DIY Skimmer
- Thread starter gar732
- Start date
gar732
New member
Thanks, believe it or not it was my first acrylic project.
It's on a 75gal with a 20gal sump and 13gal frag tank. I think one of my problems is that the wedge pipe just doesn't adjust well enough. I'll be adding a gate valve along with making the water exit through the bottom. I think it will end up looking alot like the avast skimmer. I haven't decided exactly what I want to do yet.
gar732
New member
Are you looking for a list of materials? I don't recall exactly what I got. I'd did have enough material left over for almost another skimmer. I'll have to look when I get home and see if I can look up my order.
As for the collection cup I used some hole saws, a jig saw, and a router to cut every thing out. I used a 4" OD neck so I just used a 4" hole saw to cut a hole out for the neck, it fit in there pretty snug. I then centered the 6" tube on the the 4" hole and hot glued it on the inside and ran it on a router table with a straight bit and bearing to get a nice circle for the bottom and lid. I cut a 1/8x53/4 circle by hand with a jigsaw (I had to sand it a little bit to get it to fit perfectly inside the tube) and glued it to the 6" circle for
the lid. For the coupler if you have access to a lathe that is the way to go. I didn't so I did it all by hand. I used that plumbing piece in the pic on the first page and cut it up so that I had the piece that tapers out and a ring that fits inside. I sanded it all by hand and cut the grove for the o- ring with a round file. There was a lot of filing, sanding and test fitting if you go too far you have to start over or find a thicker o ring.
Vase? I didn't use a vase for anything.
If I had bought everything I needed to make this I would have spent around $250. I was lucky to have the pump donated by a buddy of mine. If you've got spare parts and materials then I'd say go for it if not I would consider buying a skimmer or if youreally want tobuild it yourself consider the avast skimmer. Nottrying to discourage you just trying to give you a heads up. If you've got more questions don't hesitate to ask.
As for the collection cup I used some hole saws, a jig saw, and a router to cut every thing out. I used a 4" OD neck so I just used a 4" hole saw to cut a hole out for the neck, it fit in there pretty snug. I then centered the 6" tube on the the 4" hole and hot glued it on the inside and ran it on a router table with a straight bit and bearing to get a nice circle for the bottom and lid. I cut a 1/8x53/4 circle by hand with a jigsaw (I had to sand it a little bit to get it to fit perfectly inside the tube) and glued it to the 6" circle for
the lid. For the coupler if you have access to a lathe that is the way to go. I didn't so I did it all by hand. I used that plumbing piece in the pic on the first page and cut it up so that I had the piece that tapers out and a ring that fits inside. I sanded it all by hand and cut the grove for the o- ring with a round file. There was a lot of filing, sanding and test fitting if you go too far you have to start over or find a thicker o ring.
Vase? I didn't use a vase for anything.
If I had bought everything I needed to make this I would have spent around $250. I was lucky to have the pump donated by a buddy of mine. If you've got spare parts and materials then I'd say go for it if not I would consider buying a skimmer or if youreally want tobuild it yourself consider the avast skimmer. Nottrying to discourage you just trying to give you a heads up. If you've got more questions don't hesitate to ask.
MADtanks
Stix Anyone?
Looks really good brodda, I would say this skimmer is deff oversized for your tank haha, that sicce is pulling well over 500lph of air, and usually thats enough to skim a 150G + system with heavy stocking. did you ever drill some holes in the lid? closed up im guessing it probably had a lot of back pressure too and could be a cause for not enough skim going into the cup too.
For the wedge i would try to sand down the bottom of the wedge a few mm so that it fits in there nicely and not snug like PVC is supposed to fit
. A gate vavle will also work well but take up more room.
I am sure you probably already did all these things but it was just an observation, great work once again! and what material was the mold made out of? just about anything would melt in the oven im sure.... was it sheet metal or something of that sort?
Thanks.
