Can com. skim. match output of DIY skimmer?

[rayjay]

I'm curious to know if a commercial skimmer can match the output of this DIY skimmer. The LFS's around here have nothing to compare.
DIY Skimmer Output

[dark horge]

I need a beer...

[Doug1]

That one definatly seems to produce a lot of foam. The skimmate looks a little watery from the pic, maybe cause the caps off the collection cup. A Beckett style skimmer might compete with that output, hard to tell depends om the feed pump. organoc load itn the particular tank yada yad yada. Looks like an effective DIY project if one is so inclined and have parts laying around. Word of caution tho. A friend of mine back in the 70s used a auto smog pump to provide lotts of air to his Oscar raising project. Lost a batch or two before using a carbon filter after the pump and cleaning it real well and using food grade lube.

[rayjay]

Thanks for the warning Doug, but when I set this up a few years back, I cleaned the vane type pump completely with iso-prophyl alcohol before using. I don't have carbon after the pump but I use filter floss material to trap any airborne solids. These pumps, even used, run 24/7 for years. The next one will be a rebuilt one but I'll have to run it a long time unloaded, to break in the vanes, before I can use it for the skimmers.
The skimmer shown doesn't have a collection container yet as I haven't perfected the design. The foam shown takes only an hour to produce.
This skimmer will even work with fresh water, but not to the same degree as salt.
My next project will be to find a cheap source of air for the skimmers but with a quieter producer than the existing air pump.

[Doug1]

Ray sounds like you got it covered
FWIW on my friends fish room we had the pump and moter mounted outside on a platform like a window AC, rubber mounts and an open side that was covered with a furnace fan. The carbon filter was 2 feet of 2" pipe capped and appropriate barb fittings for the hoses before it went thru the wall an into the main line that fed various tanks
If thats an hrs worth of foam, I am impressed

[ 06-13-2001: Message edited by: Doug1 ]