Scooterman
Well-known member
Mike are you making the flanges yourself?
Looks awesome, wonder if I could use one that size on my 100g tank! lol
Looks awesome, wonder if I could use one that size on my 100g tank! lol
The Skimming beast is dead....Long live beast ver 2
- Thread starter mojoreef
- Start date
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DonW
R.I.P.
wrightme43 said:
Steve,
I need to make a flange in the next few days. I came up with a way even easier than my thread. I try to get some pic's for you.
Don
reeffan
Well-known member
MIke, that's a cool looking skimmer. Have you test the skimmer yet? Can't wait to see it running.
reeffan
reeffan
Scooterman
Well-known member
mojoreef said:
Oh great, Mike can keep everything I own in his skimmer, I think that is why he needed an excuse to build an even bigger one & at the same time not get an ear full from his wife! hehe
Man it is so nice using the bigger material to build with. I just priced the stuff out at 98 bucks a foot, man thats tough stuff. Counting lucky stars.
Yea I got it all in yesterday and she is up and running. I did this one a little different, I skipped the wet neck and installed some sprinkler heads in the neck to clean it. I figured I could put them on a time and have it clean the neck every day.
On this skimmer I wanted to increase the size of the mixing/reaction chamber, so I am running the water a little higher. About 3 feet up the main tube. I had to put the airstones in standing up, which I dont think I can live with. After a couple of hours the skimmer started making foam, but I am noticing a few more larger sized bubbles, the end product is nice but I am having to turn the air put down quite a bit.
Another thing that I dont like with them pointing up is that I am loosing about a foot of reaction chamber at the bottom as all the bubbles are coming out of the top of the stones. I think I am going to take the stones out and chop off about 4 inches and try to lay them flat, if that dont work then I will just get some 6 inchers.
Oh yea.. I tried out my sprinklers, holy crap what a mess, lol. The only left over pump I had lieng around was a mag 3600, well not thinking about the new HIGHER water level I cranked it on...all I can say is thank God I left a air vent hole on the top of the skimmer cup!!! it blew skimmate all over the ceiling..I now have skimmate stalagtites in a perfect 2 foot circle on the cieling. Nothing like mixing hih power water injection with foam??????????
Mike
Yea I got it all in yesterday and she is up and running. I did this one a little different, I skipped the wet neck and installed some sprinkler heads in the neck to clean it. I figured I could put them on a time and have it clean the neck every day.
On this skimmer I wanted to increase the size of the mixing/reaction chamber, so I am running the water a little higher. About 3 feet up the main tube. I had to put the airstones in standing up, which I dont think I can live with. After a couple of hours the skimmer started making foam, but I am noticing a few more larger sized bubbles, the end product is nice but I am having to turn the air put down quite a bit.
Another thing that I dont like with them pointing up is that I am loosing about a foot of reaction chamber at the bottom as all the bubbles are coming out of the top of the stones. I think I am going to take the stones out and chop off about 4 inches and try to lay them flat, if that dont work then I will just get some 6 inchers.
Oh yea.. I tried out my sprinklers, holy crap what a mess, lol. The only left over pump I had lieng around was a mag 3600, well not thinking about the new HIGHER water level I cranked it on...all I can say is thank God I left a air vent hole on the top of the skimmer cup!!! it blew skimmate all over the ceiling..I now have skimmate stalagtites in a perfect 2 foot circle on the cieling. Nothing like mixing hih power water injection with foam??????????
Mike
rufio173
Well-known member
Take some pics of the construction! How big are you going to make it this time around?
rufio173
Well-known member
Oh sorry, I didn't know there was a second page... I like the carbon chamber. Always wanted something like that off the output of my skimmer. 
Peace,
John H.
Peace,
John H.
bradreef
always kidding
man that would have been great to see you turn on the sprinkler.
LOL Nick I wouldnt have built this one if it wasnt for the score of the 12 inch tube, that would have been way to much money.
Nick yea you would have loved to see that!! I kept pulling the wrong plug and the thing just kept blowing skimmate all over the place..my kids sure enjoyed it.
