72xmulch
New Member
Hi, im ernie. i joined the forum so i could buy one of the skimmers jon warner is selling. after we replaced the bunk impeller on warrantee, the thing works GREAT!! major kudos.. so he sent me a free sample of ecoBAK biopellet stuff with the skimmer. i dont have a reactor and at the moment im completely broke so i decided to make my own out of the skimmer i replaced.. it was "aquarium life support" brand, i found at the lfs. DO NOT BUY this brand of skimmer, pretty much total junk. Unless you want to make a reactor out of it:wink: im assuming this basic idea will work with just about any skimmer that is fed from the bottom..
first i cut the bottom off for access, and cut 3 inches off the top of the skimmer body so it will fit completely inside my sump with the lid on..
then i measured and cut to fit a funnel, assuming water flowing up through the funnel shape will help keep the media tumbling better than just a flat bottom..
glued plastic screen from walmart to top and bottom holes to keep media in
siliconed funnel from the bottom, and installed a ball valve with a barb fitting where the skimmers air intake used to be..
here it is finished. i found a fitting that fits snug over the body, and another fitting with the barbed elbow that went into that. the top parts are just SNUGGED into place with teflon so i can take it apart and clean it or change the design if need be.. i will test it in a few hours when the silicone is done curing..
pump goes through bottom, valve adjusts flow, water exits tube at top into skimmer chamber of sump.. hopefully this works, but im having fun with it so woopty doo if i have to rip it apart and start over..
first i cut the bottom off for access, and cut 3 inches off the top of the skimmer body so it will fit completely inside my sump with the lid on..
then i measured and cut to fit a funnel, assuming water flowing up through the funnel shape will help keep the media tumbling better than just a flat bottom..
glued plastic screen from walmart to top and bottom holes to keep media in
siliconed funnel from the bottom, and installed a ball valve with a barb fitting where the skimmers air intake used to be..
here it is finished. i found a fitting that fits snug over the body, and another fitting with the barbed elbow that went into that. the top parts are just SNUGGED into place with teflon so i can take it apart and clean it or change the design if need be.. i will test it in a few hours when the silicone is done curing..
pump goes through bottom, valve adjusts flow, water exits tube at top into skimmer chamber of sump.. hopefully this works, but im having fun with it so woopty doo if i have to rip it apart and start over..
