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What do you guys know about diy protein skimmers? I'm not talking about coke bottle ones, more interested in PVC for large systems. 200gal plus
DIY protein skimmers
- Thread starter elithelion
- Start date
I like to DIY as much as possible...
With that said, I've never tackled a skimmer. From my 'research' (if that is what you want to call it), it is very hard to achieve similar results to those that are made by reputable companies.
The easiest version appears to be the variety utilizing air pumps, a technology which none of the big manufacturers use any more.
Most of the cost when buying from a manufacturer/retailer can be traced to the pump. Unless you are going to make the pump, there probably isn't enough cost savings to justify the trouble of making one (or two, three, or however many it takes until you create a version that performs like you expect).
Tubing (whether PVC or acrylic) is surprisingly expensive.
I want to say that an old member of this club made a really good looking DIY skimmer. If you search through the threads you will probably find a reference to it. I can't recall ever seeing a build thread, just where he showed us pictures (I'm thinking of something from a couple years ago).
Good luck!
With that said, I've never tackled a skimmer. From my 'research' (if that is what you want to call it), it is very hard to achieve similar results to those that are made by reputable companies.
The easiest version appears to be the variety utilizing air pumps, a technology which none of the big manufacturers use any more.
Most of the cost when buying from a manufacturer/retailer can be traced to the pump. Unless you are going to make the pump, there probably isn't enough cost savings to justify the trouble of making one (or two, three, or however many it takes until you create a version that performs like you expect).
Tubing (whether PVC or acrylic) is surprisingly expensive.
I want to say that an old member of this club made a really good looking DIY skimmer. If you search through the threads you will probably find a reference to it. I can't recall ever seeing a build thread, just where he showed us pictures (I'm thinking of something from a couple years ago).
Good luck!
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Okay, that makes sense. I was just curious if anyone had had any luck with the large skimmers. The design is relatively simple, but like you said the main cost is the pump
I've seen several build threads on reef2reef and reefcentral. One of the pieces of advice I've read is to look at a few commercial units in the size your looking to build to get and idea of the pump size you'll need.
I haven't started a tank yet so first time around I'll probably pickup a used one as maybe for the second tank I'll look to do a dyi skimmer. Good luck whichever way you go☺
I haven't started a tank yet so first time around I'll probably pickup a used one as maybe for the second tank I'll look to do a dyi skimmer. Good luck whichever way you go☺
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This would be for a 200 gal frag tank system. I'll probably just see if i cant get a used reef octopus
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Less hassle for me as well
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ElitheLion;1049297 wrote: Less hassle for me as well
Not sure of your price range, but one member is selling a nice mrc mr2 for around $350. It's a great skimmer for large tanks, I've been considering it myself.
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Hopefully someone is going to be selling a skimmer and LR in a few weeks :thumbs:
