DIY skimmer #2

[DonW]

This is the 2" drain and air stone manifold assy. Just need to drill and tap for the stones.

Don

 

[Scooterman]

So what material are the white pieces at the bottom and top of the 12" tube? Do you have to route a groove around that bottom peace to fit the 12" tube inside or can you just glue it directly on top like it is? Sorry hard to tell from the pics but one thing is for sure that thing is huge lol, I need one half that size, not sure if I should attempt to make it myself. I keep backing off because where you have that white piece on top is where they usually add two pieces together then use a rubber O-ring & screws to separate it all for cleaning, looks a little complicated, don't know if I should attempt routing out a groove for that O-ring or what. I'm sure temped to give it a try though, so I'm posing a few questions if you don't mind.

 

[DonW]

Ya its big but since I had everything what the heck. You wont get a deltec this big for under $50. The white is white 1/2 cast acrylic. The bottom is routed with a rabbet. The top goes down in the tube. What you see in the pics in top is the flange that has not had the holes drilled for bolts yet. It does use a double o ring seal but you can use a gasket just as easy.
Rabbets and grooves give you alot more glue surface area. I suppose you could do without if it going in a sump.
The drain is designed to be the air manifold, all in one to cut way down on plumbing and to not allow bubbles to exit.

Don

 

[Scooterman]

Thanks DonW, one more question, can you use ordinary bits to do the routing?
I look forward to seeing your progress, Thanks again.

 

[DonW]

Thanks DonW, one more question, can you use ordinary bits to do the routing?
I look forward to seeing your progress, Thanks again.

You can use plain carbide bits but spiral do a cleaner job and dont get as hot. Cast cuts so nice I dont really care what bit I use.
Most of the plumbing should be done in the next few days then I'll put on the wet neck and motorized neck cleaner.

Don

 

[rufio173]

Don,

Glad the skimmer is coming together!!! Well, I've got a number for you. The airtech 40 delivers 78 SCFH of air with 2 6" airstones at a depth of 20". As a reference. That is about the optimal operating flow of two properly driven becketts.

So, if you really want to utilize all that space in your skimmer, go with the airtech 80 which will deliver twice as much flow. The airtech according to Zephrant is pretty quiet with a slight hum. Quieter than most of the equipment he has in his fish room... I'm guessing he's talking about the sequence pumps and other various fan cooled or driven things.

Keep the pics coming... I'd definitely like to see what this motor driven cup cleaner looks like

Peace,
John H.

 

[DonW]

Thanks,
I'm going with the AirTech-80 and four 6"x1.5" stones mounted at 45 degree angle. Should give even coverage over the 12" span.

Don

 

[rufio173]

Don,

That's an excellent idea... I had a hunch that what you were going to do with that PVC manifold. Should be a beast! Where will you be injecting water? Countercurrent or co-current?

Peace,
John H.

 

[DonW]

Skimmer update

The manifold/drain was a flop. I totally missmeasured, so here's what I ended up with.

 

[DonW]

Leak testing.

I decided to test run the lower chamber before drilling the flange and gluing on the cup. Big mistake, I left the air on and went to bed. Seems it only took a few hours for the skimmer to start breaking it.

Don

 

[big t]

So much for that whole under cabinet look So what do you think of the whole wet neck thing? I think it's a cool idea, and I love the idea of never having to clean the neck, but it just isn't working out on my little skimmer. It just makes tea colored watery skimmate. Maybe it is because my impeller is broken, the new one should be here soon.

 

[rufio173]

Don,

That looks amazing!!! How's the foam density in the main chamber?

Peace,
John H.

 

[rufio173]

What about bubble size?

Peace,
John H.

 

[DonW]

The main chamber bubble size seems to be perfect. I set the water level to 3" below the flange. It easily crawles up the 6x28 neck. The neck is already green. I still need to build the lid. Its going to house the wet neck and motorized neck cleaner. Over all I would have to say its got to be the most powerful foam maker Ive ever seen, aside from Mojo's of course. I also need to play around with the feed pump. Right now its a mag24 going full blast, althought its pulling lots of gunk this may be overkill.

Don

 

[rufio173]

Don,

Thanks for observations. I can't wait until I get to play with mine, but that may be a few months. Keep us all updated! Looks like you are going for almost maintenance free on this sucker.

Peace,
John H.

 

[DonW]

Update:
The air-tech pump was a flop. Made much more noise than I expected and only lasted two days. Put on my badger air brush compressor .9 cfm@25psi. works but not quite enough. I be installing a whitewater lt19 tonight. I'm sure the air-tech was just a lemon and the company has no problem exchanging it.
Still cant figure out how much water to run through the skimmer. Started with the mag 24 wide open and am slowly closing the valve but it doesnt seem to make any difference. Probably need to let it go for a week at a time for each setting to find the best rate.
Is there a formula or rule of thumb for skimmer flow rate??

Don

 

[DonW]

Here is the neck scrubber diagram, not very good but you can get a general idea.

Don

 

[rufio173]

DonW,

Did the diaphragm give on the airtech or did the whole pump just stop working?

Peace,
John H.

 

[DonW]

DonW,

Did the diaphragm give on the airtech or did the whole pump just stop working?

Peace,
John H.

Just stopped working, as if you unplugged it. Oh well the LT19 works just fine. I'll get it exchanged and see which one I like best.

Don

 

[DonW]

Wet neck cut away view