building a nano protien skimmer.

[Marine2149]

Iam looking to possibly create a protein skimmer. Has anyone done this? the concept looks simple enough.

The reason why is my tank(10gall) has a built in back filter area and i would like to make a custom one that fits just right being that i dont have much space and i really like the cleanest look.

Anybody have schmatics on the operation and Nomenclature of a protein skimmer. i would really like to have a crack at it if feesable.

First i know to know how they work. any suggestions were to start?

Thanks.

 

[Billdogg]

I don't mean to discourage your DIY approach in any way, but really, a skimmer on a 10g tank isn't worth the effort involved. You can easily stay on top of nutrient export with a simple 1-2g water change weekly.

If you still want to proceed, a simple airstone driven skimmer will be the easiest. You use a wood airstone at the bottom of a long tube to create a updraft with the very fine bubbles from the airstone. The DOC's (dissolved organic compounds) will cling to the bubbles and rise to the top to be collected in a cup and exported that way.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with a skimmer in a tank smaller than 40g, and FWIW, I ran a 60g cube for 22 years without a skimmer just fine.

 

[Marine2149]

I don't mean to discourage your DIY approach in any way, but really, a skimmer on a 10g tank isn't worth the effort involved. You can easily stay on top of nutrient export with a simple 1-2g water change weekly.

If you still want to proceed, a simple airstone driven skimmer will be the easiest. You use a wood airstone at the bottom of a long tube to create a updraft with the very fine bubbles from the airstone. The DOC's (dissolved organic compounds) will cling to the bubbles and rise to the top to be collected in a cup and exported that way.

Personally, I wouldn't bother with a skimmer in a tank smaller than 40g, and FWIW, I ran a 60g cube for 22 years without a skimmer just fine.

Thanks for the input, this helps alot. I did read that smaller tanks will do ok with simple water changes.

Maybe I'll try to build one in the future just cause. Thanks for the info sir.