DIY Protein Skimmer

[NautiTang]

I've been thinking about making a skimmer for my eventual tank build, but have not found many diy skimmers for large tanks except for the airstone method ones, this was a while back though.

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[PTXReef]

Never looked into making one haha.

Welcome to R2R and Happy Reefing!

 

[G Santana]

I made this 20 plus years ago using a venturi valve. Worked really well.
A friend of mine made his out of PVC and worked equally as well.

 

[Weasel1960]

I made this 20 plus years ago using a venturi valve. Worked really well.
A friend of mine made his out of PVC and worked equally as well.

Looks great willing to share plans and materials?

 

[River Lotus]

Looks great willing to share plans and materials?

That would be awesome. Any idea where I can get the clear acrylic cylinder?

I have an older skimmer, but I want to add some hight to it.

 

[ScubaFish802]

 

[Weasel1960]

I made one decades ago out of 4" PVC pipe with two air driven limewood diffusers. It was around two feet tall. Worked great.

I saw a You Tube video that said to use some sort of wood air diffuser, you used limewood. Why use a wood diffuser over an air stone with fine bubbles?

 

[River Lotus]

I saw a You Tube video that said to use some sort of wood air diffuser, you used limewood. Why use a wood diffuser over an air stone with fine bubbles?

I picked up a DC skimmer pump that I'm going to use. The variable speed should be a really nice feature

 

[G Santana]

I’ve never made a protein skimmer but Welcome to R2R!!!

I made this one over 20 yrs ago. I have a plastic manufacturer not far from me. I gave them the dimensions and they cut the plastic. I glued it together (easy gluing acrylic) and cut the hole for the intake and return with a hole saw. I glued those with epoxy and then I bought a venturi valve (I bought one recently for $15)
That's it. I remember saying that I was not going to pay hundreds for a chunk of plastic and it worked well for many years.
I would stay away from limewood airstones, they don't last long before become mush.

 

[G Santana]

Looks great willing to share plans and materials?

I went to a local plastic manufacturer and ask for a 3 foot long tube × 6 inches to be cut for me, the body is 28" and the collection cup is 6". The neck that connects the two is 7" tall x 3" wide.
In addition they cut two 6" circles with a 3" hole for the tube to connect the top and bottom. The last two things were a 6" lid
and a base 8x8".
I cut the holes for the intake and return with a hole saw and epoxied the fittings.
I purchased the venturi valve for $15 online. I glued everything with acrylic solvent, very easy to do.
This ran my 135 gallon for 8 years and is still serviceable.

I hope this helps. I saved a ton of money and so can you. You can modify to suit your needs.

I hope this helped!!!

 

[ShepherdReefer]

I would like to know who has made protein skimmers at home.

Welcome, I have...well tried to make a protein skimmer...did not work as plan.

 

[Weasel1960]

I went to a local plastic manufacturer and ask for a 3 foot long tube × 6 inches to be cut for me, the body is 28" and the collection cup is 6". The neck that connects the two is 7" tall x 3" wide.
In addition they cut two 6" circles with a 3" hole for the tube to connect the top and bottom. The last two things were a 6" lid
and a base 8x8".
I cut the holes for the intake and return with a hole saw and epoxied the fittings.
I purchased the venturi valve for $15 online. I glued everything with acrylic solvent, very easy to do.
This ran my 135 gallon for 8 years and is still serviceable.

I hope this helps. I saved a ton of money and so can you. You can modify to suit your needs.

I hope this helped!!!

Thanks for the technical info, looks great. Is there anything that says it has to be clear? I know it’s preferred so you can see the bubbles and make adjustments, and see the level in the skim cup.

 

[G Santana]

Thanks for the technical info, looks great. Is there anything that says it has to be clear? I know it’s preferred so you can see the bubbles and make adjustments, and see the level in the skim cup.

No, my buddy made one from PVC and no you couldn't see in the body but he made the neck out of clear pvc and it worked fine

 

[jrill]

I saw a You Tube video that said to use some sort of wood air diffuser, you used limewood. Why use a wood diffuser over an air stone with fine bubbles?

The limewood diffuser puts out a much finer bubble

 

[blasterman]

A juice jug, or any plastic jug with a 2" or so throat and common wood airstones work amazingly well with caveats.

You can't use a common 2litre soda bottle because the throat is too narrow. A juice jug with a hole cut in the bottom to insert airstone works good because of the larger throat.

You dont need a collection cup. Just epoxy a right angle pvc coupling to the top.

The tricky part is water level. Skimmers need a constant water level to work right. Your DIY skimmer needs a chamber over flow in a sump typically to do this. You can use a set of spare algae magents with one inserted inside the skimmer to make mini level adjustments and keep it stationary.

 

[KingTideCorals]

Welcome to the forum, I myself have not gotten into that DIY stuff.. I am sure the KING of DIY on YouTube may have a good link for you?

Good luck in your ventures!