DIY skimmer for a 180 gallon

[wanareef]

drdude05

You could make something like this w/dual Sedra's 9000 the tube is 10" dia , still have some of it left, used those Uniseals - PITA they are to use, gotta be superman with a big bottle of grease to get the PVC thru I made this for a friends 280gal, it'll handle up to 400gal.

Instead of the modded Sedra's you could use those new Italian pumps Scicie or something like that and eith have them recirculate from the sump in or recirlculate from the tube.

[aquariajunky]

Originally Posted by Fat Tony

no more than 30" IMO unless you want to go with a Beckett with a high wattage pressure rated pump. How big is your tank?

im going to be setting up a 180 with about 150 between the sump and fug

any efficent pvc designs? trying to get by on the cheaper side by not buying the acrylic pipe if possible but im willing to do what i have to do

[OneDummHikk]

You can try PVC but when you get above 6", the acrylic is cheaper to buy and build with. With ~330 gallons of system volume, a 6" body simply isn't going to do unless its super tall and when you go tall on it, you have to get a pressure rated pump and that negates any cost savings you get from building it 6". I do have a 6" design for PVC if you are interested in it.

[Fat Tony]

http://reefersaquariums.com/main.sc

also, try the above site for most of your material... you can get alot of the stuff you need for the skimmer already made. The size of your skimmer will depend on the bioload of your tank, not the total gallons of the system. If you only plan on having a few fish, then you will need a smaller skimmer. Personally, I would go with a 10" body with overall skimmer height in the 24" range. Use a bubble plate to extend the dwell period and use a Sicce or Eheim NW pump. With the body bing 10", shoot for around a 5" neck. Now, that skimmer would be for a tank that is HEAVILY stocked. With a Medium or lightly stocked tank, you can go with the dimensions of an 8" body or 6" body, while still using the same style pumps, about 30 scfm of air is about the max an 8" body will take without being inconsistant.

[OneDummHikk]

I hope that was a typo and you meant 30scfh as 30scfm would require a neck somewhere in the range of 48 inches in diameter. Now THAT would be a Hikk Skimmer

And, the body size isn't directly related to the neck size. What determines neck size is the amount of air you are putting into the skimmer. The range is - typically - 60-70 lph per sq in of neck area. There is an exception to that when you go to a wetneck which changes it drastically. It will turn it into a foam cannon if you have 60-70lph through a wetneck design. Although you can have a body too small for the amount of water you are pumping. Which goes back to a good pump selection.

A skimmer design starts by picking the pump and then building the skimmer to maximize the pumps attributes.

[Fat Tony]

indeed it was a typo randy

[aquariajunky]

i could get 10" pvc for a good price, cheaper then acrylic at the link above


would it be possible to run 2 skimmer out of 6 or 8in. and get the same end result?

i appreciate the knowledge guys, ive got farther from this post then out of any questions ever asked at other sites

[OneDummHikk]

aquariajunky, what pumps do you have that you could possibly use to build a skimmer? Or, would you have to buy a pump for a skimmer? Skimmer design starts with the pump instead of the other way around. How much air the pump pulls in dictates the neck diameter and how much water the pump is pumping dictates - sorta - the size of the body for the skimmer. In short, it all starts with the pump.

As for running two skimmers, you could possibly run two chambers where the first chamber got "fresh" water from the sump/tank, skimmed it, drained into the second chamber where it got "re-skimmed" and then drained back out. It wouldn't be nearly as energy efficient as a 10" or 12" body with a single pump. With dual chambers you have two recirc pumps instead of 1. Better to simply try to build a single chamber that does what you want. But, with a recirc design you can slow the feed water down but as the water gets cleaner, its harder and harder for the skimmer to build a decent foam head. So there is a limit to slowing down the feed rate and it increasing the productivity of the skimmer.

Out of curiosity, what can you get 10" PVC for?

[aquariajunky]

i would need a pump, which would u suggest?

and i will post back tomorrow on the prive of the pvc for a definite price

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by aquariajunky

i would need a pump, which would u suggest?

and i will post back tomorrow on the prive of the pvc for a definite price

I hate answering questions with "it depends" but the Sicce pumps make good skimmer pumps. A mod'ed Laguna pond pump makes a super duper skimmer pump (Its what the Red Dragon pumps are based on). The Red Dragon is the pump on a Bubble King skimmer. An Orca Reeflo Dart makes an incredible skimmer pump as well.

