but that parts that are left will probably turn out so pretty ugly. That and the food containers have a ton of scuffs and nicks, i think thats why they were so cheap. glad you think it looks clean though, i was trying.

thriceanangel- haha...yaaa.. well, I'm actually a freshamn in college, but lets just say I have built some decorative pieces for some friends of mine. ah...the pleasures of acyilic work and ingenuity.
glad you guys like it. what pump would you guys recommend for running a single beckkett? any minimum size for the gate valve?

[Fuegofish777]

my reaction chamber is about 4.5". so ya its ont the small side, but if its really that easy to just have a bulkhead available for a second beckett, and even easier to unmount it if it doesnt work, i fugured what the heck.

[Fuegofish777]

just checked, the mr2 has a 6" first chamber but it tapers down to 4" at the second chamber. the MR1 has a 4.5" chamber, so thats more about the size of mine.

[Fuegofish777]

Here are some pic updates:
heres the injector housing, the beckett didnt get here yet, but i decided to make it anyways:



here's a pic of the cup i made. its a tupperware...


the lid is modded with a piece from the original spagetti container. it has a concave surface. i have seen alot of collection cups with a curved half-dome shape to help deflect the foam, figured i could try since i had a piece.

2" pvc makes the neck, the top was sanded down to make a smoother edge:


couple body shots:

[Fuegofish777]

oh and i picked up a gate valve in 1.25" i wanted to get the 1" cuz it was much smaller and cheaper, but i wasnt sure it could handle all the flow. I'l mount it up tomarow. sorry for the large pics, i forgot to resize them. sorry dial-up guys

[Fuegofish777]

Can anyone recommend a pump for running just a single injeector? I think the minimum is about 1000gph, but with the new mods going around i was hoping I could pull off less. any pumps you guys recommend?

[powdertang05]

wheres ur output and would really recommend a valve gate

[Fuegofish777]

haha, ya i know it must look kind of dumb without any kind of output. Its just not installed yet, in one of my last posts i said that I had picked up a 1.25" gate valve but i didnt have time to install it. any suggestions for pump? i tested the flow pattern with smoke last night, swirls very well in the reaction chamber, i have high hopes for it once its up and running.

[Fuegofish777]

alright, got the gate valve in, its not as good looking as some ones i found online, but those were double the price and like i said...this was a ghetto project, so convenience trounced looks;

[Daemonfly]

Not bad. Would like to see how it finally works.


Would be nice if they used actual acrylic for general household stuff like this. I find polystyrene a bit more fragile & you have to be more careful when cutting/drilling.

[Fuegofish777]

I got lucky, this stuff isnt polystyrene. Thats one of the reasons i chose these containers, they are made from polycarbonate. (weldon actually works with this stuff). it machines well, if anything its alittle too strong. it was more difficult to cut this compared to acrylic.

[luke33]

Have you fired this thing up yet?

[Fuegofish777]

no I dont have a pump, i've been asking for recommendations but havent gotten any. I'm also waiting on the becket itself. My ebay order got all messed up but I am supposed to have it by today. I've been looking at either an OR 3500 or a Gen-X 4100. which do you think is better? and why
Thanks,
Sam

[sgolden]

i run my beckets with either a blueline hd-1100 or a
gen-x pcx-55hp....you definitely want a high pressure pump

[powdertang05]

ya a pressure pump is best if you want the skimmer to work its best would recommend a genx or panworld pump both are hard working and never quit

[Fuegofish777]

alright, just ordered the gen-x. was thinking of going with the OR-3500, but the gen-x has better pressure and it costed less too, so not a hard choice. hopefully i'll have it early next week. I have to start hassling that ebay guy though, my beckett was supposed to be here tuesday at the latest...but still no sign. grrrrr.... guess as long as it gets here before the pump it doesnt really matter. Im also going to do a little test. there was a thread going a while back about modding the injector holes. Im going to run it unmodded first with pics and possibly a short video, then i will try it modded. Just so we can all see with our own eyes. Thing is i dont have a tank here in my dorm, how should i test it? I have some IO to make a batch of water, but it would be perfectly clean, any tips?

[powdertang05]

you bought a pressure rated genx right?

[Fuegofish777]

i got a 4100. not positive that its one of the pressure rated models, but i had to get one of the internal models.

[boxfishpooalot]

wow so awesome! Just think how much money you saved! How much did you save anyways?