The skimmer is actually running real good. It has pulled about a gallon of black crud out so far, not surprised the system was off skimming for a few days. it dialed in pretty easy to. I think I will still go to the smaller stones to get some real estate back down below.
MIke
Nick yea you would have loved to see that!! I kept pulling the wrong plug and the thing just kept blowing skimmate all over the place..my kids sure enjoyed it.
The skimmer is actually running real good. It has pulled about a gallon of black crud out so far, not surprised the system was off skimming for a few days. it dialed in pretty easy to. I think I will still go to the smaller stones to get some real estate back down below.
MIke
Fishfood2581
Member
mojo if you want some small stones let me knwo i have 6 AS-50 stones. I sold the airpump and am going back to my deltec style skimmer.
Haole
"Village Idiot"
Thanks for sharing your trials and tribulations, Mike.
I couldn’t help but to laugh at your antics regarding the sprinkler mishap.
It seems to me that you’re running along the same lines as Tim the “Tool Man†Taylor (More power! argh, argh, argh, aaaarrghhh!).
In a sadistic way it’s nice to know that even the big dogs with their phenomenal tanks are still actually human! lol
Congrat’s on the new improved “beastâ€!!!
I couldn’t help but to laugh at your antics regarding the sprinkler mishap.
It seems to me that you’re running along the same lines as Tim the “Tool Man†Taylor (More power! argh, argh, argh, aaaarrghhh!).
In a sadistic way it’s nice to know that even the big dogs with their phenomenal tanks are still actually human! lol
Congrat’s on the new improved “beastâ€!!!
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Scooterman
Well-known member
WOW the neck looks aweful, I guess this is where your sprayer comes in right?
yea this thing is really picking up the crud. that pic is only after one day of skimming. I am trying to get it so the cleaning heads come on every day and clean it, I just have to work out the squencing to be able to do it.
I am working a little different concept with this unit. I am trying to allow for the largest area of mixing chamber. I have noticed a few neat things. I have noticed the lower the turbulance the dark the end product. With the air I can make the mixing chamber pretty violent (not violent enough to break bubbles, just alot of movement) but I have turned the air down enough to create a curtain of bubbles, the result has been a much more concentrated form of skimmate. It takes a little longer to go from start up to the foaming but the end result is very good.
I think some of the folks trying to make one of these might be adding to much air to the system and are getting large bubbles as a result of thier not being enough water to blend with.
mike
I am working a little different concept with this unit. I am trying to allow for the largest area of mixing chamber. I have noticed a few neat things. I have noticed the lower the turbulance the dark the end product. With the air I can make the mixing chamber pretty violent (not violent enough to break bubbles, just alot of movement) but I have turned the air down enough to create a curtain of bubbles, the result has been a much more concentrated form of skimmate. It takes a little longer to go from start up to the foaming but the end result is very good.
I think some of the folks trying to make one of these might be adding to much air to the system and are getting large bubbles as a result of thier not being enough water to blend with.
mike
rufio173
Well-known member
Mike,
How large is this sucker, height wise? Looks like you are getting solid results so why are you going to the smaller stones? I mean, if it works why change up a good thing?
Peace,
John H.
How large is this sucker, height wise? Looks like you are getting solid results so why are you going to the smaller stones? I mean, if it works why change up a good thing?
Peace,
John H.
rufio173
Well-known member
Do you really think that the smaller stones will give you much better results?
Mike,
That thing is awesome!
Me and a few members of the local club have been thinking about building large air powered skimmers to reduce the power bills and in my case increase skimming capacity. How do you feed the skimmer water and what's the flow rate? I,ve been thinking of feeding it with an overflow or two but am afraid of introducing larger bubbles and killing the foam.
That thing is awesome!
Me and a few members of the local club have been thinking about building large air powered skimmers to reduce the power bills and in my case increase skimming capacity. How do you feed the skimmer water and what's the flow rate? I,ve been thinking of feeding it with an overflow or two but am afraid of introducing larger bubbles and killing the foam.
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