Cheap and simple PVC Beckett Housing. LOTS of pics.

[MarkS]

Interesting Concept!

Interesting Concept!

What I did here was remove the telescoping tube and sanded down the base so it fits in a 1 1/4" PVC male adaptor. It cut the length down by almost half and looks cleaner. It does tank a LOT of sanding though!

 

[Black71gp]

that is what i twas thinking of trying.. my questiong is though... is it ok to have the whole base of the beckket in water and not have a seperate chamber for the air... could you cut the telescoping tube so that it does not extend pass the bottom of the beckett head and then use 1.25 tubing for the rest of the way.. this is how i was thinking of doing it.. unsing 1.25 instead of 1 inch.. might help a bit....

 

[slug]

Personally I've found the telescoping tube usefull. It allows you to rotate the orientation of the skimmer input which is nice for some setups.

I've been using one of these for over 3 years =)
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=72146

 

[prafferty]

I like to leave it on and then add a union so its easier to get it off for cleaning.

Here

 

[brackishdude]

It's to regulate air flow into the Beckett housing.

No, it doesn't need a pump. It draws air in similar to a venturi.

So the beckett is simply a venturi/bernoulli-esque narrowing of the flow area within another pipe, resulting in a pressure loss that pulls air in through the ball valve?

If so, why does this result in microbubbles rather than large/variable-sized ones?

 

[ezhoops]

sorry but I don't quite get why you are building these. is this part of your skimmers or are you using these as add-ons to your present skimmers. Sorry newbie to beckett skimming

 

[MarkS]

So the beckett is simply a venturi/bernoulli-esque narrowing of the flow area within another pipe, resulting in a pressure loss that pulls air in through the ball valve?

If so, why does this result in microbubbles rather than large/variable-sized ones?

Because of the density of saltwater. It creates a large and variable sized foam in freshwater. It was designed as a freshwater foaming fountain head.

sorry but I don't quite get why you are building these. is this part of your skimmers or are you using these as add-ons to your present skimmers. Sorry newbie to beckett skimming

Yes, this is part of the skimmer. This is the Beckett housing. If you take a look at other Beckett skimmers, you'll see a housing, usually made out of acrylic. This is a cheaper alternative to acrylic.

 

[ezhoops]

does this replace the Box in a skimmer like a MRC-2?

again, sorry

 

[MarkS]

does this replace the Box in a skimmer like a MRC-2?

again, sorry

No, here is the injector housing from a MR2:

What I built is essentially that, just less complex and pretty.

 

[ezhoops]

Ok, I'm beginning to understand. So with this knowledge and a little know how of acrylic, I could possibly built a skimmer with a beckett injector and save some money?

 

[Black71gp]

thats the idea i am building a dual beckket set up like this total cost maybe 100 bucks for a 6 inch dual becket about 36+ inches tall

 

[ezhoops]

I don't think I could do it. Well I'm sure that I could but I doubt it would work right and who has the time not to mention the supplies and patient.
I guess I'll dish out $250 for a MRC-2

 

[ckoral]

I would find it helpful to see some of these diy beckets installed on a working skimmer. Anyone got a pic of it in action? I am currently using a downdraft etss reef devil w/ a catilina 1800.
Although it is skimming, I feel it could be doing a better job by making finer & more bubbles. My setup has 8 bioballs in the downdraft tower. I assume I would remove the bioballs and insert the home made becket into the top of the downdraft.

Pic's would be great, especially on a reef devil

 

[proselytizer]

Dumb question, hoping somebody can help.

I'm building a dual injector skimmer, using the housing described in this thread...

It works great for about 30 seconds, then water starts spraying out of the air valves

Anyone have any thoughts as to what might cause that?

 

[sherm71tank]

There is to much backpressure on the beckett. Try lowing the water level in the skimmer and raising the beckett above the water level.

 

[Fishboy1230]

I have the most newb post on becketts, but its kind of important though, Which direction should the flow pass throught the beckett in the pvc housing?

 

[Fishboy1230]

Also does it need to be postitioned vertically or horizontally?

 

[sherm71tank]

The water should flow from the top of the beckett (the end with the pointy side) through to the bottom end (the rounded end). It should be mounted with the pointy end up.

 

[salt-rookie]

OK.....After ordering a fountain bubble head (Beckett) from a pool supply company in Florida and buying all of the parts and wasting an entire day....I have learned a few things about this DIY project.

Head and Back pressure are NOT your friends. Centering the Beckett in the 1" fitting is QUITE an adventure! NEVER try this if you have to reduce the inlet to the skimmer, never try this if the line coming OUT of the skimmer is at LEAST twice the size of the inlet from the Beckett. BEWARE of air locks in the plumbing!

Bottom line...after $100 and a wasted day off....I've got the SAME skimmer! NOT a good experience!!!!

 

[tcmfish]

I would like some more info on the black beckett thing I searched ebay for it and got the end product you built but am a little sketchy about it is there maybe a store online or another name for that piece. Thanks.