+Mlaw Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 My cheapo skimmer went out the other day. Actually the power head was leaking voltage into the tank, the plastic skimmer itself is fine, just an inefficient piece of junk. Anyhoo, I was thinking about buying a nice big expensive one and wondered why we don't just make these things ourselves? Seems like it would be pretty easy to do an in sump skimmer out of PVC, especially if you use the drain cup from an actual skimmer instead of making your own. what am I missing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Capt. Obvious Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 I'll just leave this here... http://www.avastmarine.com/ssc/do/category/youbuilt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasreefer Posted January 16, 2014 Share Posted January 16, 2014 I tried, failed miserably, tried again, failed less miserably, then bought one. Never looked back. Seems you can't get them as compact as the commercially sold ones can. At least I can't. The concept is simple, just getting the right amount of air flow vs water flow is the trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jake112005 Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 I have a pretty good DIY skimmer I made for my 55gal. Let me know if you want to know more about it. Sent from my HTCONE using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+olaggie01 Posted April 14, 2014 Share Posted April 14, 2014 I have a deltec AP851 with upgraded eheim 1262 for sale for $400. It's a monster skimmer and would do great on your new setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Pedretti Posted April 15, 2014 Share Posted April 15, 2014 I'll just leave this here... http://www.avastmarine.com/ssc/do/category/youbuilt That's an awesome site! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Beleive it or not I've built them in the past. I've also made my own venturis that are like a third the length of the commercial ones but commercially available ones are not that expensive (Aquaticeco.com or flexppvc.com) Needle wheel impeller pumps are readily available also. How compact you are able to make it depends on your ability to custom make your own fittings. Using SciGrip 40 and cutting, drilling and tapping fittings in acrylic or blocks of PVC you can make some pretty compact assemblies. If you're willing to experiment a little you can bend acrylic tubing or PVC into custom shapes with a propane torch (and don't mind some discoloration). Personally I would just toss it though and not bother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.