DIY Protein skimmer for 1600gallon system

[RMS18]

We need an update

 

[djay]

my god, best thing I see today. sexy skimmer. may as well name it lol

 

[Braxtong123]

So I needed a big skimmer for my ongoing 1600 gallon system build. I had a great experience with my reef octopus Diablo skimmer on my last system so my DIY skimmer is based off of this proven design. The big issue with a skimmer of this size is cost and going with a DIY option will save a lot of money. I was looking for an alternative material for the skimmer body and decided on using an hdpe roto molded 60gallon tank. The cost is significantly less than acrylic or PVC. I found that inductor tanks come in all shapes and sizes and all I need to do is cut the bottom off the tank and turn it upside-down to get a great skimmer body. I have made some good progress in the big parts but I have a long ways to go before completion. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Hi,
A few questions. I have a setup very similar to yours. It’s about 1000 gallons and plywood tanks. I want to build my own skimmer as well. How far down did you cut the cone shaped bottom off? In other words, how wide did you make the hole? Also, how did you mount your neck and collection cup to the HDPE tank?
Thanks!!

 

[jduong916]

The size seems a little big compared to the size of your display. I built my own before based on the SRO 5000 for my 120 tank. It skimmed but never consistent and would idle for days. My buddy uses it on his 300 gallon and it rocks. How did you size the skimmer?

 

[Braxtong123]

The size seems a little big compared to the size of your display. I built my own before based on the SRO 5000 for my 120 tank. It skimmed but never consistent and would idle for days. My buddy uses it on his 300 gallon and it rocks. How did you size the skimmer?

Are you asking me or the tread creator?

 

[jduong916]

Are you asking me or the tread creator?

Oh sorry, the thread creator. From the picture the skimmer looks like half the size of the main tank.

 

[AlexG]

Hi,
A few questions. I have a setup very similar to yours. It’s about 1000 gallons and plywood tanks. I want to build my own skimmer as well. How far down did you cut the cone shaped bottom off? In other words, how wide did you make the hole? Also, how did you mount your neck and collection cup to the HDPE tank?
Thanks!!

Great questions. I have neglected this thread for far to long. Cutting the cone off is dependent on ths size of your skimmer neck. There are a couple of steps to take before cutting the cone. I would purchase the materials for the neck first so that the connection ring can be built. HDPE plastic does not bond to many materials so I made an interlocking PVC ring that would hold the skimmer neck and cup. The rings fit inside and outside of the HDPE tank with an interlocking joint that was glued using PVC solvent glue. The remaining gap between the HDPE tank and the PVC rings was filled with RTV108 to create a seal. This was the most difficuilt part of building the skimmer as a mistake could have resulted in the HDPE tank being unusable. If you have questions please feel free to ask. I am attaching some pictures of the connection ring that holds the skimmer neck and collection cup. I will link some videos I have released on the skimmer shortly.

 

[n21benson]

What a monster! Following

 

[AlexG]

The size seems a little big compared to the size of your display. I built my own before based on the SRO 5000 for my 120 tank. It skimmed but never consistent and would idle for days. My buddy uses it on his 300 gallon and it rocks. How did you size the skimmer?

The total system volume is ~1600 gallons+ with a 720 gallon and 480 gallon display tied into a single system. The skimmer design was based on a large reef octopus skimmer. I am still tweaking the skimmer as it only has been running for a couple of months and there is not a significant bio load. I am going to be adding a second needle wheel pump for the next tweak.

 

[Braxtong123]

Great questions. I have neglected this thread for far to long. Cutting the cone off is dependent on ths size of your skimmer neck. There are a couple of steps to take before cutting the cone. I would purchase the materials for the neck first so that the connection ring can be built. HDPE plastic does not bond to many materials so I made an interlocking PVC ring that would hold the skimmer neck and cup. The rings fit inside and outside of the HDPE tank with an interlocking joint that was glued using PVC solvent glue. The remaining gap between the HDPE tank and the PVC rings was filled with RTV108 to create a seal. This was the most difficuilt part of building the skimmer as a mistake could have resulted in the HDPE tank being unusable. If you have questions please feel free to ask. I am attaching some pictures of the connection ring that holds the skimmer neck and collection cup. I will link some videos I have released on the skimmer shortly.

