skimmers

[carlinsa]

any one need a good skimmer heres http://www.myreefcreations.com/pscommercial.htm

[NaCl_H2O]

WOW :o I like the picture of the MR-C8496s waiting to get into the handicapped restroom :P

[::pete::]

Yea, but look at the price!!! ... :D

[::pete::]

Very carefully ... good luck!!

[thedude]

I would hate to smell what those things pull out. I just cleaned my Euroreef on a 30 gallon and I almost gagged.

[carlinsa]

hey pete when you going to start building those. i want one when i do my tank?

[carlinsa]

the one guy i saw using one of them he is running a sequence 5800gph pump to run the skimmer

[::pete::]

They are no different including the white PVC instead of acrylic tube!

[carlinsa]

did you see they are making a 12 and 18'' diamiter skimmer too? going to have to put one on my 12 nano to make sure it stays clean:)

[matt]

I was going to say they look a lot like Pete's skimmers. To be honest, I think the price is very low IF they're using good quality cast tube and plate. In August I'm building one something like these only 10" tube (I think these are 8") and cast acrylic injector tubes.

[::pete::]

Matt
Do you think that the 2" (?) tube is better than the 1" PVC ... just a thought. I have tweaked mine a little more and I am getting even better results than before!!

[matt]

I don't know; the internal plumbing on mine is 1" PVC, so the water ends up going through that anyways. I do like the idea of a good acrylic to acrylic joint where the injector tubes meet the box; no worries with any sort of leaking or breakage, and I like being able to see inside the injector tubes. With mine at this point, the only non-acrylic joint that could present a leakage point is the big PVC drain fitting. Whether the acrylic injector tubes work any better is anyone's guess, but they definitely cost more! I just like the way it looks and the symmetry of cast tube foam tube-cast tube injector tubes. A theoretical case could be made for the fact that the increased diameter of the injector tube allows for the air-water mix to expand as it comes out of the beckett, then put a certain consistant pressure on the flow through the narrower PVC inside the skimmer box. But, in practice, I wouldn't know how to measure that.

I suppose you're using bulkheads to attach the PVC injector tubes to the box, right?

[::pete::]

Yes on the bulkheads! So there is no solvent joint to worry about and the tube (PVC) can come off for cleaning.

When you return I have a couple more ideas to throw at you that I am sure will increase the preformance. This however will have to be hidden in the black box :skeezy so it can not be copied!!! :lol

Right now my "foam" is as thick as the frothy top to a cappuccino (if done correctly) and the results are "espresso" .... ;)

Thanks

[::pete::]

Its not necessairly an increase as the increase would come from the air adjustment and pump. An increase in ID and then a reduction at the internal pvc parts is what I beleive Matt was saying.

You want the smallest amount of air for finer bubbles anyway.

[::pete::]

After the bubbles get pushed through and start calming and rising is when they catch the most crud if any before that so I dont think that would really make a difference. The calmer the water the better the protiens can attach.

[matt]

Yes on the bulkheads! So there is no solvent joint to worry about and the tube (PVC) can come off for cleaning.

When you return I have a couple more ideas to throw at you that I am sure will increase the preformance. This however will have to be hidden in the black box :skeezy so it can not be copied!!! :lol

Right now my "foam" is as thick as the frothy top to a cappuccino (if done correctly) and the results are "espresso" .... ;)

Thanks

I don't worry about the solvent joints; I think they're pretty much as strong as the acrylic if done well. I would be more worried about bulkheads under that much pressure, especially if the threaded part is inside the box.

I'm really looking forward to getting your ideas; we'll have lots of time to hang out in a few weeks!

[matt]

How much air/water mixture increase do you think you get out of the 2" injector tube? That seems like it would be an advantage of sorts, but not sure how much difference it makes.

My thought is that there's plenty of room immediately after the beckett, where the air is introduced into the water, for the air/water mix (which has more volume than just the water) to expand without putting any back pressure on the beckett and slow the flow through it. If you have 1" in, solid water, then you inject air into it, it makes sense that you would want a larger diameter at the exit point of the beckett to handle the increased volume of the air/water. Otherwise you have, at least in theory, a bit of a bottleneck. Plus, there's a much higher friction factor with foam than with water; the extra diameter allows for easier flow with less friction.

Again, I don't know how much of this matters in the performance of the skimmer. I just like the cast acrylic tubes. I've thought about putting a flange on the bottom and attaching them to the box with nylon screws, but I like the security of a solid joint as that's a high pressure area. And, cleaning the injector tubes is easy with a brush on a wire, and those tubes don't get too dirty anyway.