Euro-Reef DIY clone.

[Rendos]

I half way made this today. I hope I can finish it tomorrow or maybe next weekend. I am using 6" diameter tube that is 20" tall for the body, 6" diameter tube for the collection cup that narrows to 3" diameter tube. The cup is 5" tall. I have a 3" PVC union between the two for removing the collection cup for cleaning. The overall height of the skimmer is 29.5". I am using a Gen-X 2400 pump with needle wheel and air induction. This pump is rated for 635 GPH. I used Uni-Seals for connecting the pump and the output of the skimmer. The output will be 1.5" riser tube with T modification. Anyway...here is what I did today. I will post more when I finish it.

 

[CaptainCoral]

finish it tomorrow, I don't want to wait till next week to see more pics ..........

looks good

 

[ScooterGuitar]

Wow, that looks great! How are you running the venturi on the Gen X? I have the same pump that came with an el cheapo euro clone, but they added a different intake elbow. Basically a 90* elbowthat has a hole drilled in it. A simple hard airline tube goes through it and almost touches the impellar. The pump actually coems with a round adapter that I believe is for venturi, but I can't figure out how it works. Put it on and it didn't draw air.

 

[Rkthepainter]

very nice.

 

[MarkM3]

looks good!

looks good!

where did you find the 3" union?

 

[Scuba Dog]

Looks great Pikey...if you don't mind how much did this project set you back money wise? Just courious how much the cost savings would be compared to a euro reef or a ER clone...

 

[Rendos]

Thanks everybody.

ScooterGuitar - I was planning on using the venturi thing that comes with the pump. I haven't used it yet so I didn't know there was a problem. I will let you know once I run the pump.

MarkM3 - I got the union at a local plumbing shop.

Scuba Dog - here is a break down: (P.S. - I would compare this skimmer to a ER CS6-2+ that retails for $369.00)

6" diameter tubing (extruded acrylic) - $9.23/ft X 2 = $18.46 (USPlastic.com)
1/4" black cast acrylic (flat pieces) - $26.42 (2'X2' piece) used 1/3 of it = $8.80 (USPlastic.com)
Gen-X pump - $39.99 + $7.00 shipping = $46.99 (CustomAquatic.com)
3" PVC union - $23.00 (local plumbing shop)
Weld-On 4 and Weld-On 16 acrylic adhesives - $4.00...just a guess because I bought cans of each and don't use much per project. (Tapplastic.com)
Misc. PVC parts from Lowe's - $10.00

Total is $111.25. (of course that doesn't include time/tools required/etc.)

 

[Scuba Dog]

A 70% cost savings not bad at all....Great work man....cant wait to see the crud it pulls out of the water!

 

[niko5]

Is it finished yet? Looking good. Did you use the weldon 16 to glue the PVC to acrylic?

 

[horkn]

yeah, i want to see how it works...

 

[Rendos]

Not finished. I will use 16 to glue the PVC to the acrylic. I got busy yesterday and didn't have time to finish it, but I will definitely this weekend. I will post pics of the finished product and of it running soon.

 

[Rkthepainter]

pikey, how much time did it take to get this far?

 

[Rendos]

I worked on this Saturday for about 4 hours. There is probably about 1-2 hours more to do.

Richard

 

[overflowin]

where did you pick up the uniseals? also, what did you use to get a nice cut on the acrylic tube? i thought about building a jig for my table saw, but wonder if there is a better/easier way...

looks great, probably going to use some of your ideas for my re-circulating ER knock off i'm building...hope you don't mind!

donnie

 

[Rendos]

Sorry...I forgot to add in the Uni-seals. I get them here...
http://www.aussieglobe.com/uniseal3.htm

The 1/2" are $1.34 each.
the 3/4" are $1.36 each.
the 1" are $1.70 each.
the 1.5" are $2.18 each.

I used one 1/2" one and one 1.5" one. So add $3.52 plus shipping (I ordered a lot of these to make shipping easier), but we will say $5.00 for shipping. That adds $8.52 to the $111.25 total = $119.77 total.


I used my table saw to cut the acrylic tube. I made a jig to make sure it stayed nice and straight. Then I sanded the edge to get it even smoother.

You are welcome to use any of my ideas that you want.

 

[colorado matt]

SWEET

SWEET

Good job man. I have been waiting for you to do this. Nice and simple. I would like to please see a picture of the collection cup off the unit. Thanks

 

[IMPERATORFAN]

Pikey, Did USPlastics make you buy a 6 foot minimum on the acrylic tubing or did you just get what you needed? I threw in the towel on my DIY skimmer because the acrylic tubing was pricing out too high.

Anyway ... fantastic work. Looks great!

One more question ... what did you use to cut your black acrylic collection cup bottom and riser tube lid?

Thanks
Scot

 

[niko5]

Any updated pics? Finished pics?

 

[Rendos]

I did have to buy the 6' minimum, but since I have been doing quite a few of these, that didn't bother me. I used a router with a flush trim bit to cut the black acrylic.

 

[Rkthepainter]

very nice. wanna make me one. i'll pay ya. my mom lives in knoxville.