DIY Skimmer Neck Cleaner - Reefvan

ReefVan · Dec 26, 2016

Finally spent a few hours in the RatWerks to DIY a solution to the perennial "clean the skimmer crap" from the skimmer neck on Reef Octopus SRO 3000 int. Man does that thing ever haul out the black gunk!

Happened across a nice shower squeegee at the store a few weeks ago and decided it would be DIY worthy.

I had only a few inches between the cover of the skimmer cup and the styrofoam on the stand under my 220. No room for a motorized unit.

Here's the result of a few hours in the RatWerks...

ReefVan · Dec 26, 2016

As you can see the cover has been drilled and had a bored out Jaco fitting installed as a guide bushing for a PVC rod.

The wiper sections come from the squeegee and I threaded the end of the PVC rod to accept another modified Jaco fitting that was threaded to match the PVC rod.

All grey PVC parts cut from 1/8" PVC sheet. Lower cross-bar is slotted .250" wide x .063" deep over full length.

Wiper contact force is adjustable by loosening or tightening the modified Jaco nut at the bottom.

ReefVan · Dec 26, 2016

It may not be motorized but it sure works well. Total cost $8.00 Cdn for a squeegee. Spare stuff hanging around my workshop.

As an aside for the technical info, the rod is .385" diameter pvc and I threaded it at both ends using a 18"-27 NPT die.

The hole size in the 1/8" thick pvc hand wheel as well as the Jaco adjustment fitting at the bottom were drilled 11/32", then subsequently tapped 1/8"-27 NPT.

The drill size used for the inner diameter of the Jaco fitting in the lid of the skimmer cup was drilled to allow for a light slip fit of the .385" dia pvc drive rod.

When drilling PVC or Acrylic always start with a small pilot hole and then gradually move up in 1/32" increments to ensure the hole stays nice and round as well as on center.

ReefVan · Dec 26, 2016

Well, it works as expected... had a few dark areas of skim-mate build-up, swoosh and gone.

This is actually quite good since I can see exactly the height of the bubble column in the skimmer neck and adjust the gate valve on my skimmer accordingly.

Kinda gives me an idea at any one time with pH, temp and lighting or any other parameters, what my tank is up to as far as skim-mate production.

Very interesting to be able to always see what the correlation is between them and the bubble consistency, by always having a clear view of the neck.

Pola0502ds · Dec 26, 2016

Ill tell you what man, that is pretty darn cool! Sure beats the heck out of having to remove the collection cup each days to clean the neck. I love it man! Im really surprised some company doesnt already sell a manual version, i would buy one in a heart beat.

Waterjockey · Dec 26, 2016

Nice build! Got me thinking now....I don't have the room for a motorized unit either...but this is terrific!

revhtree · Dec 26, 2016

This is awesome! Who can't manually turn the knob a few times a week!

Thanks for sharing!

revhtree · Dec 26, 2016

Do you happen to have a link to the squeegee you used?

wesamazmy · Dec 26, 2016

Is it manual scrap by hand or automatically keep scrapping while the skimmer is running?

ReefVan · Dec 26, 2016

There's nothing automatic here... there's no motor. It does work better when you turn it while the skimmer is running since the water lubricates the skimmer neck and the excess gunk re-dissolves when it falls into the skimmer to be re-ejected as new dirty skim-mate.

ReefVan · Dec 26, 2016

As far as the squeegee goes, any shower squeegee with a plastic body and silicon rubber type blade will work. Will try to find the P/N of the squeegee I bought at the Canadian Tire here in Montreal.

ReefVan · Dec 26, 2016

I too am really surprised that no one started selling these. Guess our consumer market demands that it be as complicated as possible and expensive as well.
I offer this project under GPL licensing for construction and use by the general reefing public and that it may not be patented for commercial use.

Waterjockey · Dec 26, 2016

I am curious where you sourced the pvc rod?

1979fishgeek · Dec 26, 2016

That's genius. You need to start selling them! I would be first in line!

Ro.an · Dec 26, 2016

You should patent it ;)

Furiousreefer · Dec 26, 2016

Waterjockey said:
I am curious where you sourced the pvc rod?

Acrylic rod is another option

jasonrusso · Dec 26, 2016

Awesome idea. I'm definitely going to steal this for my RO Diablo 200. I also don't have the overhead room for the motorized unit.

2 questions; How do you keep tension on the squeegee blades? Is it just a friction fit when you built it?

Second; if you put the blades at an angle, would it push the skimmate up and into the cup? That would be better than making it drop back into the water only to be removed again.

Aceone · Dec 26, 2016

Nice job!

Rjramos · Dec 26, 2016

jasonrusso said:
Awesome idea. I'm definitely going to steal this for my RO Diablo 200. I also don't have the overhead room for the motorized unit.

2 questions; How do you keep tension on the squeegee blades? Is it just a friction fit when you built it?

Second; if you put the blades at an angle, would it push the skimmate up and into the cup? That would be better than making it drop back into the water only to be removed again.

I love his idea and your intent to modify.

He did mentioned, The blade pressure is set by tightening the bottom Jaco fitting. This pushes the blades up and against the sides.

I thought about your solution to prevent the dried skimate from falling back into the skimmer body. But how do you keep the angled blades edge flat on the glass. They would have to be more flexible. Like the wipers on a car.[emoji848]