Help with DIY Skimmer

sundog101 · Jun 4, 2016

I'm working on a diy skimmer and have everything but the pump. It's the same as the primo reef acrylics only with Pvc. The pipe is 3 inch and the whole thing is about 1 1/2 ft tall.

This is what it's modeled after.

I'm not sure what pump I need to use. I've seen some that use pumps with an airstone and some that use the normal venturi style. What do you think would be better?

Also what's your opinion on flow rate? I've read that some people use really low flow to maximize contact time.

Thanks for the help!

kateater · Jun 4, 2016

How big is your drain pipe? If you oversize it and add a gate valve it will give you more room for error. I would say a needle wheel pump around 250-350gph.

AlexG · Jun 5, 2016

I would use a needle wheel pump as kateater suggested. By adding more control to the outflow water of the skimmer the water level can be adjusted to accommodate the pump. The water level around the skimmer can also have an effect on the skimmers performance in some cases so skimmer placement will also affect how the skimmer pump is working. Just like any DIY project I would be prepared to experiment.

bigdiscus513 · Jun 5, 2016

Why diy just buy a old skimmer

sundog101 · Jun 5, 2016

kateater said:
How big is your drain pipe? If you oversize it and add a gate valve it will give you more room for error. I would say a needle wheel pump around 250-350gph.

Drain pipe is 3/4 inch. I have a ball valve to control the flow.

bigdiscus513 said:
Why diy just buy a old skimmer

I can't find a skimmer that I like and will fit where I need it to. Plus it's cool

Pepcrylic · Jun 6, 2016

Gate valve will give much better control for water out. Ball valves are very difficult to adjust in small amounts

sundog101 · Jun 17, 2016

I had another question about the skimmer. I have an extra mj 1200. Can I buy a venturi adaptor and pinwheel for that pump or should I look into a skimmer specific pump such as the bubble magnus. Those just seem really expensive compared to a normal pump.

kateater · Jun 17, 2016

sundog101 said:
Drain pipe is 3/4 inch. I have a ball valve to control the flow.

I can't find a skimmer that I like and will fit where I need it to. Plus it's cool

3/4" drain seems too small and your going to want to spend a little extra on the gate valve.

gar732 · Jun 17, 2016

I've made a couple diy come skimmers before and while I love to diy stuff it's almost not worth it in the end after you add up all your costs, but I understand where you are coming from. That mj1200 isn't going to cut it and with the design you have going so far I would go with a Venturi skimmer like a life reef. Honestly rather than trying to reinvent the wheel I would just do a life reef clone, it will probably give you better results in the end. When I built mine there was a bit of trial and error as far as matching up a pump and Venturi and pin wheel (I used a psk2500 back then) and in the end I just bought a skimmer. I wish I had just made a clone of a skimmer I liked, I'd probably still be using it. Also there is another weld-on produce that works better for bonding pvc to acrylic, the number escapes me at the moment but avast sells it. I've used it numerous times and it works great. Good luck, I look forward to seeing where you take this.

sundog101 · Jun 17, 2016

I did some research on the life reef skimmers. So do they use the Venturi on the output with no pinwheel impeller?

I thought that the venturi output designs were inefficient and required a huge pump (just what I've heard).

One more question. Would the mj 1200 just not be able to produce enough bubbles?

Also kateater I'll get that gate valve and see about increasing the drain size.

AlexG · Jun 17, 2016

sundog101 said:
I did some research on the life reef skimmers. So do they use the Venturi on the output with no pinwheel impeller?

I thought that the venturi output designs were inefficient and required a huge pump (just what I've heard).

One more question. Would the mj 1200 just not be able to produce enough bubbles?

Also kateater I'll get that gate valve and see about increasing the drain size.

If you are referring to a maxi jet 1200 I don't think it will be enough but you can always try it first before buying another pump. The problem with the maxi jet is that it cannot handle head pressure. As I said before experimenting is part of diy. I would in increase the output of the skimmer to 1-1.5 inch gate valve.

sundog101 · Jun 30, 2016

Another question about the skimmer. I switched it to air driven counter current. The problem is that it overflows. Here's a photo.

With just the straight pipe and the gate valve it works, but with those elbows on the end it overflows. I'm assuming the the elbows are creating too much pressure. Would increasing the drain pipe size or the height fix the problem?

sundog101 · Jun 30, 2016

Well I found the problem. It's not the elbows, it's the gate valve. The inlet in the valve isn't big enough to handle to flow rate. I guess that shows my plumbing experience haha