Beckett injector protein skimmer

[kgeorge]

Hey guys, new to Reef Central. I've been in the game for a little over a year. I'm updateing my system and getting serious with it. I've been working on a DIY protein skimmer and I ordered a beckett style injector housing for it. I have put a Mag 9.5 pump on it. When I plugged it in, the bubbles were large. I'm not sure what is wrong. I've looked the net over for answers but still can't seem to fix the problem since there isn't tons of stuff on the net about the injectors. I need some help!!!! Any ideas????

 

[tgunn]

There are two things I can see happening here:
1) You're putting too much air into the injector
2) You're not putting enough air into the injector

Sounds funny, but I'll explain.

How is the little valve on the injector housing set? Is it wide open or somewhat closed? If it's wide open you're probably feeding too much air to the injector. What'll happen then is that the turbulence in the reaction chamber will be so great that the small bubbles will collide and form large bubbles.

Too little air.. Well, if the injector air valve is too closed, that'll cause the problem.

The other problem could be if the pump you're using isn't big enough. I started out trying to Tee off my return pump and feed my beckett skimmer but I ended up with large bubbles and a not very dense mix of air/water in the reaction chamber. I swapped out that pump for a PCX-70 and the skimmer worked like a champ. This was a huge skimmer, so in your case a PCX-40 or some other similar pump would be sufficient I imagine (best to let someone else chime in on the pump sizing to be sure)..

I'd fiddle with the injector air feed valve first though. Also try taking the injector apart and cleaning it. Junk caught up in the injector can easily make it underperform.

Hope that helps,
Tyler

 

[kgeorge]

Thanks for the quick response. It seems that whether it is full open, half way open, or closed the bubbles are all large. I even hooked my mag 36 to it and just more flow, same large bubbles. I don't know what to think.

 

[tgunn]

Are you testing this on your tank or is this just a freshwater test? I know freshwaterr doesn't bubble properly....

The skimmer may just need to break in then. I know mine took a litlte while to start producing bubbles properly.

Does the water in the reaction chamber look white and milky? Or it is more on the watery side? Just trying tto see if you're getting enough air.

 

[alpine]

Kgeorge
To be honest,I think your design is flawed.Not trying to be rude,just honest.
Ok,to start you might need to raise the injector height,also try to make the least bends in the injector plumbing.in other words get rid of the 2-45 bends.Also to be able to adjust your skimmer properly your going to need a gate valve and not a ball valve.You also dont need to point your outlet up the way you have it.I also see that you have a tee fitting on the left bottom of the pic,looks like a intake fitting you made for the input.Not sure if thats what it is,but I would just let the water flow directly into the intake of the pump.

As far as what I said about design flaw,what is the the white thing at the bottom of the round tube?You are adding a lot of restrictions on this skimmer,and your tube in the collection cup looks to be about 2" tube?

My old beckett skimmer(modified ETSS 800)used a mag18,so you might be underpowering it with the mag 9.5,and overpowering with the mag36.

You could just eliminate the beckett altogether and use a recirc needlewheel pump.Just a thought.Unlike other skimmers,beckett skimmers need to be designed right to work well.

Like I said before,dont take any offense to what I said,just trying to help you out and point you in the right direction.

Jorge

 

[miwoodar]

alpine might be right but I would try testing it in saltwater before making any drastic changes. The bubble production in salt water will be totally different.

BTW - it looks nice though!

 

[kgeorge]

Ok, thanks everyone for their input, this is what I need. I was testing with freshwater and it was on the watery side. Alpine I see what you're saying about the bends and such. The round thing is a type of drain for a shower. I wasn't sure how else to get the two to stay together. And don't be afraid to hurt my feelings by any means. I need help and any help is appreciated. Tell me how to fix it...... LOL that goes for anyone else. Talk to me!

 

[tgunn]

First things first, I'd give it a shot with saltwater. You're going to get totally different results with saltwater. I originally ran my beckett with freshwater to test and though it was broken.