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I have spent the last 3 days reading every single one of your threads over and over again. I have watched all your videos as well. Our builds are very similar, so comparing the two is very helpful. If you have any videos of the skimmer being built. I’d love to watch them. I am very educated with everything else as I’m building. I’m a great woodworker and have a very mechanical mind when it comes to design and construction, but for some reason I just can’t wrap my head around the construction skimmer I know that they are very simple, but I’m struggling haha

 

[AlexG]

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I have spent the last 3 days reading every single one of your threads over and over again. I have watched all your videos as well. Our builds are very similar, so comparing the two is very helpful. If you have any videos of the skimmer being built. I’d love to watch them. I am very educated with everything else as I’m building. I’m a great woodworker and have a very mechanical mind when it comes to design and construction, but for some reason I just can’t wrap my head around the construction skimmer I know that they are very simple, but I’m struggling haha

Let me know what specifically you are struggling with and I will be glad to try and help. Most of the skimmer parts that were custom made required a router and a circle cutting jig which is easy to DIY if you dont have a commercial jig. I just used a 1/4" thick piece of lauan(plywood) for the jig. I do not have any videos of the main skimmer body construction as I was not making videos at the time.

Here are the videos that I have talked about the skimmer in case you missed one.

 

[Braxtong123]

Let me know what specifically you are struggling with and I will be glad to try and help. Most of the skimmer parts that were custom made required a router and a circle cutting jig which is easy to DIY if you dont have a commercial jig. I just used a 1/4" thick piece of lauan(plywood) for the jig. I do not have any videos of the main skimmer body construction as I was not making videos at the time.

Here are the videos that I have talked about the skimmer in case you missed one.

Thank you! I’m struggling with sizing my body and pumps. I have about 1000 gallons total volume. How does your 60 gallon body work with your set up? I was thinking of a 30 gallon body with a 10” wide bubble chamber. A 4” neck leading into a 6” collection cup. It would be gravity fed like yours and have a bubble jet 10,000 inside of it. Any recommendations? One of the biggest things I’m struggling with is what pump I should get.

 

[AlexG]

Thank you! I’m struggling with sizing my body and pumps. I have about 1000 gallons total volume. How does your 60 gallon body work with your set up? I was thinking of a 30 gallon body with a 10” wide bubble chamber. A 4” neck leading into a 6” collection cup. It would be gravity fed like yours and have a bubble jet 10,000 inside of it. Any recommendations? One of the biggest things I’m struggling with is what pump I should get.

One of the challenges I faced when building this skimmer was the body size. I choose the 60 gallon tank because it was the widest tank with the sharpest angle/longest cone available that would fit into my sump tank. I could have gone with a slimmer tank but I felt bigger was better for a reaction chamber as it would give more contact with the water in the skimmer and at the same time it would help to prevent micro bubbles from entering the displays. I will be honest there is a lot of experimentation here but in part I found some schematic drawings of skimmers with the design I wanted and used that as a baseline reference. At this size skimmer one needle wheel pump might not be enough. The bubble blaster 10,000 was what I was looking at before I decided to make DIY needle wheel impellers for a standard pump. Skimmers rated for a heavy bioload for my size tank required two submersible pumps for air injection. Another option for a single larger pump would possibly be a reeflo hammer head with a needle wheel installed for air injection. During the assembly of my skimmer I decided to add the option for a second pump for air injection in case it was needed. I am going to be adding a second pump to my skimmer in the near future as a tweak. Other options I am considering for tweaking performance are lowering the skimmer in the sump to better align with the gravity feed lines, and changing the water outflow pipe height in conjunction with ball valve adjustments. The issue I am facing is that I do not have enough bioload to really push my skimmer. The skimmer has generated some skimmate and I am happy with the foam production of the DIY needle wheel but until I add a much higher bioload I don't think the potential of my skimmer will be realized. In the mean time I am trying to experiment with different tweaks to see how it impacts the performance of the skimmer.

