A few Geoff Skimmer Questions

[WilyGuy]

SO I have looked at the plans and compared them to others I have seen.

Some questions have coming bubbling to the top

1. How Expensive is this thing in the end? Maybe a rough total of the parts from the hardware store? Want to know before I try to sell it to the wife.

2. My tank is not drilled, does it have to be? Being a HOB noob here, I want to remove the Prizm and put this in its place. How is surface skimming achieved?

Can't believe I started out trying to do surface skimming with my Prizm and now staring at a plumbers nightmare/fantasy...

Thanks,
WG

[Geoff]

the two most expensive parts on the skimmer are the venturi valve, $17 and the pump $40. the actual plumbing parts will come up to around $40 also. generally it less than $100. this is for the version on the website. the easy version is more expensive since it uses regular couplers instead of couplers build by you.

a cheaper option is to use a MJ 1200 to supply the aerated water. this solves many problems. mainly getting the water into the skimmer from the tank. if the tank is not drilled than you would place the MJ in the tank and the skimmer outsied the tank. using this method the skimmer can be as tall as you want. the cost does not change in regards to height. you can make a floor stander. making it HOB is possible, just a little tricky. is there a shelf back behind the tank?

G~

[Vader]

Geoff you can run this with just a maxijet 1200?

[Geoff]

Originally Posted by Vader

Geoff you can run this with just a maxijet 1200?

you can run this with just an airstone and gravity if you wanted to. 300gph is about the same amount of water as a Mag5 through a true venturi valve. i have not tried it, but i do not see any reason why it would not work as a pump for a HOB version.

G~

[Vader]

When I set up my 55 I will try the maxijet 1200 first if it works I'll need to by another 1200 for flow if not then I'll buy the mag 5.

[WilyGuy]

Very nice to hear from the designer himself. How would the water be returned? Gravity? or do you still have the pump? Sorry the questions seemed disimilar when asked, but your answer seems to run them together. So the answer is $100 or less for the first question. Then instead of drilling the tank, a less expensive option is MJ1200? And I don't need the venturi? What about the pump?

I am a picture guy when it comes to this stuff, cause I haven't built it I can't envision it.

WG

Originally Posted by Geoff

the two most expensive parts on the skimmer are the venturi valve, $17 and the pump $40. the actual plumbing parts will come up to around $40 also. generally it less than $100. this is for the version on the website. the easy version is more expensive since it uses regular couplers instead of couplers build by you.

a cheaper option is to use a MJ 1200 to supply the aerated water. this solves many problems. mainly getting the water into the skimmer from the tank. if the tank is not drilled than you would place the MJ in the tank and the skimmer outsied the tank. using this method the skimmer can be as tall as you want. the cost does not change in regards to height. you can make a floor stander. making it HOB is possible, just a little tricky. is there a shelf back behind the tank?

G~

[Geoff]

a gravity fed skimmer would need a sump. the overflow would go directly into the skimmer. the skimmer would then drain into the sump. then you would use a return pump to get the water back into the tank. there are some design changes you would need to do if you wanted to go this route, but i will wait for you to ask those if you are planning on going that route.

the MJ1200 is the pump and venturi. you would place the MJ in the tank and pump the water into the skimmer. the skimmer would then drain back into the tank via gravity. to make this HOB. the inlet will hang directly on the lip of the tank. the outlet will go up and then elbow back into the tank at the same height as the inlet. so the entire weight of the skimmer is resting on the inlet and outlet tubes. the other option is to make it so tall that it sits on the floor.

G~

[impur]

Hey Geoff, i've been eyeing this skimmer for sometime. Looks easy to build and very effective. Have you tried to incorporate a needlewheel into the pump? Should chop up the bubbles even better. I just got done making one after my Rio needlewheel stopped working. I used a MJ1200 and a bioball.



Here it is right after plugging it in:

[Geoff]

i am not sold on needlewheel skimmers yet. i may try them at some point, but i find PH not the most reliable pieces of equipment. i prefer pressure gradient devices, (eductor, beckett, and venturi) and air stone skimmers.

G~