Could This Work?

[Die_Grinder]

ok its made to be external, ideally below the tank. if it cannot work can anyone correct it? only probs is if the powerhead fails and it syphons out all the water, but i was planning on putting the out nozzle so close to the water line that if it does fail, the water would drain and cut the syphon. if that makes any sense. i have a 2gal ish tank i can place it in incase that fails.

any ideas?

 

[Navarre]

It will work but its really a shot in the dark to be honest. DIY protien skimmers might work extremly welll yet the next one made of the same design doesnt. A wooden airstone is ok but they get clogged up quickly and become inefficient.

 

[Die_Grinder]

what type of airstone would you suggest?
other than that its a internal one, and as its only about 18us gal tank i think it would look a lil too bulky

 

[superman]

NO, that design will not work. You would be only depending ona siphon to feed your protein skimmer, and that siphon would overflow your skimmer in the case of a power outage. Drill the tank and put the skimmer either in a sump or feed the skimmer with a pump that sits in the sump.

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, you'd need an overflow box to make that work safely and tuning the pump might be an impossibiliby. A skimmer pretty much HAS to run off a level resevior as you need to adjust pump and air flowrates to acheive effective operation. If your goal is to get it out of the display tank, you pretty much have to run it off of a sump underneath.

 

[Die_Grinder]

humm ok np, anyone know of a small skimmer i could place inside the tank? or even houw to make a small one? the tank is 24"x12"x15"

will have to fit on the side tho with a powerhead, 100w heater and the in/out pipes for a fluval 104 external filter.

heres some pics of my nano tank.

ok i would prefer to have a small one inbetween the outtake pipe and the heater. as you can see in this pic:

these are side shots of my tank, as you can i its twin sided so its kinda hard to place things lol

i think i maybe should have posted this in the nano tank section ??? ahh well mods can move if its in the wrong place.

 

[JJ1234567]

AquaC Remora hang on the back skimmer very narrow

 

[Die_Grinder]

i have just over 2" from the back of the tank to the wall, think it would fit?

 

[Die_Grinder]

ok lookin at the prices of them its a no, no. so i am gonna try making my own.

i got some strong plastic in the shed to make it from.

ok well it sits above the water level in the tank by about and inch or so.

the water gets sucked thru a low GPH powerhead. and pushed into the unit, water travels down, current gets split in two, one half goes back up the uplift tube and skimmed with the bubbles then rejoins the main current thro lil holes about 1/2 and inch from the top. then the current goes thru a small bit of pipe back into the tank. i cant see any reason for this not to work. only thing could be the water level going in to the sludge pot but then i can just get a larger diameter pipe that leads back into the tank.

would rater spend £0 making myown than spend £100 on one

plastic i got its about a quarter of an inch thick and clear so that should be fine.

lemme know what you think

DG

 

[Die_Grinder]

if no one has any objections i am gonna start building this tonite.

one question will silicone stick the perspex aswell as it does glass? or will i need plastic cement ?

 

[crazyelece]

one question will silicone stick the perspex aswell as it does glass? or will i need plastic cement ?

IMO - if you need to ask this question don't even bother trying to DIY a skimmer. You either need to do more research on DIY acrylic or have a custom one made.

If I was in your shoes I'd get a remora or coralife HOB skimmer and be done with it. If the equipment seems too expensive for you, you'll never be able to afford the livestock. Two or three fish/coral deaths would pay for decent equipment.

 

[SkiFletch]

Umm, stop now

You're off on the way a skimmer works... There are no holes in the center portion (where teh bubbles go) for water to travel out of the skimmer. A true protein skimmer uses a valve in the system to control the pressure. The valve controls the amount of pressure in the skimmer as a whole and brings the water level in the center closer to the skimmate cup. Then the air (either venturi injected, or airstone injected) creates bubbles which froth out the skimmate cup. Without a valve (on the output of the skimmer) you cant control the bubble level and will either overflow or run your skimmate cup dry.

As far as perspex goes, I have no idea what synthetic material that is. If its a type of acryllic, you can use silicone on it, but it wont hold back the pressures present at the bottom of the skimmer and will likely fail over time. If its acrylic you need to use a glue specifically designed for that material. Here in the states, we use IPS Weld-On cement. Dunno what you can get where you are.

I strongly advise for you to look at pictures of skimmer operation, and perhaps a better plan is to look up manuals for skimmers online. They'll teach you how one operates.

 

[Die_Grinder]

well i showed my plans to my LFS and he said it would work with a few alterations. so i am working on it now.if it works, it works and i have saved £100, and if it dont then i have not lost anything as my tank does not need a skimmer (nano reef) i just wanted a lil bonus filtration on it. also i dont got any live stock in my tank so i will try it bare for a few weeks while it cylces.

no harm done if it dont work.

its just a normal skimmer buit into a external flow.

i got loads of aquarium silicone so i will give it ago.

thx for your input

 

[Aquascaper]

I'd use superglue myself, it melts the perspex/acrylic and welds it together instead of just sticking it. MAke sure you sand the joints before applying whatever adhesive you use as that will help bond it.

Also this website is sometimes quite useful for adhesive questions

 

[Die_Grinder]

ok heres the revised plans.

lil biger but it will still fit in the space.

the light blue is the water levels.

i am sticking it with silicone so start with, on the trial model. then if it all runs smooth i will strip it donw and perm seal it

best part is its cost me...... nothing

will give ye a pic when its all done