Protein Skimmer Mod

[squiddly]

Sean gave my DIY'er husband the idea to take an ordinary Coralife skimmer and turn it into this foam filled monster:

 

 

This thing seems to totally kick serious bubbles, including blasting a small mound of icky stuff right through a tiny opening in the top cap and leaving it in a small pile like a volcano.

 

Wes says that this is how he did it:

 

Drill holes opposite the return big enough to insert 3/4 inch threaded pipe to a 1 inch barb on top, and 3/4 inch pipe to a 3/4 inch elbow with 1/2 inch on the top part of it, on the bottom of the skimmer. Into the elbow went a threaded connector for a 1/4 inch airline tubing that goes to an air pump that injects air into the system. The bottom part of the elbow went onto 3/4 inch adapter to 1 inch barb with a tube to the pump.

 

So far, this thing has worked amazingly well. We shall have to see how things go from here.

[Jager]

few things, one, i can hear the corallife skimmers screaming in fear now that there is a reliable way to diy it. those things are incredibly finicky .

 

try the mesh wheel or gutter guard on that pump. youll notice less overall flow, but a heck of alot finer bubble and alot more air introduced if you add a venturi inline to the pump.

 

2. maybe take a page from the downfraft/beckett guys who are dealing with the high air pressure. my skimmer if the cup top is off tries to coat my tant and walls with foam. cap the hole, and drill and tap the cup for a drain line to an external waste collection cup. the air pressure will actually force the skim rate down into the collection container and allows the foam head to build eaiser.

 

 

congrats on the DIY it certainly looks like it would skim alot :P

[squiddly]

few things, one, i can hear the corallife skimmers screaming in fear now that there is a reliable way to diy it. those things are incredibly finicky .

 

try the mesh wheel or gutter guard on that pump. youll notice less overall flow, but a heck of alot finer bubble and alot more air introduced if you add a venturi inline to the pump.

 

2. maybe take a page from the downfraft/beckett guys who are dealing with the high air pressure. my skimmer if the cup top is off tries to coat my tant and walls with foam. cap the hole, and drill and tap the cup for a drain line to an external waste collection cup. the air pressure will actually force the skim rate down into the collection container and allows the foam head to build eaiser.

congrats on the DIY it certainly looks like it would skim alot :P

 

Wow. Cool ideas! I know that they did something to the impeller, and the wheels are very fine as it is, but yeah, I do need to do something about the high pressure. There is a drain line, but we can always improve it. I'll run these past the hubby and see what he's going to do.