dudedudedude
Member
Sorry I would have pictures of my skimmer prototype but my camera is broken. I have a pump right now attached to a 6 inch diameter acrylic tubing with a sealed bottom and gate valve output with a 5 inch diameter enclosed tubing diverting the flow up like the ATI 150/160 does. The skimmer is in 6 inches of water, the pump output is about 3.5 inches off the bottom, and from the bottom of the pump output to the top of the water line is 12 inches. The pump is pulling around 900 liters at this state, but with a different configuration could probably get up to 1100 L/h with the same amount of head pressure. I want to make a second prototype skimmer that is more like what the final skimmer will be to see how the performance is and if there is any changes that have to be made. I really appreciate advise from the seasoned skimmer builders in regards to my ideas for the final skimmer that I can put into the prototype.
My idea is to have a skimmer similar to the larger Bubble Masters or Bubble King Minis using 8 inch acrylic but am unsure what I should do in the following areas.
1. Will I have a problem with dwell time or turbulence at the side of the bubble plate by putting a 6 inch diameter bubble plate into a 8 inch diameter skimmer body. Should I go ahead and use the 5 inch diameter that Bubble king appears to use in the BK200? Would there be greater efficiency with the larger bubble plate diameter, ie less decrease in air pull?
2. Which of the following bubble plate designs allows for more efficient skimming, ie what balances turbulence reduction with decrease in air output from having a bubble plate better, the tangential injection into a narrower bubble plate as in BM200 and BM250 Skimmers, or just straight injection into the bubble plate like in Bubble King skimmers.
3. I am going to design this skimmer with a flange on the main body above the diffuser plate section and another flange between the riser cone and main chamber similar to the Volcano Skimmers that Spazz makes so that I can increase the height of the skimmer with an additional segment and a more powerful pump with future tank upgrades. I am going to have about 80-90 gallons with some corals but a heavy fish stock. I know that in some people’s opinion the distance from the bubble plate to the riser cone in bubble master skimmers is not great enough. For the size tank that I am initially going to begin to use this skimmer with what distance from the bubble plate to the water line would be adequate? It appears that the BK mini’s and BM150/BM160 have less than 10 inches.
4. Should I go with a 4 inch, like the ATI BM160/BM20, or 5 inch neck, like the BK200 mini, on the skimmer given the expected tank size and bioload? I know that some people with these high air output type skimmers initially skim like crazy but once the skimmer catches up to the tank they hardly skim and comment that the neck should have been smaller.
Again, any input on these points would be much appreciated and would hope could also help others trying to make smaller size bubble plate skimmers
Regards,
Sean
My idea is to have a skimmer similar to the larger Bubble Masters or Bubble King Minis using 8 inch acrylic but am unsure what I should do in the following areas.
1. Will I have a problem with dwell time or turbulence at the side of the bubble plate by putting a 6 inch diameter bubble plate into a 8 inch diameter skimmer body. Should I go ahead and use the 5 inch diameter that Bubble king appears to use in the BK200? Would there be greater efficiency with the larger bubble plate diameter, ie less decrease in air pull?
2. Which of the following bubble plate designs allows for more efficient skimming, ie what balances turbulence reduction with decrease in air output from having a bubble plate better, the tangential injection into a narrower bubble plate as in BM200 and BM250 Skimmers, or just straight injection into the bubble plate like in Bubble King skimmers.
3. I am going to design this skimmer with a flange on the main body above the diffuser plate section and another flange between the riser cone and main chamber similar to the Volcano Skimmers that Spazz makes so that I can increase the height of the skimmer with an additional segment and a more powerful pump with future tank upgrades. I am going to have about 80-90 gallons with some corals but a heavy fish stock. I know that in some people’s opinion the distance from the bubble plate to the riser cone in bubble master skimmers is not great enough. For the size tank that I am initially going to begin to use this skimmer with what distance from the bubble plate to the water line would be adequate? It appears that the BK mini’s and BM150/BM160 have less than 10 inches.
4. Should I go with a 4 inch, like the ATI BM160/BM20, or 5 inch neck, like the BK200 mini, on the skimmer given the expected tank size and bioload? I know that some people with these high air output type skimmers initially skim like crazy but once the skimmer catches up to the tank they hardly skim and comment that the neck should have been smaller.
Again, any input on these points would be much appreciated and would hope could also help others trying to make smaller size bubble plate skimmers
Regards,
Sean
