Recirculating skimmer - DIY Bubble King Turbulence Plate??

[delusions]

Any of the DIY skimmer guys ever try making one of the plates that bubble king uses to slow down turbulence in the skimmer body? I'm curious if it actually works. It would look something like

Seems simple enough? Anyone try it?

 

[DrBDC]

They do look simple. The holes appear to be done with either a bevel bit or a smaller bit, then a larger one that is set to not penetrate all the way. I'd love to see a diagram of how they are designed so that when I build mine I could copy.

 

[delusions]

DrDBC- they actually have a bevel to them and are not 2 different bits.

 

[shoman89]

You could probably drill the hole and then use a counter sink bit to put the bevel on it.

-jeffp

 

[DrBDC]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6851816#post6851816 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by shoman89
You could probably drill the hole and then use a counter sink bit to put the bevel on it.

-jeffp

That's what I was trying to say.

 

[GROSSR]

Challenge I see is the correct number of holes. Too many holes and the you can have turbulance, too few holes and pump will get restricted and there will be back pressure.

I have thought about this for my DIY deltec. I would image you need to have a balance that is unique for each pump.

rich

 

[Sm0kin]

is the top of that curved also?

 

[AQUAN8TOR]

the one I saw at MACNA wasn't curved; just smoothed on the edges with a quarter-round bit.

 

[Roland Jacques]

to many would be ok. the holes deffuse the tubulance. to big of a hole will cause a little more turblance. IMO

 

[delusions]

Sm0kin - thats what i thought also. The pic is deceiving, but its not curved.

Countersink, good idea.

 

[Roland Jacques]

i think the curve helps by keeping the bubles moving giveing less chance for them to reconnect.

 

[H20ENG]

You could use some coarse mesh and accomplish the same thing.

I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why there is no way to clean this part of a $2000 skimmer. Hope Klaus adds a flange to that someday

 

[elfa]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6851816#post6851816 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by shoman89
You could probably drill the hole and then use a counter sink bit to put the bevel on it.

-jeffp

I just installed a DIY (removable) turbulence reducer in my skimmer. It is much smaller than the one from BK since i only have a 6" tube. I used the technique quoted above to make the holes.
It is too early to evaluate the result since it will need some days to break in. If it works I can take some pictures and upload them.

Vidar

 

[Roland Jacques]

what size drill did you use?

what size holes are in the BK?

they look like 1/8" but i cant tell.

 

[elfa]

I will com back with more details/pictures/movies when it has settled. I did some modifications on the coupling between the reaction chamber and the risertube last night that also will need a day or two to settle.

Vidar

 

[Medicine Man]

Does anyone know where you can get skimmers that are "Similar" to bubble king?

 

[elfa]

Here is a link to my extremely simplified homepage: http://folk.uio.no/vidarj/ . I have uploaded a picture of the turbulence reducer and two videos with and without the reducer inside the skimmer body.
As one can see from the picture I did not put any emphasis on the looks, but I think it works. In addition, I have now placed a perforated disc that span the whole diameter of the reaction chamber. Maybe more than one level of turbulence reduction might be a good thing. I will come back with more results.

Vidar

 

[h20cooled]

I watched your videos, its hard to see any difference between them.

 

[delusions]

elfa - great vid. Maybe i'm imagining things, but it seems to be working. What size holes did you drill? If its removable, have you tried smaller holes?

 

[hahnmeister]

To reduce turbulence in my monster skimmer (12"x12" square body), I am using a couple layers of egg crate. I have tested it out, and it seems to do a very good job. Just cut two pieces to the size you need, and mount them in the skimmer.