For the wedge i would try to sand down the bottom of the wedge a few mm so that it fits in there nicely and not snug like PVC is supposed to fit
. A gate vavle will also work well but take up more room. I am sure you probably already did all these things but it was just an observation, great work once again! and what material was the mold made out of? just about anything would melt in the oven im sure.... was it sheet metal or something of that sort?
Thanks.
dwolson2
New member
wow that seems like a lot for supplies! I saw a vase on another thread, that was used for forming, I messed up lol.
Thank you for the help. I have a plastic shop down the road that I can get plastic for a good price. I was thinking of using a mag 7 that I have in the garage.
Thank you for the help. I have a plastic shop down the road that I can get plastic for a good price. I was thinking of using a mag 7 that I have in the garage.
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gar732
New member
Thanks Madtanks, I appreciate the insight. I did sand the wedge pipe so that it turns freely and it's funny you should mention the lid. I'd drill a hole but only one and I was wondering if it was enough. I'll drill a couple more and see what happens. I wish I trusted my skills enough to make my own tank, I loved the dimensions of your old tank.
Dwolson, of all the ways I've seen people try to make cone the way I did it seem to be the easiest and provides the best results. The cone was actually one of the easier parts ofthe build. I can't take credit for the idea though, I got the idea from a guy named troylee who works with acrylic for a living. I'll post some details about the mold when I get home from work.
Dwolson, of all the ways I've seen people try to make cone the way I did it seem to be the easiest and provides the best results. The cone was actually one of the easier parts ofthe build. I can't take credit for the idea though, I got the idea from a guy named troylee who works with acrylic for a living. I'll post some details about the mold when I get home from work.
gar732
New member
No problem, I'm happy to help. I should mention that there are a couple of things that I would change if I were to do it again. This way you can run with the changes or come up with your own ideas as I'm by no means an expert.
I made it so that the body comes apart at the center, In hindsight I should have done it like most others and have the the tube and the cone come apart at the base. It's just easier if you have to do anything to the pump.
Also I didn't make mine a cone all the way down since I wanted to keep the foot print small, If you've got the room I'd make it all cone. One thing to think about if you decide to make it all cone, make sure you have enough room in your oven for it to fit otherwise you'll have to make it like I did mine.
And I'd like to try something where to water exits through the bottom, it's supposed to help with the turbulence but also allows a gate valve and still keep a small footprint like on the skimz.
Just some food for thought.
I made it so that the body comes apart at the center, In hindsight I should have done it like most others and have the the tube and the cone come apart at the base. It's just easier if you have to do anything to the pump.
Also I didn't make mine a cone all the way down since I wanted to keep the foot print small, If you've got the room I'd make it all cone. One thing to think about if you decide to make it all cone, make sure you have enough room in your oven for it to fit otherwise you'll have to make it like I did mine.
And I'd like to try something where to water exits through the bottom, it's supposed to help with the turbulence but also allows a gate valve and still keep a small footprint like on the skimz.
Just some food for thought.
MADtanks
Stix Anyone?
Thanks brodda, You do deff have some good skills man skimmer work is primo! Look for a Jasper jig if you want to make your life a lot easier with those holes 
I have a small one but i have yet to take it out of the packaging since im still setteling in to my new house. Eventually though i want to build a Gian Cone to run a Bubble Blaster 5000 on .
Keep us posted with any tuning or the new skimmer u build.
I have a small one but i have yet to take it out of the packaging since im still setteling in to my new house. Eventually though i want to build a Gian Cone to run a Bubble Blaster 5000 on . Keep us posted with any tuning or the new skimmer u build.
gar732
New member
Now for the mold, it was pretty simple and pretty cheap to make. I started with a couple luan squares and cut one 4" circle (the size of the neck) and a 6" circle in the other (the size of the base). On this you would just adjust the sizes according to you specs. I determined the hight of the cone and cut four wooden dowels to length and screwed it together with the small circle on the bottom. I found some poster board that was a little thicker and used that as the actual mold. I just made it into the shape of a tight cone and released it in the wooden stand I made. After making sure it fit tight against the circles I cut out i ran tape along all the seams so that it wouldn't unravel and I cut the top and bottom down so that it is level. If it isn't stiff enough you can try two layers of poster board.