So, let me ask you this instead. How much do you want to spend on a pump (other than as little as possible). Be realistic and come up with a budget. Aside from the pump, a DIY Skimmer is almost free. Very very cheap to build.

[aquariajunky]

Originally Posted by OneDummHikk

I hate answering questions with "it depends" but the Sicce pumps make good skimmer pumps. A mod'ed Laguna pond pump makes a super duper skimmer pump (Its what the Red Dragon pumps are based on). The Red Dragon is the pump on a Bubble King skimmer. An Orca Reeflo Dart makes an incredible skimmer pump as well.

So, let me ask you this instead. How much do you want to spend on a pump (other than as little as possible). Be realistic and come up with a budget. Aside from the pump, a DIY Skimmer is almost free. Very very cheap to build.

id be willing to spending a 100 bucks or so on a pump, i just want it to be pretty simple to a certain extent, i see these skimmers that look like they took weeks to put together, not that i couldnt do it, just with my work schedule i dont have the time or patients

also my lead on the pvc hasnt got back to me but i did find 10" online for roughly 17 bucks a foot which ads up to a bit of nothing in the long run


im trying to do this "cheap" compaired to buying a skimmer with this load capacity plus educate myself at the same time

[wanareef]

To meet you price on pumps the Sedra 5000 or the 9000 with the mesh mod would rock, if your making that kind of skimmer or this Sicce w/NW for $109

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by aquariajunky

id be willing to spending a 100 bucks or so on a pump, i just want it to be pretty simple to a certain extent, i see these skimmers that look like they took weeks to put together, not that i couldnt do it, just with my work schedule i dont have the time or patients

im trying to do this "cheap" compaired to buying a skimmer with this load capacity plus educate myself at the same time

If you want a cheap pump that will do what you want to do, run a 6" or so body, and will stand up to abuse, look at the Mag 7 needlewheel pump. I have 3 mag pumps and they have been to hades and back from the abuse I have put them through and they are still pumping.

The cheaper (money wise) pump leaves you about 30-40 dollars extra savings on the pump that will pay for the parts to build the body.

As for the time to do it, it takes about 4 hours to put the entire body together if you have all the pieces and are using PVC. It glues quick. Once you get above 6" though, PVC becomes more expensive.

I will be gone next week (hospital) unless I can get an internet connection in there and they will allow my laptop. Decide on a pump. Whether its the mag7 or the Sedra 9000. Stay away from the Sicce. I have good reasons for it and will explain later but I have to get it in my head straight. Basically, its not as energy efficient or as cheap as some other pump choices.

Originally Posted by wanareef

To meet you price on pumps the Sedra 5000 or the 9000 with the mesh mod would rock, if your making that kind of skimmer or this Sicce w/NW for $109

Of those three the Sedra 9000 is the only one I would consider for a skimmer pump.

[aquariajunky]

Originally Posted by OneDummHikk

If you want a cheap pump that will do what you want to do, run a 6" or so body, and will stand up to abuse, look at the Mag 7 needlewheel pump. I have 3 mag pumps and they have been to hades and back from the abuse I have put them through and they are still pumping.

The cheaper (money wise) pump leaves you about 30-40 dollars extra savings on the pump that will pay for the parts to build the body.

As for the time to do it, it takes about 4 hours to put the entire body together if you have all the pieces and are using PVC. It glues quick. Once you get above 6" though, PVC becomes more expensive.

I will be gone next week (hospital) unless I can get an internet connection in there and they will allow my laptop. Decide on a pump. Whether its the mag7 or the Sedra 9000. Stay away from the Sicce. I have good reasons for it and will explain later but I have to get it in my head straight. Basically, its not as energy efficient or as cheap as some other pump choices.



Of those three the Sedra 9000 is the only one I would consider for a skimmer pump.

where are u gettting acrylic tube? the one price i got online for the 10" was over 100 for a 36in piece

and if i need to spend more to get a quality pump then thats what i need to do

[wanareef]

That's about the going price for acrylic these days. Is it cast or extruded? I wouldd suspect it's extruded for that price. The 10" that I got was $50 a foot @ 6'.

Cast is better, eaiser to work with, the extruded will gum up when over heated on the table saw.