DIY Mini Beckett

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Here's more or less what I have in mind. How large should the intake be compared to the outlet? The outlet should be larger, correct?

Also, any advantage to seeing if there's enough space to add a downward-facing elbow and more piping to the outlet?

Gate valve on the intake or exhaust side?

Any other comments?
 
The mixing box is not necessary it is a matter of choice there. I prefer the box, others don't. It sounds like a good plan just make sure you use large enough pipe. I wouldn't go under 5" pipe to minimize turbulence. I really don't think either of those pumps will work very well for a beckett. The Sen 700 does a very poor job of pumping against pressure. At 8' it gives just over 400 gph and most applications call for 800 gph @ 8' of height. More if the skimmer if larger. If you have to go submersible then the Dolphin DP-1200 is a good choice for the smaller end. The WP-5 pump from AES if a good pump and it's cheap http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/8787/cid/2142 .
 
Hey zeph got a question for ya. When your building your flange templates, how much larger is the ID of the flange in relation to the OD of the tubeing?
 
Well, I got this thing done, and although it needs some fine tuning, it does seem to work pretty well. It's also UGLY AS SIN! Good thing I have a sump!

The output is regulated by a ball valve right now, but I'm ordering a gate valve tonight to be able to have better control over the water level. It took about an hour and had output about a half-inch of skimmate into a 2L soda bottle already!

Running it with the SEN 700 pump for the time being, and it seems to be doing the trick. Eventually I'm going to move the skimmer itself external to the sump and make it taller, but that's a project for another day.

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=126580

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=126581&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500
 
Hey it dosn't look that bad! And as long as it works that is all that is important. Have you tinkered with restricting the air flow? I have found that the smaller pumps need to have the air flow restricted more than the larger ones.
 
RCS, looks good and cheap! My only suggestion is use a toilet flange on the bottom instead of just a plain old PVC cap. That way it will stand up easier.
 
Good idea on the toilet flange...it's kind of wedged in there right now and sits mostly upright, but I had been considering a way to keep it straight...that should do the trick!

I think I've got about 12" of airline tubing attached to the JG fitting on the air inlet, and it's open maybe halfway, so my experience would coincide with yours as well.

I need to tweak it still. I think with a little bit of work, it will really start to have some great output. It's still breaking in right now, but the results have been promising so far.

I'd say total cost, including the pump, will end up being right around $100 or so. And you don't need to try and convince me otherwise: it's ugly and I'm proud of it! :D
 
Haha, and let out the secret of making the ugliest skimmer ever?? Sure, why not!

It's actually pretty straight forward. Most of it is push-fit together so I can pull it all apart and clean it without having any issue.

I will warn you ahead of time it needs some tweaking, as I do get quite a bit of bubbles that make their way out right now...but I'm not sure if that's due to the short design (it's only about 24" tall), smaller than intended diameter (4") or simply poor design!

The body is 4" PVC tubing, using a pair of 4" to 2" reducers, one to taper the top and one on top as the collection cup. There's a small length of 2" tubing connecting the two. I also PVC-glued a small 2" extension socket in the top reducer/cup to make a little riser for the foam to spill into. The top cap is a clean-out valve, which fits perfectly inside the reducer and has a screw-in top for easy access. I drilled a hole in the top of this to allow air exchange, other wise it seals pretty well and presser builds up.

The intake side is all 1" PVC tubing, utilizing a Beckett injector of the kind found on Ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/1-Beckett-Prote...ryZ20758QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

The inlet/outlet are drilled into the bottom portion of the main body, just above where the botom cap fits. The inlet is a 45' angle in that faces slightly to the side of the body, and the outlet is a 90' elbow that faces down. They're basically right beside each other; I'm also not sure if this close proximity is what allows lots of bubbles to currently escape. The outlet isn't really a precision-fit, as I figures stuff woulf just be flowing out of there anyway. I may try and seal it up and see if that helps. Both fittings are a flanged coupling with a smaller threaded fitting on one side to better "fit" the hole. Bottom is an end cap. The outlet has a 1.25" ball valve on it right now, but will be getting swapped out for a gate valve shortly for more control.

That's really about it...more or less a ghetto setup, but I think with a little tweaking it will work pretty well, and most people will probably think of improvements that totally elude me. :D

Things I would change: better fitment on the inlet/outlet to the main body; higher body height (if more space is available); clear tubing to be able to see better and fine-tune the water height.
 
Planning on installing my gate valve this weekend so I can fine-tune it a bit more, but it's working pretty nicely.

I'm skimming fairly wet right now (sort of a nice green-tea color...), and collecting a good cup every 36-48 hours or so. It's got some solid particles in it, and the collection cup is pretty grungy as well...and this thing isn't even broken in or dialed in properly yet!

I'll try and take some pictures later...
 
This was the end result of a good hour and a half of standing in the plumbing aisle at Lowe's fitting, refitting and trying out various parts!
 
i have an etss with a beckett mod. it was sold as an old version of the 600 im looking for a pump and i was thinking the 2 submersibles you sugested in the thread and feed back on this would work for a beckett modded etss?
 
HI Zeph,
I'm new to this. I have made one almost same version as your( plan from the web). I placed the skimer in the sum, sum water level is about 2" above the mixing box. sometimes I saw bubles is about 2" below the neck, sometimes it is at the cup holder. I don't have dry bubles, but I collected about 1/2 cup of dark green liquid and a little thick. Is this normal?
Thanks, vinh
 
Hi Zeph,
some info about my tank. 100G, 50 G sum. 140lbs live rocks. 1 tomato clown, 1 yell tang, 2 blue damsels. 4 poly, mushroom. all of these xfer from an old tank, added new sand. Starts to have a lots off brown algea, Clean almost everyday. Just added the skimmer few days ago. Try to find way to post pictures.

thanks, vincent
 
here is the pic
http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=176298&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500

[IMG]hhttp://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=176297&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500tp://
 
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