To make the the template I used another piece of poster board and laid that inside the mold. then using a straight edge I cut the poster board inside the mold being careful not to cut the mold and to keep the cut perfectly vertical and trim the top and bottom. There are formulas that you can use to determine the top and bottom radius and draw it all out and make it all types of complicated but I didn't know the formulas and didn't want to make it complicated so I did it this way and it worked for me.After that I used a strait edge to cut the edges that will meet and a jigsaw to cut the top and bottom radius.
I took the cut piece of acrylic and through it in the oven, I used a few pieces of scrap to determine the length of time and temp. I put it on a piece of wax paper so that I can grab it by the paper when it came out of the oven although parchment would be better since the wax melted all over the cone. It cleaned off with denatured alcohol just fine so if wax paper is what you have on hand it'll work. You have to work pretty quick since the acrylic starts to harden as soon as you get it out of the oven. I just picked it up by the paper and slid it into the mold and gravity does most of the work for you. you might have to adjust the ends to make them even just do it quickly and then I put the template in there with the seams on opposite sides to help push the acrylic against the sides of the mold to keep it round especially where the seam is. Expect not to get it right the first time then you won't be disappointed if you don't. I wasn't expecting to get it right the first time but I got lucky and it worked out.
Again, I am by no means an expert and there are probably better ways to do all of this but I don't know them, lol. That being said if you figure out a better way to do something please share so that I can learn, or if anyone else has any suggestions to do something easier or better feel free to comment. The guy I got the idea for the mold from made his out of sheet metal but I wanted to keep things simple and not make the mold it's own project. let me know if this helps and please start a thread when you make yours and feel free to post a link on here. LMK if you have any questions.
To make the the template I used another piece of poster board and laid that inside the mold. then using a straight edge I cut the poster board inside the mold being careful not to cut the mold and to keep the cut perfectly vertical and trim the top and bottom. There are formulas that you can use to determine the top and bottom radius and draw it all out and make it all types of complicated but I didn't know the formulas and didn't want to make it complicated so I did it this way and it worked for me.After that I used a strait edge to cut the edges that will meet and a jigsaw to cut the top and bottom radius.
I took the cut piece of acrylic and through it in the oven, I used a few pieces of scrap to determine the length of time and temp. I put it on a piece of wax paper so that I can grab it by the paper when it came out of the oven although parchment would be better since the wax melted all over the cone. It cleaned off with denatured alcohol just fine so if wax paper is what you have on hand it'll work. You have to work pretty quick since the acrylic starts to harden as soon as you get it out of the oven. I just picked it up by the paper and slid it into the mold and gravity does most of the work for you. you might have to adjust the ends to make them even just do it quickly and then I put the template in there with the seams on opposite sides to help push the acrylic against the sides of the mold to keep it round especially where the seam is. Expect not to get it right the first time then you won't be disappointed if you don't. I wasn't expecting to get it right the first time but I got lucky and it worked out.
Again, I am by no means an expert and there are probably better ways to do all of this but I don't know them, lol. That being said if you figure out a better way to do something please share so that I can learn, or if anyone else has any suggestions to do something easier or better feel free to comment. The guy I got the idea for the mold from made his out of sheet metal but I wanted to keep things simple and not make the mold it's own project. let me know if this helps and please start a thread when you make yours and feel free to post a link on here. LMK if you have any questions.
gar732
New member
Thanks brodda, You do deff have some good skills man skimmer work is primo! Look for a Jasper jig if you want to make your life a lot easier with those holes
Keep us posted with any tuning or the new skimmer u build.
I'll definitely update when I get to messing with it again. Thanks for the heads up on the jig I'll check it out and if you need a hand whenever you get to your skimmer let me know, I'm sure there is plenty I can learn from you.
