Milk Jugs and Skimmers?

[fgcu14]

I've been looking at alot of pics of sumps and I have noticed that alot of protien skimmers are hooked to milk jugs. Are the milk jugs acting as collection cups? If that is the case would I be able to do something similar to this with my seclone100? My seaclone's collection cup fills in maybe a 4 day period, I am going on vacation for ten days and I don't think the "Stock" collection cup will handle the load.
Also FYI I have an auto top off and auto feeding system in the works so that is not an issue.

 

[adamc1303]

Originally Posted by fgcu14
I've been looking at alot of pics of sumps and I have noticed that alot of protien skimmers are hooked to milk jugs. Are the milk jugs acting as collection cups?
Correct. You basically make a hole in the collection cup and have it drain into a milk jug or any other container through some tubing.

 

[joncat24]

I use a coralife ss 220 skimmer and the collection cup already came with a 3/8 inch hole in it for drainage. It takes about two weeks tio fill a gallon jug

 

[cgrant]

Originally Posted by joncat24
I use a coralife ss 220 skimmer and the collection cup already came with a 3/8 inch hole in it for drainage. It takes about two weeks tio fill a gallon jug

same here

has worked out well.

 

[fgcu14]

there is a small hole in the cap of the collection cup. I could use this however I dont understand how that would work. would i have to create a syphon?

 

[nigerbang]

My redsea has a Hole and a barb fiting on it draining into a 2liter coke bottle

 

[n2theblue]

You would really need to put a hole in the bottom of the collection cup. I don't think you could really create a reliable syphon using the hole in the lid of the SeaClone collection cup.

 

[fgcu14]

alright. I now know what I have to do. It's time to pull out the power tools

and drill a hole in the bottom of the collection cup.

 

[waterworld]

I have also attached a small line to my skimmer collection cup and ran it to a milk jug. The line runs out the side of the cup about 1/2" from the bottom. This is so any sediment that settles to the bottom of the cup will not clog the drainage hole. ALSO I would recommend that you place the milk-jug in a tupperware tub of some kind. Doing this allows any overflow from the milk jug to be contained in the tub. This has saved me hours of clean-up when the jug gets filled faster than expected or I would forget to empty the jug. I typically empty the jug every 4-5 days but last week for some reason the jug filled in 3 days and overflowed into the tub.
I also keep my UV unit over this same tub in case it would develop a small leak or drip from the connections. I try to minimize exposure to possible clean-up!

 

[fgcu14]

good call on the clean up! The less the better! I will definatly get something like that.

 

[murph]

IMO the riser of the skimmer needs to be cleaned every 2 or 3 days any way and at the same time the waste in the cup can be cleaned also so I have never seen much point to doing this unless waste material is being collected to use as plant fertilizer. In other words the collection cup will need to be removed and cleaned by hand on a frequent basis even if the waste is being diverted to a separate container.
A dirty riser cone on a skimmer will greatly reduce its effectiveness.

 

[tx reef]

Originally Posted by Murph
IMO the riser of the skimmer needs to be cleaned every 2 or 3 days any way and at the same time the waste in the cup can be cleaned also so I have never seen much point to doing this unless waste material is being collected to use as plant fertilizer. In other words the collection cup will need to be removed and cleaned by hand on a frequent basis even if the waste is being diverted to a separate container.
A dirty riser cone on a skimmer will greatly reduce its effectiveness.

Exactly. My skimmer puts out a lot gunk right after a quick cleaning. Then the production slowly decreases. I clean mine every 3-4 days. If I were to go on vacation, I would setup something like that. If you don't setup a jug, it forces you to clean the skimmer on a regular basis.

 

[fgcu14]

Right, I wanted to rig something to hold for 2 weeks and my collection cup will not hold that much waste. So The milk Jug will be a temporary item. I figured when I am not using it I can tie a knot in the tubing runing from the cup to the jug, or something along those lines.

 

[djm]

Originally Posted by fgcu14
there is a small hole in the cap of the collection cup. I could use this however I dont understand how that would work. would i have to create a syphon?
The holes on collection cup lids are there just as breathers so air can escape. Without the holes, the cup would fill with air pressure and the skimmer wouldn't work at all.
I highly recommend that you follow Waterworld's advise if you plan on using a drain on your collection cup. Overflows are ugly enough when they don't involve nasty skimmate ruining your carpet.

 

[fgcu14]

ok I finally addd my jug. however it's been 3 days now and my skimmer hasn't picked anything up. what is wrong?