Optimized Beckett

[rivan]

Its only a theory.

I originally had two rows (with 40 holes) as you described. But I didn't get much of an increased air draw. I sat there with a flashlight for about 20 mins and started to think that the lower row of holes were leaking water. So thats why I went with the High row only and then drilled the holes larger.

In the end we have different skimmers and the becketts are going to behave differently. Happily I've found my sweet spot.

 

[Waylander]

No doubt! A foam cannon can bring a smile to any DIYer!

 

[rivan]

After running for 3 hrs my foam production finally started to drop off. I've had a cyano problem for weeks which is why I've been playing with this mod.

Now that the foaming is under controll I am running the air intake fully open and i can see my air/water interface. Theres alot more air in my water column than before because as I was opening my valve i could watch the interface rise. I couldn't do this with a standard beckett in my skimmer.

 

[Waylander]

I had clean water (I thought) but it now looks like the 'tanks of air' that I have heard about but never really had....until now. Hopefully, you will have the same come morning. Congrats!

 

[rivan]

The funniest thing.

My drain line off my skimmer is not large enough.

I'm using a 1/2 hose. As the foam collects in the skimmer cup, it gets close to the exit and the foam fires down into my collection bucket. The bucket is now full of foam !.

But as that foam fires don the hose it causes a back pressure. The skimmer cup pressurises and my air/water inerface drops by an inch.

I may need to plumb in a 3/4 hose to take care of the air increase.

 

[Waylander]

I hear you. The largest (tallest) that I have built was for a 240 gallon with groupers, lionfish, ect. It has always blown enough foam that we had to set a quart jar of water to keep from lifting the lid. Becketts will do dry foam...if you have trashy enough fish.

 

[nofilter]

this is really neat. i have been off the board for awhile, and i've been running my DIY beckett off of a mag12 split return/skimmer. definitely underpowered, but still pull some foam - i have the overflow also dropping directly into the skimmer. i'll try the mod this weekend

 

[jarhed]

Ok, look...

If you guys dont start posting pictures of your successful mods, I'm going to be forced to break into your houses, dismantle your becketts, and snap pictures of "reef porn" myself!

 

[spitefull]

Now youve done it. I went to the pond supply today and picked up a spare beckett, while rooting around in the left overs box I came across something similar but cannot find a reference anywhere, it looks more like an eductor and has no air hole, the ball part actually screws into the housing with an o ring looks like play time again

 

[rivan]

beckett ,od pic

beckett ,od pic

Here's a pic of my mod. I filled the original holes with epoxy. I drilled 20 holes with a 3/32" bit. 10 holese per half side All in ONE row. I placed the holes as close to the orifice of the inside nozzle as possible. Theres a little ledge there where the top or the original becket holes are. To do this I drilled the holese from the inside of the beckett.



The reson I think this gave me increased airflow is because it distributes air draw 360 deg around the beckett. Or at least better than the original 4 holes.

(In this picture I'm showing 7/64" holes. But I could only physically fit 16 holes. I haven't tested this hole size yet.)


A second mod I later made was to the housing itself. I'm letting the becket run fully open on air. In my cas I have a 3/4" opening to the housing. The mod I made was to drill and tap in a 1/4 hose to the bottom of my housing. I then ran the 1/4 hose down to my sump. This allows any water acumulating in the beckett housing to drain off to leave the valve nice and dry.

 

[nofilter]

rivan, very nice pics. my own inlet to the beckett housing 'was' a 1/4 john guest valve, but i replaced it with a 3/8 fitting with an open hose. i'm really stoked to try this out.

 

[HippieSmell]

My mod is exactly like rivan's, except I used 1/16" bits and only drilled 12 holes. Holes are in the same location and I also used epoxy. After letting this mod run for a day and a half, there is a slight difference. It's a little more finicky, but this may be because of the new plastic. The bubbles are slighly smaller than before and I think it may give a darker skimmate once I find the optimum setting. Overall, I think it is an improvement and I intend to leave the modified beckett running for at least a few weeks to see what happens.

 

[rivan]

I tried my latest beckett mod. 7/64" holes. I managed to get 20 of them in.

I did not find it any better that with 20 holes drilled with 3/32. Though this latest mod leaks water more and the bubles "might" be a tad larger.

Still it pulls more air than a standard beckett in my setup.

Thats pretty much it for me playing with this. I've run out of spare becketts to drill.

 

[rivan]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8464365#post8464365 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HippieSmell
My mod is exactly like rivan's, except I used 1/16" bits and only drilled 12 holes. Holes are in the same location and I also used epoxy. After letting this mod run for a day and a half, there is a slight difference. It's a little more finicky, but this may be because of the new plastic. The bubbles are slighly smaller than before and I think it may give a darker skimmate once I find the optimum setting. Overall, I think it is an improvement and I intend to leave the modified beckett running for at least a few weeks to see what happens.

I don't think you'll get an inrease in air drw with only 12 holes. With this holes size and number the beckett will probably draw less air than the original 4 holes.

 

[HippieSmell]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8466019#post8466019 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rivan
I don't think you'll get an inrease in air drw with only 12 holes. With this holes size and number the beckett will probably draw less air than the original 4 holes.

I didn't think it would either (and it probably doesn't), but I still have to restrict air-flow with the needle valve or else the bubbles get too big. There is still pleny of air, and after watching for a few days, the bubbles are appreciably smaller. I think the results are highly dependant on the pump used, as would be expected. I have an Iwaki MD55RLT.

 

[roxtonkrux]

How big of a difference are we talking here? So far it seems that there isnt any more air being injected, just smaller bubbles...am I correct? Is there any solid proof on the burping?

 

[HippieSmell]

The bubbles in the 2nd riser tube are probably 1/2 to 2/3 the size they were before. I don't know if there is more air being injected because I don't have a flow meter, but I think it's the same. Regardless, if I open the valve all the way, it is still too much air.

 

[einsteins]

Are burps the nickle and dime sized larger bubbles that come up the 2nd riser tube?
It seems that if my skimmer has run for a while I see a lot less of those large bubble shooting up the riser.

I can open my airflow all the way and the skimmer can handle it fine...I am driving my modded Beckett with a Mag18. I just switched to Mag from an OR6500 and the skimmer is defintely moving more water and air through it, but I am still not at a point of to much air by any means. My modded Beckett has 32 1/16th holes in it.
Just got 2 more Becketts today so I need to get a plan for the next Mod attempt.

ein

 

[naterealbig]

Hey, I've been tagging along with this thread, as I am planning on a large diy skimmer. So far I have only seen one other person in this thread with the same results as waylander's. It seems like everyone else is doing the same thing but not acheiving the copious amounts of 'whip-cream' that waylander did. I'm thinking that maybe waylander has a different beckett housing, or maybe even a larger air intake for the beckett. Can you help us out waylander? Are you using a single beckett? What size intake are you using? Can we get a pic or a description of your housing?

 

[spitefull]

can anyone tell me if cold salt water affects how this works? ive been slaving away in the garage all day and tho Im making progress and freezing i wondered if I should move it inside to the tank brrrrrrr thanks