I think vinegar in the water can help make the freshwater test more "realistic", but I'm not 100% sure.

 

[jeffgp]

yes the vinegar test is a good one if you can use saltwater

 

[alpine]

Kgeorge

I thought you were testing with saltwater,lol.Yeah you definately need to test with saltwater,and try to put a few cups of your tank water in tge testing bin.

Also are you useing aquariums for the bottom and your collection cup?They look exactly like my little 1-2 gallon that I have.You could just glue the pieces together.Cant really see how its put together.Any chance we can get a closer pic of the skimmer?Preferably where the tube connects on the top and bottom.You want to try and provide the least amount of resistance for the bubbles to rise.If not they start combineing into larger bubbles.

 

[kgeorge]

Yes, I had two of the 2 gallon hex aquariums laying around and thought i'd use them. The top of the tube uses the lid that came with it with a 1'' bulkhead and a small plastic riser on the outside of the bulkhead threads. I understand about the resistance, what do you suppose I do?? Anyway, Here are close up pics to let everyone see.

 

[kgeorge]

New update guys, followed through on the fresh vs. saltwater..... I used water from the tank and it worked incredible! I thought I could put it in fresh water and at least see if it was breaking up bubbles... I was scared to death and thought it was a complete failure. Anyway, with saltwater it runs like a dream. Now I'll do some more mods and get it right. Go ahead and continue to tell me what I need to do to it though....... I really appreciate it guys! Oh and should I do the mod with the size of the holes on the beckett???

 

[kgeorge]

Anyone?

 

[miwoodar]

Test it and see how it works. Who knows - it could work great as-is.

 

[davandwilk]

Alpine has very good points on his criticism. I built a DIY beckett skimmer. Modled it after the AcquaC 400 with a single becekett. I originally bought a iwaki 30 not pressure rated and it worked ok. Then I read about needle wheel pumps being more energy efficient so I bought one and it was worse then the beckett with the none pressure rated pump. Then I bought a iwaki 55 pressure rated. And I have to say a pressure rated pump made a crazy difference in the beckett skimmer. I have a 8”x3’ riser tube and it fills the entire tube with air looks like milk, I cant even tell there is water in the tube. Were the other 2 pumps filled the tube but it was more like mixing half water half milk and I had to raised the water level. I just added a second beckett on the same pump and its even better. I did the beckett mod as well.

 

[alpine]

I would let it sit for a few days or more and let it break in.I have to say that is some creative diy.I just notice that your useing a jug of sorts for the tube.If you wanted to get rid of the bulkhead you could cut the bottom of the jug and glue it to the bottom tank.I would leave the top part of the jug alone so that you can still take the cup off for cleaning.Whats the diameter of the riser tube(the tube in the collection cup)?

Like Mike said I would leave it as is for now and see how it performs when it breaks in.That way you will have a better idea to what needs to be tweaked for better performance.

 

[kgeorge]

The diameter is about an inch and a half. It slides onto the outside threads of the bulkhead. The jug is a rubbermaid one that I got from Wal-mart. The top part will screw off and the bulkhead is in the lid so i can use it as my riser with the tube attached. The bottom is the tough part to figure. I would like to get rid of the shower drain fitting but i'm not sure what to glue in on with to make sure it is strong and will stay.

 

[alpine]

The riser is way to small and with all the restrictions before it,you might not get what your expecting from it.I would try for at least a 2" riser depending on how much air your injecting into the skimmer.If you would like you can check out Randystace's website,he has some nice simple skimmer designs,that can be put together for low cost.Heres a link to his website.

http://www.randystacye.com/

I am gathering materials to build a large recirculating version of his skimmer.

 

[kgeorge]

Ok, I will look at them and see what I can bring into mine. I will try to get the riser larger and work on that part for now. Thanks alpine.

 

[alpine]

So hows the skimmer working?Should be broke in by now,or at least getting there.Let me know hows it going ok.