My DIY skimmer so far, some input please.

[gar732]

Thanks for the replies. Something like the trigger systems skimmer is what I had in mind. The output would be on the bottom so I wouldn't have to drill the cone at all. The bottom would be made from 1/4" acrylic. Also I will be using a sicce psk2500 with the reefftration pinwheel that was donated by a buddy of mine.

The acrylic cut easily so I didn't expect to have trouble drilling it but if that is the case then maybe thestand would be a better option.

 

[gar732]

Well I've been working on this thing little by little. Here are so pics of the progress.

Given that I've never worked with acrylic before, I'm pretty happy with the results so far. It actually came out better than I thought it would. Now if it works well that will be even better!

 

[gar732]

A couple more pics.

 

[Troylee]

looking good....;) i can really appreciate what your doing there def. some work...

 

[gar732]

Thanks, that means a lot coming from a pro. Anything you think I should have done differently?

 

[gar732]

Well, I've neglected to update this thread. The skimmer is pretty much done, here is a pic.

I'm just trying to get the pump running correctly. I tried running a white lightning pinwheel with an aquamaxx venturi and apparently they don't like each other and therefore its not running properly. I have to figure out the correct balance between the PW the venturi and the skimmer. Unfortunately I'm not to sure how to do that, so It should be interesting. I can't use the the venturi that came with the WL PW because the the input on the pump is different or modified. The pump came off of a reef octo skimmer. I'll either have to get this pump to work or get a different pump so any suggestions either way would be greatly appreciated.

 

[dougers31]

Man that looks like a lot of work, great job. Can hardly wait to see that thing in action.

 

[Sasquatch]

try some clear food grade tube, find a size thats a tight fit for the opening, making the opening smaller will increase the intake speed and draw more air, you can keep putting in smaller dia pieces until you find the correct size hole then drill a plastic disk to the size and glue it on

 

[gar732]

I'll have to mess around with it some more this weekend, I'll give that a shot. One thing I did notice was that the deeper I run it the better it seems to run. Is it normal to run a skimmer in 10" of water? And at that it went from really noisy to just noisy. Another thing is that I have to plug and unplug the pump several times before it will start is that normal for this pump?

 

[swannyson7]

The Sicces are known to have start up issues, but the fact that it's making noise is probably because the pinwheel is rubbing against the venturi. If it has resistance, it probably won't turn correctly. I would try using the stock or red devil pinwheels to get it going just to see it in action.

 

[dougers31]

I'll have to mess around with it some more this weekend, I'll give that a shot. One thing I did notice was that the deeper I run it the better it seems to run. Is it normal to run a skimmer in 10" of water? And at that it went from really noisy to just noisy. Another thing is that I have to plug and unplug the pump several times before it will start is that normal for this pump?

My guess is it depends on the size of the skimmer. I know lots of folks have there skimmers in 6-8in of water to get the best results.... could be what the poster above said too(pump not running right).

 

[gar732]

Alright! I figured it out. I took the pump apart to change out the PW just to see if there was any difference. When I pulled everything apart I noticed that there was a small spacer that was supposed to go behind the magnet that came dislodged. I popped that sucker back in and its good to go. It starts up every time now and is not as noisy. Its now more of a loud hum but I read that the WL PW will make some noise until its broken in so hopefully that will do it. The rest of my plumbing comes in on tuesday so I could get my sump up and running. I should have this thing braking in by next weekend.

Also some of the noise is coming from the vibration of the pump, I figure some rubber feet will solve that problem. Anyone know where I can find some rubber feet for this thing? The have to be tall enough for the cord to fit underneath.

 

[MimicOcto8]

not familiar with the BK but is the one youre making going to be a recirculating skimmer? if not I would highly suggest that.

 

[gar732]

The BK is a bubble king. Its not a recirculating, don't know too much about that type of skimmer.

 

[MimicOcto8]

the Hydor is a recirculating skimmer and I have two of them. they are so sick!

 

[Alattner]

i think the skimmer looks great so far but then again i have never built them and dont know to much about building one

 

[NeverlosT]

very cool, I think your guts to bite off a job like this have been well rewarded! I hope it works great.

 

[gar732]

Update! After a long while I finally got my sump installed and finally got this skimmer running. So far so good, its been running for three days now wide open while it breaks. Here are a couple crappy cell phone pics of it in action. Here it is in the new sump, I still have to straighten out the wiring.

Another shot with the cup on. I built a stand out of eggcrate and the skimmer is running 8" deep.

Here is a close-up of the collection cup. This is what it has collected after running wide open for two days. I'm hoping to see some nice gunk when its broken in.

Please let me know what you think.

 

[swannyson7]

Looking good buddy! Did you have to remove the eggcrate to get the clearance under the center brace?

 

[gar732]

I didn't want to remove the eggcrate completely because I think that would be too deep. I just trimmed it down a bit. In the last pic you can see how close it is.