Wooden Protien Skimmer

[gruntface]

To start off this is dedicated to Kentrob11 for inspiring me. The inspiration came by way of reading his thread about his genx pumps mod. He said the price of a 4'x8' sheet of acrylic was $219.00 and that he would like to see a square skimmer made that was even bigger than the one he built. Well a few ideas came to me. One, I only will do-it-myself if it will save me a lot. Two, I have decided that only perverted voyeurists NEED to watch bubbles and since we all know what's going on in the reaction chamber of a skimmer why not use a 4'x8' sheet of plywood and why not an octagon instead of a square.

The chamber measures 42" tall and 30" wide. Each side of the octagon is 12".

I plan on fiberglassing all joints and and sealing all surfaces with epoxy, probably west systems, and paint with that aquatica? epoxy paint.

The collection cup and riser will be made of acrylic.

I'm planning all the bells and whistles ie. wet neck, kentrob11's collection cup cleaner and any thing else people remind me of. I am going to figure out how to plumb it so that the collection cup drains into a near by sink drain so I will not have to empty it ever.

One side will have the return plumbing, one side will have the plumbing to feed it and the wet neck, and the other six sides could all have pumps. It will be recirculating.

I estimate it will cost me around $800.00 for a skimmer that will do the work of a $5,000.00 skimmer.

I tried uploading some pics but it said the pics exceeded the 125kb limit. I am not a picture savvy guy so if any one can help I'll get them here.

 

[TitusvileSurfer]

Its always nice to see innovative ideas. Good luck!

 

[sam1174]

email your pics to martylunsford ((a)) gmail ((dot)) com. I'll shrink them and send them right back.

 

[Randall_James]

or post your pics at another site (photobucket.com mytankpics.com)

 

[Icefire]

try to get a chum of pvc tube they use for sewer

 

[gruntface]

Here's the first pics.

 

[gruntface]

What's a chum of pvc tube?

 

[sam1174]

I've already seen his pictures because I'm special and he let me see them first. I think the skimmer is looking good, but I recommended that he reinforce the body of the skimmer is some way in order to prevent the weight of the water from pressing out on the wood and causing it to bow, thus popping the seams where the wood pieces butt together. Fiberglass tape wrapped around the outside of the skimmer every 6-12 inches would work, depending on the thickness of the plywood. Or, to make it look really cool, he could cover the whole thing in carbon fiber cloth. Then it wouldn't need to be painted, and he could brag about his cool, carbon fiber skimmer.

 

[skwirl]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10215349#post10215349 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Icefire
try to get a chum of pvc tube they use for sewer

i have a 18" diameter 3'tall peice of pvc taking up space.

 

[Randall_James]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10215458#post10215458 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gruntface
What's a chum of pvc tube?

Ok listen carefully...

chum could be "chunk" I know its a stretch but try and hang in there.... :lol:


Looks pretty cool btw, what about support around the midsection? Are you going to use internal or external bracing? (boy are you going to have a clean nano tank)

 

[Fudge]

Definatley a labour intensive build...but you get exactly what you wanted.

Risking being a "perverted vouyeur" i had made windows in my diy epoxy skimmer.
I think its very important to learn from it, and various impellar designs and air pumps....aswell as air and flow rates/patterns in the skimmer body, for those reasons the windows are very valuable.

A lot more work to figure out how to get them in without weakening the structure, but i think you will regret it if you dont.

Lookin good so far, Marc.

 

[gruntface]

I know my current tank says 50g. But this protein skimmer is a step in putting a new 450 gal together that will turn into almost a 1000g system eventually.

And yes, it is gonna be plenty braced.

 

[gruntface]

I was thinking about putting a sheet of acrylic in a frame on one side Fudge. I'll give it more thought. I have to wait for some supplies in the mail so I got time to put it in still.

 

[tgreene]

Ummm, couldn't the same thing be acheived by simply using a 50g Brute trashcan for the reaction chamber..?

 

[luke33]

Am i missing something here? Isn't there going to be probs with water inside the wood leaking? Getting old and busting? Wood leaching? And the reaction chamber beinglined with wood being bad for bubble production because it'll be to rigid? I would have to agree that you would be better with a trashcan.

 

[MarkS]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10217540#post10217540 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by luke33
Am i missing something here? Isn't there going to be probs with water inside the wood leaking? Getting old and busting? Wood leaching? And the reaction chamber beinglined with wood being bad for bubble production because it'll be to rigid? I would have to agree that you would be better with a trashcan.

1.) Yes, apparently...
2.) No, that's what the epoxy is for.
3.) No, that's what the bracing is for.
4.) No, again, epoxy. And leaching what?
5.) Wood is less rigid than PVC or acrylic. Not too sure what you mean here...

This is really no different than a plywood aquarium, only used for a different purpose. Properly done, it will last a couple of decades.

 

[luke33]

Leeching

Leeching

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10217586#post10217586 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MarkS
1.) Yes, apparently...
2.) No, that's what the epoxy is for.
3.) No, that's what the bracing is for.
4.) No, again, epoxy. And leaching what?
5.) Wood is less rigid than PVC or acrylic. Not too sure what you mean here...

This is really no different than a plywood aquarium, only used for a different purpose. Properly done, it will last a couple of decades.

If you add wood into water, it will leach meaning, it will turn the water brown. I hate to be a doubter as i'm always pulling for DIY'ers, but i don't see this working. The epoxy will start to come off in time. Wood=splinters, pvc = very smooth, not sure what your talking about there either. Anyhow good luck, apparently you think you know how to do this.

 

[lakee911]

This isn't any different than a plywood tank, except that he's using OSB and it's a skimmer. I would have splurged (+$10) for plywood over the OSB though. Craftsmanship looks good though.

Have you considered using some of those stainless steel bands for reinforcement? <IMG SRC="http://isostainless.com/assets/banding/sign.jpg">It would look slick against the black. I'd make a slight radius on each corner w/ a file (only 1/8" deep or so) before putting on the band. This will ease the bending in the corners and help to lock them in place from sliding.

I'd reinforce the inside of the corners as well. I'm not sure what your plans are for that. What type of glue is holding the OSB together?

You could put a clear acrylic window for a side...then if it doesn't work out, make it into a tank.

 

[jnarowe]

Interesting build. Do you have a link to Kentrob11's skimmer?

I just have trouble understanding how you will save money with this build. By the time you purchase all the epoxy, West System, glass sheet, etc, I think you will be spending more than if you used acrylic or a commercially made tank.

I just bought a 200g fiberglass water tank used for $150, not for a skimmer, but the idea is the same. It would be tough to use a Brute and still have a decent way of attaching a cup, but as we look at skimmer design evolve, more and more we will be seeing neck-less skimmers. This is because we are now at the point of easily super-saturating the water column and negating the need to transition to a neck.

I built my skimmer for about $600. You can s it's evolution on my Skimmer Page. I get 212 SCFH at 120W.

 

[Fiziksgeek]

Following along...

I am planning on a wood tank build as we speak, and had the same idea about a wooden skimmer. Might not save money when compared to more conventional build methods, but would be a fun DIY project!!!