New Skimmer Concept - will it work?!?

[hahnmeister]

Or, just skim dryer in the first place... thats what I was thinking. Its not like the 'recirc' neck actually does anything until its full anyways, you know? By the time it fills up that far, it needs to be removed for cleaning anyways.

Otherwise, what you could do is have dual skimmers... one on the tank's water, and the other plumbed so its only incoming water is the skimmate from the first skimmer.

 

[Fishbulb2]

A concern that I have is that the hydrophobic organics that we skim can break down and eventually form more soluble compounds. Do we want to keep a direct path between our skimmate and the aquarium? I think it's really cool that you built this thing and that you can try it out but I'm not sure if recycling skimmate is really worth it. I don't mind cleaning out my collection cup twice a week but maybe on a larger system it's more of a chore. I find my skimmer definitely works best if I clean it often.

 

[stugray]

Hahn & FFrankie,

"Or, just skim dryer in the first place... "

Thats what I do now, and it always seems that I would get more crap clogging the riser tube than I get out with draining the collection cup.
If you clean the tube VERY regularly, then that works fine.

However, if I can find a way to get the same layer that would normally stick to the riser tube, laying on the bottom of the colletion cup, then I'm for that.

The only way this will work, is if the detritus settles into a nice layer while kind-of clean water makes it back to keep the riser tube clean-er.

I'm already thinking that a 'hat' on the riser tube would drop the detritus around the outer edge of the cup & keep it from getting sucked in.

Stu

 

[hahnmeister]

Sounds like a good-ole wetneck to me. Fishbulb2 brings up a good point as well. The 'proteins' that might be harvested by the skimmer one day can break down into substances which cant be collected by the skimmer. Skimmate smells pretty fresh when you first collect it, exactly like seafoam which it is. The first day it doesnt really stink. After a day or so when the bacteria go to work, the stink starts up. Once at this point, putting it back into the water of the tank would mean that alot (not all, but much of) of waste will get back into the tank, and not be able to be recollected. Thats why I suggested the dual inline skimmer idea...

That way, fresh skimmate could be sent to another skimmer right away to be reskimmed ASAP, if not too late already. This way, it works all the time, and you arent going risk anything old getting back into the system. Think about it, you wouldnt even need that large of a skimmer to just skim the skimmate... perhaps just taller for better 'scrubbing' than the first skimmer.

Heck, thats another idea... try a tall skimmer (with wetneck). I have never seen a 5'+ skimmer skim light, almost no matter how wet you set it.

 

[Ed Ricketts]

two points

Skimming efficiency is determined in part by the continued rise and collapse of foam created in the reaction chamber. It rises, due to sequentially concentrated amphipathic molecules (proteins and such) higher and higher up the column, until it spills over the top lip filling up the top collection cup. Want more conentrated skimmate? Run dryer. OR place a foot tall neck between the body and the collection cup. Taller column, longer rise for collapse and formation of progressively concentrated skimmate.



Point two: STUGRAY: Can you start a thread of send me a PM about your suuweeeet DIY skimmer. I'd call it a "bucket" rather than a "Beckett" Skimmer

 

[Saboral]

What if you applied the idea of a settling tank. The skimmate and organics are much like the sewage in your septic tank. As it sits the heavy organic laden compounds settle the the bottom as sledge, much like the thick sludge that forms in the bottom of the collection cup. Now by using a long narrow rectangular tank with something like 25+ baffles to slow the water flow you could theoretically seperate the heavy organics from the water, then at the end of the box have an put set at the appropriate height in the column to neither absorb the organics on top or the sludge on the bottom. Then using a siphon to occasionally remove the sludge buildup.

 

[hahnmeister]

Sounds alot like the horizontal skimmers. Otherwise, a very tall skimmer body would be another way to reduve drainage, yet get darker, more concentrated skimmate.