skimmer waste? how much?

dad

dad

Active Member
I made a DIY skimmer for a 200g. It stands 4' tall and is a forced downflow with a high output airpump.
I can set the water level in it to any depth.
Anyhow, I do not know where to set it? Different levels means different waste?
How much waste should it make? a pint a day? quart? gallon?
Just on the average.
Hope I explained it right :D
 
squidd

squidd

Active Member
I would think you would want it to produce as much as possable...as long as it is a dry/thick skimmate and not a watery overflow... :thinking:
 
dad

dad

Active Member
Exactly! But not sure when one overlaps the other?
One day I may have nothing and the next a gallon?
D%^M these DIY projects, lol
 
fender

fender

Active Member
What are you using to adjust the water height? I assume a valve of some type, if you are using a ball valve they can be very difficult to adjust, a gate valve is better for this and will provide a finer control.
 
jja

jja

Member
My protein skimmer seems to produce just greenish water,not the thick stuff. Is that a problem with my skimmer or settings?
 
dad

dad

Active Member
I can control the level of the water by adjusting the height of the return.
Most of the time I get green water also.
 
squidd

squidd

Active Member
The best way to I've found to adjust skimmer output is to be able to adjust water pressure/volume via ball valve or changing pumps, water level in main reaction chamber via height or back pressure adjustments and air volume/bubble size via air valve or venturi "jetting"...
You want maximum contact time between water and rising air bubbles of the correct size (finer is better), proper collection time/volume in the riser tube (to thicken/dry the skimmate and push it to the collection cup) and to maximize total waterflow through skimmer (more is better) without pushing "micro bubbles" through outlet into tank.
Most any brand (including DIY) skimmer can be "tweaked" to produce good skimmate...even my sea clown produces dry sticky foam, not like the molasses/syrup from a Euro reef but one is $60 the other is $600. There are certain "inherent"limitations of design that just can't be "tweaked" out...:D
 
warlockgp

warlockgp

Member
Hey dad........... That sounds weird.
How did you make your skimmer, i'm gonna try to make one too and i want to check different desings and see which one i end up making.
Thanks................
 
dad

dad

Active Member
The skimmer is made from:http://www.aquariacentral.com/diy/skimmer1.shtml
It has some Major flaws though.
If anyone is interested, I can TRY to explain them and what i did to modify them.
I cannot draw very well though? And when i use "paint" the pics are too large to post.
The skimmer works GREAT now and it cost around $70 minus the air pump and stone.
 
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