skimmer photo

[matt]

Here's the skimmer. Thanks to Chris for the photo.

[matt]

Not to be a ninny, but that's light reflecting off the tube/skimmer base joint; the joint turned out bubble free. (Sorry, I worked hard on it :-D )

[z28pwr]

That looks great Matt. For how many gallons is it rated and how much did it cost to build it?

[robertpower3]

I wish I could try that skimmer on my tank. Looks like a monster. great job

[matt]

The materials for the skimmer cost around $200, but there are a few other costs on stuff I'll use again, like weldon #40 ($16 for 4 ounces) micromesh sheets for polishing($30), etc. It took several hours to build; I didn't count, but its a fairly involved job. As far as the "rating" I'm pretty sure most skimmer manufacturers just pull a number out of a hat, based on what they think people with a given tank size are likely to spend. I know that sounds a little cynical, but if I'm not mistaken, a berlin skimmer is "rated" to something like 300 gallons, while an aquaC EV 120 is rated to around 120 gallons, or something like that. Now, we all know that a berlin can't be called twice as powerful as the EV by any stretch of the imagination.

I guess the most accurate way of describing this skimmer's capacity is to say that it processes about 750 gph, or about 8 times my old urchin skimmer. It's foam tube volume is about 5 times that of the EV120, maybe a bit more. This means way more foam is produced and the contact time is several times greater. When I tested it, I found that there's a cool swirling effect in which the foam and lighter stuff is carried up and out, and the heavier clear water drains down. I noticed a piece of something caught in the foam swirling around the tube for several minutes before it finally came out the drain. I'm going to use it on my 100 gallon, where I suspect it will basically idle away until feeding. I'm going to run it 24/7 for awhile and incease my feeding, in an attempt to more closely mimic natural systems; more nutrient import, quicker export.

BTW, I just bought some materials for another skimmer, quite a bit larger; like 36" tall. (Mine's 25") With the right pump, that skimmer could efficiently skim a very large tank.

Matt

[matt]

No, but Ron Shimek did a study on metal export and found that aggressive skimming was a pretty efficient way of removing toxic metals that tend to bind with organic molecules. Besides, you have some extra boxes of bio-assay, don't you? As for bacteria, all I might have to do is sneeze occasionally in my tank :lol:

[z28pwr]

I'll need a good skimmer for my 375 since I'm sure my Berlin won't cut it :-D