DIY Skimmer question (Geoff`s design)

[thebutler4]

I am thinking of building Geoff`s skimmer ... the question I have is what size tank is that skimmer for? ... I have a 140 gallon tank .. should I make the skimmer taller for more reaction time? ... and if so how much taller should I make it?

Thanks!

[Geoff]

as shown it was run on a 125g tank. there was very little extra volume. it did fine. i found it ran best with either a Mag 9 on a 3/4" venturi or a Velocity T1/T3 with that same sized venturi.

i will be building a 6" version of the skimmer very soon for the rebuild. i plan on documenting it and using it along with the other two versions for a group DIY project. this 6" version would surely handle a 140g tank. i am also toying with making it an eductor driven skimmer. prolly be to loud for most applications, but would like to see the results.

instead of going taller it makes more sense to go wider. going wider is a significant price increase though. it looks like it would add another $50 to the cost of the skimmer normally. going taller does work, but most people are not able to put a 4' skimmer next to their tank.

G~

[thebutler4]

hiding the skimmer would not be an issue ... I can plumb it threw the wall into the laundry room as long as the skimmer dose not leak ... the skimmer would be about 8 or so feet from the tank though ... would this case any issues? ...

I was thinking of increasing the height of your skimmer plan to ~4 or 5 feet tall ... and powering it with a mag 9 (I may have to go with a larger pump) would this be an over kill????

[Geoff]

that should work. the problem will be getting the water out of the skimmer and into the sump quickly enough to keep the skimmer efficient. you may need to put a 2" outlet on the skimmer. the back pressure of the plumbing can be a bear in this case.

G~

[thebutler4]

I will have to give it a try ... I figured as long as the return to the sump was lower than the skimmer I Would hot have a issue ... dident think about back pressure ....

Back to the drawing board ...

[Geoff]

the taller the skimmer the more the pressure in the skimmer will help to push the water back to the sump.

when running a really tall skimmer, you must take into account the volume of water contained in the skimmer when running when calculating if the sump can handle such a skimmer. you do not want the sump overflowing when the power goes out.

G~

[thebutler4]

I see what you are saying ....

good point .. I didnt Evan think about that ....

I guess I will need to get a 55 gallon sump sooner than expected ....

Here is a question ... I cant move my washer/dryer out of that room as of yet .. however .. beyond that there is a empty room that I can put my sump in ... its ~12 feet away from the tank ... this room is going to be my "hobby" room ... do you see any problems with me moving the sump into that room being so far away? ... the closet in there would house a 55 gallon + easley .. and it would be MUCH quieter ....

[Geoff]

ok, here is an idea. make the base of the skimmer into a sump of sorts. this is basically what the big name skimmers with the box bottom does. this box bottom a 12" box would be plenty big enough for this. it will also give the skimmer a good base to stand on. the base of the skimmer design would need to be a bit different, but nothing to bad. that way the base water level will not be a problem. it will also keep the bubbles even more in check.

the biggest problem i can see with this is maintenance. in order for you to take the skimmer way you would need to do a double union somewhere to keep the water at bay. this can be quite expensive if you are using 2" fittings.

prolly the best thing to do is raise the skimmer up above the water level in the sump. that way if you needed to work on the skimmer just turning it off would drain it completely for easy removal.

hopefully all of that just made sense.

G~