I think your dimensions for the skimmer using a 30 gallon tank, 10" bubble chamber, and a 4" neck with a 6" cup can work. Starting with a single pump for air injection with an option for a second to be easily added would be the best way to go. I also found that the second pump option also gives the bubble chamber another support in the skimmer to hold it in place. I am not sure when you plan to get your system online but within the next few months I should have my skimmer supporting a higher bio load and have more tweaks completed that might be helpful. Again if you have anymore questions please let me know. I am already thinking of making another skimmer video to cover more of the skimmer design process and reasoning I used for making it so large. Great discussion.

 

[Braxtong123]

One of the challenges I faced when building this skimmer was the body size. I choose the 60 gallon tank because it was the widest tank with the sharpest angle/longest cone available that would fit into my sump tank. I could have gone with a slimmer tank but I felt bigger was better for a reaction chamber as it would give more contact with the water in the skimmer and at the same time it would help to prevent micro bubbles from entering the displays. I will be honest there is a lot of experimentation here but in part I found some schematic drawings of skimmers with the design I wanted and used that as a baseline reference. At this size skimmer one needle wheel pump might not be enough. The bubble blaster 10,000 was what I was looking at before I decided to make DIY needle wheel impellers for a standard pump. Skimmers rated for a heavy bioload for my size tank required two submersible pumps for air injection. Another option for a single larger pump would possibly be a reeflo hammer head with a needle wheel installed for air injection. During the assembly of my skimmer I decided to add the option for a second pump for air injection in case it was needed. I am going to be adding a second pump to my skimmer in the near future as a tweak. Other options I am considering for tweaking performance are lowering the skimmer in the sump to better align with the gravity feed lines, and changing the water outflow pipe height in conjunction with ball valve adjustments. The issue I am facing is that I do not have enough bioload to really push my skimmer. The skimmer has generated some skimmate and I am happy with the foam production of the DIY needle wheel but until I add a much higher bioload I don't think the potential of my skimmer will be realized. In the mean time I am trying to experiment with different tweaks to see how it impacts the performance of the skimmer.

I think your dimensions for the skimmer using a 30 gallon tank, 10" bubble chamber, and a 4" neck with a 6" cup can work. Starting with a single pump for air injection with an option for a second to be easily added would be the best way to go. I also found that the second pump option also gives the bubble chamber another support in the skimmer to hold it in place. I am not sure when you plan to get your system online but within the next few months I should have my skimmer supporting a higher bio load and have more tweaks completed that might be helpful. Again if you have anymore questions please let me know. I am already thinking of making another skimmer video to cover more of the skimmer design process and reasoning I used for making it so large. Great discussion.

I really appreciate the feed back! Thanks for taking your time with explaining everything. I should have everything up and running by spring of 2018. If I run into any walls, I’ll see if you can help. Thank you again

 

[Cabinetman]

You should look into pool sand filters for such a big system. I've got one on my 560 and love it.

 

[Braxtong123]

You should look into pool sand filters for such a big system. I've got one on my 560 and love it.

I will for sure. I’ve heard that they are nitrate factories. What’s your opinion?

 

[AlexG]

You should look into pool sand filters for such a big system. I've got one on my 560 and love it.

My main concern with this style of filter is what benefit is it bringing to my system that can't be accomplished using other methods of filtration. What made you decide to use a pool sand filter on your tank? I had a pool growing up with a large sand filter and I would assume that a regular backwash cycle would be needed to keep the sand clear of debris. I would also be concerned that the sand filter could become a very efficient nitrate factory. Have you experienced any issues with high nitrates using a sand filter?

 

[Feet4Fish]

You should look into pool sand filters for such a big system. I've got one on my 560 and love it.

Tell us more! Any pics on how you plumbed it. Working on an 850 gallon build.

 

[Braxtong123]

My main concern with this style of filter is what benefit is it bringing to my system that can't be accomplished using other methods of filtration. What made you decide to use a pool sand filter on your tank? I had a pool growing up with a large sand filter and I would assume that a regular backwash cycle would be needed to keep the sand clear of debris. I would also be concerned that the sand filter could become a very efficient nitrate factory. Have you experienced any issues with high nitrates using a sand filter?

I was thinking the same thing

 

[Zxknight]

holly mother of skimmers