Skimmer modifications

C

Carabelli

Membership Expired
[well, i finally finished updating the skimmer i had - this skimmer is going to be used on a future 500 gallon system, so i wanted to really make sure it kicked some tail -

i started with a dual beckett injector setup in one injection tube into the reactor box and then into the 8" diameter by 24" reaction tube - this was good, but not good enough!
here is a picture of the before:]
 
[in order to upgrade it, i made the following changes:

** added a 1 1/2" bulkhead for a second injection tube

** replaced the beckett chambers with two custom made ones from triggersys.com - thanks david

** added 24" of 8" acrylic tube to the main reaction chamber

** added a 36" 2nd injection tube of 2" acrylic tube

** added an additional 24" to the existing injection tube

** added 17" to the input port of the skimmer on injector one - essentially, added the piece of acrylic tube inside the chamber to push the water high into the chamber

** braced the injection tubes with some custom acrylic brackets

here are a series of pictures:]
 
[here is a little better shot - this thing is close to 6' tall with the reaction box and chamber and collection cup - a beast to say the least!]
 
[here is a closeup of the injector ports inside the reaction tube - one of the ports is extended straight up with a 24" piece of acrylic tube - the second, is modified to create a swirl pattern - why would i do this??

b/c, i have read arguments for both, so, why not use both - if it doesn't work out, i didn't glue these pieces so i can change them as needed!]
 
[here is a picture of the acrylic brackets i made to stabilize the two injector tubes - that old bunsen burner finally paid for itself - this turned out a lot better than i thought it would - i glued two pieces onto the reaction tube and then the two pieces connecting the injector tubes are glued to thier tube and the 4 pieces are connected via a stainless steel wing nut assembly.]
 
[finally, to make storage and transport more friendly, i made sure to add unions to the injector tubes at the base so they will separate easily and the reaction tube will separate at 24" up - thanks.

a huge thanks to two suppliers
1. brent at barraquatic.com - he was a huge help answering my questions, supplying the acrylic tube and making the sweet flange setups for me to fit my needs! a little pricey, but well worth the $$
2. david at triggersys.com - also a huge help with the questions and also made those beautiful injector chambers!

thanks to everyone that helped with my questions and i can't wait till i get the tank setup - not for another 7 to 10 months - so no operational questions till then... unless someone would like to test it for me!!

thanks]
 
@gmacy wrote:
[i can't wait till i get the tank setup - not for another 7 to 10 months - so no operational questions till then... unless someone would like to test it for me!!] said:
[In the meantime you could aways loan it to Sea World! :shocked:]
Click to expand...
 
[I'll test it on my system if you like. Sounds amazing, and I hope it works as planned.

Btw, it doesn't worry you that you might be overskimming? :lol:]
 
[no - i have not tested it yet- i still need to put some finishing touches on it - then i want to let it sit for a week and let all of the glue set up nice and hard - then i plan on doing a water test ...

marc
i would love it if you would like to test it - i am planning on running two iwaki 55s - one on each injector - i know there will probably be some tinkering that needs to be done - i have the two iwakis - so, i will try and do a fresh water test here to make sure it doesn't cause a worm hole to open :eyebrows: - i will let you know when it is good to go

is there much concern about it not working?? seriously, besides leaks, it should be good to go shouldn't it?? thanks guys.]
 
[I don't know. That is why I'm offering to test it. :)

Looks like it needs to be in-sump due to the gate-valve. And a shallow one at that.]
 
[no, it should be able to placed external to a sump - it will just need to sit about the level of the sump some - hopefully on a stand a bit more sturdy than your current one marc!!

i don't know either about the skimmer - i will ask a couple people about testing procedures. thanks.

gm]
 
[I'll build it a proper pedestal, and then we can run some thing around it to keep it absolutely safe. No way I'm going to risk your beauty to an accident! :smart:]
 
[what does everyone think on the pumps:

go with two individual iwaki 55's OR one iwaki 100 split between the two injectors?? thanks - according to the charts, two iwaki 55 will actually use less electricity than one 100 - weird.]
 
[ha ha - just saw that marc - thanks - it is strange how we become very concerned with these things!! thanks.]
 
[I'd go with two then if it's less electricity. l Should provide a good reduntacy for backup also. Only downside is having to maintain/clean 2 but That's only a couple times a year so I would go with 2.

I'll be interested to see if you see any difference between the swirl vs straight action. My guess is the difference won't be noticeable but I've been wrong many times before!

It looks awesome by the way and that is one heck of a project!! If you don't mind me asking how much do you think it cost you to build that excluding pumps?]



Edited By kwl1763 on 1105260249
 
[as far as cost - i started out with buying the original one - so that changed the cost some - the real key is how much you can make yourself - for me, i don't have the tools to machine the acrylic for the flanges ect ... so, i had to buy the flange sets - increasing the cost - but, if you had the tools and space to do this, i would think you could probably end up making the setup for around 250 or so - just depends.

as far as the pump options, i am going to test it with an iwaki 100 to make the plumbing easier, eventually, i might switch to two iwakis, but we will see - easier to do one - less plumbing, and less wires! not that much of a difference in electricity. thanks.]
 
[here is a little better picture showing the injector chambers and their 1" unions that allows me to separate them real quick for cleaning - plus, the chamber comes apart real easy to clean the injector.
this picture also shows the acrylic brackets to stabilize the injector tubes.]



Edited By gmacy on 1105294072
 
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