Square vs Cylinder
- Thread starter psionicdragon
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tidus10
Active Member
it has to do with the way the air and water are managed and also about surface area... cone shaped is were its at... done be a square :tongue:
psionicdragon
Active Member
Well ya rectangle :P.
I want to build my own skimmer, but I am more confident in building a Rectangle vs a cylinder. I never really understand these different bodies.
bairdimusprime
Bill
I use an aqua c remora its rectangular and it's a BEAST ! It works wonders for me
fragmatic
retired reefer
I built my current one. It is not rocket science. Square, round, cone, whatever. You need lots of micro bubbles going up a column, and air tends to go up in a roundish column. So this may explain why they typically are cylindrical. The corners may simply provide a good way for the return water to reach the bottom around the foam column, so it may just be smart, ..or not....it is worth a test. I used a needle wheel pump to provide the water and bubbles. It has a venturi and an air hose input and only needs a air adjustment. It allowed me to build a skimmer that is not inside my sump or refugium by placing the needle pump in the sump and providing a hose to the skimmer. The air/water column needs to rise to near a funnel shape so that the bubbles with protein that enlarge have a smaller cylinder to push up through for catching. I drain mine via a hose into bottle. Works like a champ!!!
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psionicdragon
Active Member
Hehe, I think the trend is to copy the other guy so you can out sell that guy i.e. RLSS and Reef Octopus POV skimmer.
I know Aquac had a downdraft with a box format, but I don't understand how a box is less efficient than a cylinder. I would assume that a box design would break up the turbulence better than a cylinder.
I know Aquac had a downdraft with a box format, but I don't understand how a box is less efficient than a cylinder. I would assume that a box design would break up the turbulence better than a cylinder.
Otter_rs
Well-Known Member
It is most definitely not just a recent thing.
Brent \><{{{{*>
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psionicdragon
Active Member
but isn't the purpose of all these new designs to have more contact time with the water? (the bubbles that is).
I was thinking about building a square skimmer with baffles to reduce the flow and give the bubbles more contact time, but I haven't follow the trends on wine glasses, cones, etc so I don't know what makes them so special.
fragmatic
retired reefer
My DIY skimmer experience:
I had one that came with a Craig's List snag it pile. It was OK. but not kicking any booty. I had a Vertex bio-pellet reactor that I wasn't using. Then it occurred to me. I took my reactor body to Home Depot and found a PVC reducer bushing that was about the right size. That bushing made a nice funnel top so the larger bubbles would have a focus direction. It also fit a plastic florescent light tube close enough.
I then cut out the top of the Vertex lid on a lathe, and PVC glued the reducer bushing into that. This lets me screw the skimmer lid off and on. Then a section of the plastic florescent tube protector fit into the top of the reducer after a little lathe adjustment. All that was left was to plumb the needle wheel pump to the middle height of the reactor and an exhaust to the bottom with PVC threaded fittings into holes I drilled and taped.
The top catch pan was made from a plastic candy container I rescued from the recycle trash container by luck that very day. After cutting a round hole in the bottom to fit snug to the reducer bushing body, it was glued around to it with aquarium glue.
The only problem I had was I got the candy container too hot with my heat gun while I was adjusting the shape and it made it look sloppy. .. so what.. wink... it is hidden under my cabinet, kicking out soup like or better than the best of them. Besides the odd shaped candy container just gets nasty with skimmit anyway.
The surprise was when it started making soup in less than an hour... I was expecting at least a couple of days break-in period. .. so much for break in periods with skimmers!
I had one that came with a Craig's List snag it pile. It was OK. but not kicking any booty. I had a Vertex bio-pellet reactor that I wasn't using. Then it occurred to me. I took my reactor body to Home Depot and found a PVC reducer bushing that was about the right size. That bushing made a nice funnel top so the larger bubbles would have a focus direction. It also fit a plastic florescent light tube close enough.
I then cut out the top of the Vertex lid on a lathe, and PVC glued the reducer bushing into that. This lets me screw the skimmer lid off and on. Then a section of the plastic florescent tube protector fit into the top of the reducer after a little lathe adjustment. All that was left was to plumb the needle wheel pump to the middle height of the reactor and an exhaust to the bottom with PVC threaded fittings into holes I drilled and taped.
The top catch pan was made from a plastic candy container I rescued from the recycle trash container by luck that very day. After cutting a round hole in the bottom to fit snug to the reducer bushing body, it was glued around to it with aquarium glue.
The only problem I had was I got the candy container too hot with my heat gun while I was adjusting the shape and it made it look sloppy. .. so what.. wink... it is hidden under my cabinet, kicking out soup like or better than the best of them. Besides the odd shaped candy container just gets nasty with skimmit anyway.
The surprise was when it started making soup in less than an hour... I was expecting at least a couple of days break-in period. .. so much for break in periods with skimmers!
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psionicdragon
Active Member
fragmatic
retired reefer
I need to get some sleep... maybe in the AM.
mcarroll
10K Club member
Gravity provides all the motivation those little bubbles need to find their way to the top. ;)
Shape of the body is not that relevant, but volume is...square/rectangular designs increase internal skimmer volume without increasing footprint vs a similar round skimmer so they are desirable in many circumstances.
Cylindrical designs are "better" than cones for the same reason - more volume in the same footprint.
-Matt
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