DIY cone pyramid skimmer

[DonW]

Ok, if you are running ozone to raise ORP then the tank's pH will drop when the ozone runs. Would you drip kalk and/or ozone within a skimmer to blow off excess O3?

03 isnt going to drop you ph enough to make any difference. You can run 03 to your skimmer but your just using the skimmer as a reactor and it needs to be cast acrylic. Carbon after the skimmer is used to remove the bromine.

Don

 

[Boomer]

Ok, if you are running ozone to raise ORP then the tank's pH will drop when the ozone runs.


We us ORP to control the amount of ozone added. Since ozone is a very strong oxidant we need to watch the ORP level, as the higher ORP is brought about by Ozone. Whether you use ozone or not there will still be daily shift in the pH, like night vs. day. Even with Ozone, if the ORP goes up, the pH will drop or if the pH drops, like it does at night, the ORP goes up. To much ozone can be damaging. We try to keep the ORP under 450 mV with ozone. So, we set the ORP controller to say 425mV. If the ORP gets to ~425 the ozone unit shuts off. If it is under ~425 the ozone unit runs.

Would you drip kalk and/or ozone within a skimmer to blow off excess O3?

It is not really the ozone we are concerned about in the water. Ozone has a half life in seawater of only a few seconds. What we are concerned about is what ozone does to the bromide ion the water, a ion like chloride. Ozone converts that ion to bromine, which is a bleach like chlorine, now in your tank water. To counter react that we use activated carbon on the ozonated output water. The carbon reduces the bromine back to what it was bromide. On the skimmer vent we make a cup to fit over it, filled with carbon, to remove ozone gas going into the house.

Kalk has no real effect on Ozone gas. It is kalk that has an effect on CO2 gas.

 

[Sakimaru8]

Kalk has no real effect on Ozone gas. It is kalk that has an effect on CO2 gas.

I understand that kalk has no effect on ozone. I meant ozone raises ORP. Since ORP increases the pH lowers. Since the pH is lowered, dripping kalk should raise it ( less than 8.5). Am I off on the logic?

I don't have an ozone pump; so I really don't know how much pH will drop if I try to increase the ORP from 280mV to 400mV (automatically turned off by the controller). I am thinking of getting one if the price is right.

 

[tamarindthai]

i am simulated the nature for rising ORP level at night by let the ph drop natualy and raise ph by O2 at day by air stone seem to have the ORP work like nature and work great for me for cleared water in the morning,,that another one of my Eco-experimental.,,just simple air stone,,without O3,,and see your skimmer at night going wild,,always make it skimming good at night

 

[Sakimaru8]

just simple air stone,,without O3

Do you use skimmer or just air stone only or air stone + skimmer? Skimmer adds a lot of air. In the graph my DIY skimmer raise the ORP of my tank, I think.

 

[tamarindthai]

Do you use skimmer or just air stone only or air stone + skimmer? Skimmer adds a lot of air. In the graph my DIY skimmer raise the ORP of my tank, I think.

6.30 ph came out from my Ca reactor,,,make it to 7.6 to 8.2 ph by O2 airstone if it not enough///driping Kalk in collection cub ,,this is how i raised my ph at daytime,,and let them drop naturally at night by tune off the air stone,or tune off Kalk ,so you will have big save ph flucuation bt day and night to raised ORP at night,,that is how the nature worked.,,make oxidation potential goes high.

 

[Boomer]

Since ORP increases the pH lowers. Since the pH is lowered, dripping kalk should raise it ( less than 8.5). Am I off on the logic?

Yes, you are off ORP does not increase or lower the pH. When the pH drops at night the ORP will go up. When the pH rises back up in the morning the ORP goes back down. Even if the pH did not change at all the ORP can still go up or down. If your tank was 400mV ORP and had a pH or 8.3 and if you had some fresh seawater with the same exact parmeters, pH, alk, Ca++, Mg++, etc. the ORP will drop almost 100mV if you did a large WC. If you have a ORP of 400 MV and you add some food to the tank, even if the pH does not change the ORP will crash for a couple of hrs. If you had an ORP of 300mV and added some hydrogen peroxide to the tank the ORP will rise, we will say to 400mV and the pH will stiil be the same. READ those posted articles, all the answers are there and save me allot of typing

 

[tamarindthai]

boomer,,thanks for clear it up and in the info,,i am still reading and learning.

 

[Boomer]

Ok, glad to help Tam

 

[Sakimaru8]

OK, back on topic for the next build.

Received a bunch of acrylic tubes and a large polycarbonate cone. I will have to work on it next week or Thanksgiving weekend.

Below is a picture of a mock up with 2L soda bottle for scale.
View attachment 30157

I am not sure if I am going to keep or cut the bottom flange. The cone will be topped to fit 5" ID tube (pictured with paper wrapping). Gotta figure the next neck flange, bottom fixed or removable base. I am leaning removable base so that I can prototype different bubble plate configuration.

