Tiny Might skimmer rockin'
- Thread starter smjtkj
- Start date
I'm guessing RK2 wont sell us the thermoformed acrylic tubes he makes. He heats and rolls sheet to make his large tubes.
Otherwise you'd have to get them from an old lab (Bill has probably got the hookup there
) or from a manufacturer like Reynolds for $$$$$
Otherwise you'd have to get them from an old lab (Bill has probably got the hookup there
) or from a manufacturer like Reynolds for $$$$$
kentrob11
Premium Member
Do you really think the advantage of round over square is that great when we're talking about skimmers this short and wide? I think that would be worth testing for sure! If you could use $100 worth of 1/2" thick cast acrylic sheet instead of $1000 for a 30" length of 20" tube, this would be a seriously cost efficient skimmer!
spazz
New member
the tiny might drawing aire on its own. but you have to consider that my tiny might is not modified as much as smjtkj's tiny might is. i only changed out the wheel for the needle wheel. where he did some extensive work to the housing. which i will do once i have done everything i can to advance the wheel using the stock housing. at some point in time i plan to modify the housing and also use 2 tiny mights on a skimmer. it would be great to see how big of a skimmer these pumps could handle. its a slow process and testing over time will tell if this will make a good DIY alternative to the multi pump skimmers.
kentrob11
Premium Member
Understood...Here is my thought process at this point. It seems to me that the benefit of using round acrylic cylinders for skimmers was the fact that the turbulence inside them cause bubble collision in square bodied skimmers. Now if we have a 24" square body above a bubble diffuser eliminating most of the turbulence, would it not make sense that maybe a square skimmer would be just as effective as a round one of the same size?
spazz
New member
as time progresses i feel there will be better alternatives out there for tubing that is less expensive. i have talked with dgasmd and a couple of other r/c members about a good alternative. they all agree its worth a try. but i dont want to talk about it right now. i dont have the time to devote to the research and testing of it right now.
the tube im getting to use on energys skimmer is a used tube. bill wann helped me get it for a steal. bet its the only one he could get. so dont even thing there is more out there to get.
the tube im getting to use on energys skimmer is a used tube. bill wann helped me get it for a steal. bet its the only one he could get. so dont even thing there is more out there to get.
Kentrob,
I have always felt this way about square stuff It does take more work to build square, but at these sizes, it will definitely be easier to justify the cost savings vs time spent gluing.
If you think about it, it takes no more time to glue up a huge box than a small one.
I have always felt this way about square stuff
It does take more work to build square, but at these sizes, it will definitely be easier to justify the cost savings vs time spent gluing.If you think about it, it takes no more time to glue up a huge box than a small one.
dgasmd
New member
HUGE WORD OF CAUTION
I came home to a problem today that I want to alert others of before they go spending money like I did in a product they thought was good. I bought the air pump I am using in my current skimmer about a year ago. It is the Sweetwater SL-94 from Aquatic Ecosystems. I am sure you have all heard of the place. When I was buying my pump, I had basically narrowed it down to two choices: The pump above and the Alita pump (bigger model). Price was comparable, but the thing that differentiated them was that the Alita repair kits (diaphragms that need replacing about every 12-18 months) were hard to find and most places seemed to be out of stock at the time. I could not even find how much they cost to begin with. The Sweetwater pumps had readily available repair kits at AES for what I thought was an exorbitant amount of $75. About 3 weeks ago, I needed to replace the diaphragms as one of them broke. I ordered 2 repair kits: one to use and one to keep for future needs. The pumps started to work great again until today when I found that a diaphragm was broken again. I can see after a year, but after 2-3 weeks it is simply ridiculous. I already sent an email out to the customer service manager at AES about getting another replacement sent to me, which at the very least I expect to be free. I will let everyone know how this goes as I have found this company now to be extremely difficult to deal with in the past when it came to replacement/customer service. Maybe I have been spoiled by companies with superb customer service like PA and other, but I don't think I am out of line here. I'll let you know how this turns out.
In the meantime, I would have to say that maybe looking for alternative sources of air pumps is pretty necessary. If you can find a good source of repair kits for the Alita, I would seriously consider them before the Sweetwater any day of the week.
I came home to a problem today that I want to alert others of before they go spending money like I did in a product they thought was good. I bought the air pump I am using in my current skimmer about a year ago. It is the Sweetwater SL-94 from Aquatic Ecosystems. I am sure you have all heard of the place. When I was buying my pump, I had basically narrowed it down to two choices: The pump above and the Alita pump (bigger model). Price was comparable, but the thing that differentiated them was that the Alita repair kits (diaphragms that need replacing about every 12-18 months) were hard to find and most places seemed to be out of stock at the time. I could not even find how much they cost to begin with. The Sweetwater pumps had readily available repair kits at AES for what I thought was an exorbitant amount of $75. About 3 weeks ago, I needed to replace the diaphragms as one of them broke. I ordered 2 repair kits: one to use and one to keep for future needs. The pumps started to work great again until today when I found that a diaphragm was broken again. I can see after a year, but after 2-3 weeks it is simply ridiculous. I already sent an email out to the customer service manager at AES about getting another replacement sent to me, which at the very least I expect to be free. I will let everyone know how this goes as I have found this company now to be extremely difficult to deal with in the past when it came to replacement/customer service. Maybe I have been spoiled by companies with superb customer service like PA and other, but I don't think I am out of line here. I'll let you know how this turns out.
In the meantime, I would have to say that maybe looking for alternative sources of air pumps is pretty necessary. If you can find a good source of repair kits for the Alita, I would seriously consider them before the Sweetwater any day of the week.
hahnmeister
In Memoriam
Cool. I have no problem explaining my viewpoint or reasoning 'why' if it helps, well... I kind of do. Nothing to do with you guys, but I have expressed this reasoning before in other threads. There is a DIY needlewheel thread where I did just mention my reasons why, and I got blasted by someone for being too technical...lol. Its kinda hard to condense, or just give the concept w/o giving the quantitative reasoning behind the idea. I have mentioned it at least two times before, and so I just didnt want to sound like I was repeating myself again and starting to sound like a broken record. I was putting together a jpeg with diagrams and equasions that should give a good reasoning behind the viewpoint though...
That way in the future I can just post the IMG link and let people see what Im really talking about. I am waiting on some numbers from Calfo and company though on bouyant acceleration, terminal velocity, etc.
Roland Jacques
Premium Member
I totally agree with you and Chris on the Square skimmers, in this size range, with diffusers.... factor that with the molded transitions into a round neck the down side is minimal. Plus the added volume (22%) of the square body with the same foot print, cost,.... really air bubble are now so cheep with this new pumps. it is definitely to be look at closer IMO.
