Skimmer mod/build

[ouling]

I have a recirculating TerminatorII and looking to make this thing 1ft-2ft higher with an extra recir pump. Anyone want to build a skimmer with me?

I have a company that makes 4'' clear pvc pipes for $19 a foot and 6'' for $22 a foot. Sch40 fittings.

They only sell in 5ft length min so would like to have someone else that may need it.

 

[blind1993]

i might since i might be building a skimmer for my tank.

 

[cameron]

Careful... adding a new pump won't always increase performance and will often hurt it. Adding height without width generally requires a "perfect" pump as too much air and it won't dial in properly and too much water and you have a turbulence problem on your hands. This is greatly lessoned as the diameter of the skimmer grows however.

 

[blind1993]

i wont need the pvc anymore i am going to do more of a cpr style.

 

[ouling]

I'm going with a 6'' dia and 2.5ft tall

 

[wbholwell]

Cameron;60736 wrote: it won't dial in properly and too much water and you have a turbulence problem on your hands. This is greatly lessoned as the diameter of the skimmer grows however.

Cameron, I think I understand why turbulence would lessen the efficiency of a skimmer. So why hasn't anyone incorporated vertical baffles in the chamber to reduce it? Or would this cause other problems?

 

[cameron]

I have seen bubble plates installed for a different reason, but not baffles. I am guessing you want the most free-flow you can get in a skimmer. Anything that slows or interrupts the flow could cause a problem with the fractioning. Course this is why turbulence is so bad to begin with. Tall skimmers often suffer from this problem since it requires more air and water to drive the column upwards. As the height goes up it seems to be more difficult to balance. Look at the ATI skimmers, they push massive air with little water by comparison and thus have to be short and wide rather than tall and thin.