Topping and cutting the cone flat is going to be tricky. Any suggestions?

Laguna PJ 5000 (shown below) to be mesh mod with enlarge volute.
View attachment 30158

 

[Skimmy]

oh yeah, now were talking....lol
isnt that the same pump used on the bk mini 180? im not sure...
guess i could go look:idea:
if it was me, i'd leave the lip on the bottom, and make a locking mechanism out of the bottom plate for it like this:

 

[Skimmy]

ahh here we go, sorry, i didnt see this...

Luke,

Gathering more info for the next build.

If I use the Laguna 5000 (~1500gph) meshwheel, what would be my skimmer inlet, recirc and outlet pipe size? I am thinking output to skimmer would be 3/4" or 1"; same for recirc. But, out let from the skimmer would be 1.5".

Mod for the Laguna: inlet of the pump would be at least 1.25" to 1.5" with a volute of 1.5" & 3.5" diameter. Air intake 3/8" to 3/4".

Base of the skimmer 10" to 13.5" , height 15" to 16.5", neck 3.5" to 5", bubble plate 6" to 8". What do you think?

sounds like it will be real sweet build...
with 1500lph i would go with the larger of all numbers you posted.
and then you could build me one with one of those extra pumps...

 

[Sakimaru8]

if it was me, i'd leave the lip on the bottom, and make a locking mechanism out of the bottom plate for it like this:

Looking at the picture, how does it lock? Lock - circle to circle with bottom gasket? Is it slightly eccentric/oval?

Here is the picture of the bottom lip
View attachment 30220

Will the bottom lip work with the lock? Do I have to mod it?

 

[Sakimaru8]

1500lph.
and then you could build me one with one of those extra pumps...

The pump is definitely a 1500gph water flow but air flow is unknown. I am waiting for a Dwyer within the range I am looking for with a decent price. Getting 1500LPH of air suction would be cool base on RC mod.

I need to mod the volute & cut the impeller so that I can zip tie the mesh.

View attachment 30221

I may end up with 3 skimmer bodies if I am really ambitious. I just need to think the approach to top the cone and build the neck collar. I can only cut it once.

2nd body might just be a large pyramid with a 5" neck. This is easier, I am waiting for a transparent blue 3/16" acylic sheet. Algae minimizer color, I hope.

I am thinking of replacing my surge device titanium pump that runs about 105 watts with the laguna 5000 at 85 watts. I still have at least one extra with a hot-spare just in case one of them fail.

So to answer your question, I may end up with extra bodies and a pump. It will most likely take a few months.

 

[Sakimaru8]

Laguna PJ 5000 Volute build.

View attachment 30228

Will work on cover, venturi intake and outlet tomorrow??

Mesh mod much later.

 

[Sakimaru8]

Volute cover & venturi (left over from years ago; came in handy)

View attachment 30269 Acrylic cover & unmod venturi 1.5" inlet + 3/4" air inlet

View attachment 30270 1/2" venturi

View attachment 30271 cut and mod to fit the cover

View attachment 30272 View from air inlet of venturi

View attachment 30273 mockup with pump volute

Not going to glue it because I am not sure of the pump config.

 

[Skimmy]

looking good so far...great job on the volute/venturi

 

[luke33]

Looks good so far. You are wise not to glue until you try a few things. For the reduction to the volute you may want to try 3/4" with a 3/8" air venturi. You are very restrictive right now with the taper down to 1/2", but no harm in trying. You should be able to get 50-120scfh with that pump.

 

[Sakimaru8]

looking good so far...great job on the volute/venturi

Looks good so far.

Thank you. I am not motivated at the moment.

You should be able to get 50-120scfh with that pump.

It would be nice to get around that scfh range. Finally got an airflow meter within my price range; I am just waiting for the Dwyer RMC-102-SSV to ship. This flowmeter is suppose to be 1.5' long great for those that needs fine calibration and easier to read. As you recommended, the range is 0-100scfh.

For the cover, I thinking of building another with groove and gasket around the volute tube. So that I can screw the cover to the base of the volute making it an interchangeable venturi + cover. Maybe, an acrylic tube venturi is in a future build.

Volute outlet would be 1". I am leaning towards tangent/side outlet versus center outlet position. I guess, I could make a second volute and base to see how it turns out.

Mesh mod requires a cut into the impeller and zip tieing the mat. This weekend's project :doubt:.

 

[Sakimaru8]

Mesh/mat mod the impeller

View attachment 30326 Stock impeller

View attachment 30322 Impeller cut and drilled + Mat/mesh circle cut

View attachment 30323 Halfed the mat thickness

View attachment 30324 zip tied to the impeller

View attachment 30325 mesh mod in the enlarged volute

Volute outlet next - 1" barb tangent or center placement?