Skimmer idea. Would it work?

[scotchy]

Hi everybody. I have an idea for a skimmer and would like to get some feedback on it. This is just the reaction chamber as I am not sure if I will make it round or square yet. I was planning on making it out of pvc which is the reason for the tube to determine water level but if I make it from acrylic I will substitute that for a gate valve. The idea is that water comes from my overflow into the skimmer (I screwd up and put from sump in the pic) the two powerheads (venturi style and fed from an air pump) make the bubbles and so on then drains like most other skimmers. Do you think it's a feasible idea or am I better off sticking my head in the sump and blowing bubbles? I appreciate any comments positive or negative. Thanks.



Scott

 

[johntbyrne]

Ahhh, poor mans Deltec but with pumps inside rather than out. It would work in theory if the powerheads can make enough very fine bubbles. This is where I think you will have problems. Powerheads don't put out the foam like say a needle wheel, beckett, or external venturi. Also, it will be deep in the water making it harder for the pump to draw air. Fill a5 gallon bucket and put a powerhead down deep and see what you get. If you get foam fine, if you get a few large bubbles it is a no go. Let us know if you try this.

 

[scotchy]

Wow. You hit the nail right on the head with that one. I got a little bit of foam mixed with large bubbles. I even tried injecting the air right into the intake , which yielded finer bubbles but not nearly enough. I'd need 5 or more powerheads to make that work. Oh well back to the old drawing board. Thanks for the heads up, I need to make more foam.


Scott

 

[eshook]

Suggestion:

To make a "psuedo-needlewheel" you could add fishing line to a maxi-jet

Described in this thread:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=735012

Hope I helped

 

[scotchy]

Thanks for the suggestion. Actually that was something I tried later last night. I used an MJ 1200 with a bio ball mod, it put out twice as much bubbles as the penguin powerhead (of which I have a few extra) that I originally tried did. Still not really enough though. I have a submersible GenX GX2400 pump laying around that I think I'm gonna fiddle around with next. Speaking of which, does anybody know where I could get a needle wheel impeller for that from? I can find original replacement but no needle wheel. I think that would give me the foam I need. Thanks.


Scott

 

[johntbyrne]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6479414#post6479414 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by scotchy
Wow. You hit the nail right on the head with that one. I got a little bit of foam mixed with large bubbles. I even tried injecting the air right into the intake , which yielded finer bubbles but not nearly enough. I'd need 5 or more powerheads to make that work. Oh well back to the old drawing board. Thanks for the heads up, I need to make more foam.


Scott

Glad to help and bear bad news at the same time. Did you use a bucket or what to determine?

 

[areze]

what was the powerhead with venturi? I know powerheads come with venturi attachments, which just suck in air after the pump. that would be big bubbles. Im not sure how venturi skimmers work, but i think they use a specific form of venturi to get small bubbles. just blowing bubbles down there, theres nothing to make them small. and injecting the air would only make them bigger.

 

[johntbyrne]

A venturi has a section of the pipe that reduces in size. This "necking" make the fluid flow faster and as such lowers the pressure at that point. A hole at the narrowest point allows air to be sucked in and mixed with the water. The Beckett has an internal part and allows air to be sucked from more than one point. It is a venturi but not the typical venturi.

 

[scotchy]

I used a bucket first, then I transfered the water to a 5 gallon tank so I could see just how much it was putting out. I think I may have figured out how to mod the GenX impeller to make it work like a needle wheel but getting air into the housing is something I have yet to conquer. I'm working on it though. Thanks again.


Scott

 

[ackerman]

Here is a link for a gen x 2400 needle wheel impelarhttp://www.customaquatic.com/customaquatic/subsubcategorypage.asp?subcatindexid=ps-ac-nw

 

[scotchy]

Thank you Ackerman that was exactly what I needed.


Scott

 

[hahnmeister]

MJ1200s work well up to about 20" deep...if you want more than that you can go to premium aquatics and score a oceanrunner needlewheel for cheap.