Skimmer for 300g+

[Bruttall]

So I been doing this thing with skimmers and figured I better just do a build thread on these things. This all started with a friend giving me an old MTC Power-Pro III. Model#PP3MDQ. I had to refurbish it some to make it work and WOW does it work, but I just do not think it is big enough for my system, it would be amazing on a 180 to 240g system, with a single Mazzei 684 injector. Could even run the feed with a Jebao DCT-4000 and the recirc venturi with a DCT-6000 and chances are good you'd never run either pump above 50%. However half of this unit is being dismantled to incorporate into the new unit. I am not buying new Venturi's or pumps, these will be reused on the unit I am building.


Later I found several MTC reactors used at my LFS, they were so cheap I bought all 5 never knowing what I was gonna use them for, but I tried various experiments and stuff. Pretty simple unit.



I'd been thinking for a while now my skimmer needed more reaction time, 12 inch tall reaction chamber on a 340g tank is not enough, I can overdrive the recirc and keep the tank manageable but I think I can do better, so I got slow at work and Idle Hands syndrome set in, decided I was going to pull the trigger n building a Skimmer, or trying to re-build, refurbish misc parts into something useful that works. I had an old Eshopps s300 skimmer, bad pump so I scavenged the Bubble-Plate out of that piece of junk and it fits perfectly into the 6inch reactor with about 3/8ths inch all the way around and will give the Fractionated water a Clockwise rotation entering the chamber. Started mocking up the recirc pump.





I am sorry for the base, All I have laying around that would work was wood, and I know the humidity and damp will eat the wood, but for now it works. Completed it will be right at 5 feet tall total with a 40inch reaction chamber. You can see the Dual Venturi pipes at the base, I will run a pair of Mazzei 684 Kynar (Ozone safe) 3/4" threaded venturi on a 1inch feed line powered by a Jebao DCT-8000 pump. You can see that Pump and the mazzei's in the background on the working skimmer.



Feed for this is via a Jebao DCT-6000 return pump and fed thru a 5/8th line, 3/4" gate valve drain, only need to achieve between 300 and 400gph flow, 3/4" should handle that just fine, gate valve is to set water height in reaction chamber.

So now I am waiting on some 1/2 bulkheads to plumb the Water Inlets, they will be on either side of the Top Chamber approx 4-5 inches down from the top, and angled with 90's on the inside to provide water flow in a counter-clockwise rotation opposite of the rotation the bubbleplate provides. Cross Current flow should proved tons of contact time with the water.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along!

 

[Bruttall]

This is copied from lifereef.com, the skimmer section. It is what got me really started thinking about this piece of hardware. Lifereef makes very nice products I think, never owned one, but the simplicity of their design is very appealing, however I wanted a Recirculating Skimmer, I feel it gives me a lot more control over the amount I skim being able to control not only the flow thru the skimmer, but the Air-Draw thru the Venturi via Pump speed on Recirc as well. I discovered this thru experience using these venturi's on the skimmer I am currently using, The higher volume I pump thru the venturi the more Air Fractionation and Air Draw I get, equates to denser foam in reaction chamber.

MORE EFFICIENT than needle-wheels due to much more contact time, varying bubble size, and an engineered riser neck with specific neck-to-body diameter ratio and specific neck height.

LESS MAINTENANCE than needle-wheels, no need to take apart a Lifereef protein skimmer for maintenance, it can set in your sump for years without interior main body cleaning. Only the cup and neck need cleaned and maybe every few years you can remove to clean out little tubeworms, seasquirts, and small sponges, none of which interfere with the performance of a venturi protein skimmer.

LESS PARTS, look at all the internal parts of a needle-wheel skimmer. Some even have the pumps inside. Then look at all the bubble-plate gimmicks, all for calming the water flow which reduces efficiency. What's inside a Lifereef Venturi Protein skimmer? Nothing but a baffle tube and an enhanced bubble/water action. This DOES NOT decrease the skimmers performance as the needle-wheel folk tell you it does.

PLANKTON AND LARVAE FRIENDLY! Needle-Wheel skimmers destroy/shred anything entering the pump! But standard water pumps just pass these critters through fully intact and alive!

NECK CLEANERS are a GIMMICK! They tell you that your skimmer works better after a neck cleaning. So, here is what really happens..... Neck cleaner comes on and swipes all that crud off the neck and where does it go? It falls into the skimmer where your now concentrated proteins cause an immediate foaming action which then deposits more gunk on the neck and very little into the cup. Doesn't it make more sense to take the cup off, take it to the sink, and rinse that crap down the drain? And guess what, you soon become a neck cleaner cleaner, adding more maintenance to your schedule.

I have noticed that I do not need to clean this skimmer I am using very much at all, usually just shut the recirc pump off for a second or two, allows water to back feed thru the venturi into the Air Draw and that start it back up, this rinses the venturi's and I dis-assemble the Air Intake on them every month and make sure the ball and rubber valve are clean and salt free. Every couple of months I clean the cup and neck out really well, mostly because I like to see the foam in there.

The other major driver on this was the cost of new skimmers and what I can buy the parts for, or fabricate. The Mazzei injectors are about $75 new i think, one 684 would be enough for up to a 250g heavy bio load system I believe with a 12 inch tall, 6inch diameter reaction chamber. Basing this of what I have observed with this MTC, and compared to research I have done online. For a 300 to 500 gal I am seeing a lot of 36" tall, and 500g + 48" tall and taller. Of course as water volume increase so does diameter of the reaction chamber. but not as much as you would think, 8" diameter on 48" tall seems to be in the 750g range. Also as you get bigger you'd need to step up the injector, 784 is still a 3/4" thread would work good for the 400g to 750g range, I think anything over 750g should use a pair of 1" Mazzei 878 model I think and an 8" diameter 48" tall reaction chamber.

As you can see I have spent to much time mulling this over in my head

 

[Bruttall]

Thank you @aquadise for the Reef Life VS2_VS3 pdf manual. Lifereef.com I guess I should source them since I am using a lot of their information. FYI I think their product looks amazing, it appears to be about the simplest skimmer on the market, Mine will be a little more complicated.

Gonna borrow some into from that Manual and repost it here.
How the Venturi works.

 

[Bruttall]

So got far enough along to test flow the new build, the 3/4" drain is not enough, I will have to install a 1" bulkhead and I do not have one on hand, will have to wait a few days to get one.

Also the Bubble Plate has to go, it killed the fractionation, I was really surprised by how much it reduced the Bubbles in the water column, so just a 45 degree 1" fitting to direct the flow the direction I want it to go and should be good. We'll see in a few days.

 

[aquadise]

Thank you @aquadise for the Reef Life VS2_VS3 pdf manual. Lifereef.com I guess I should source them since I am using a lot of their information. FYI I think their product looks amazing, it appears to be about the simplest skimmer on the market, Mine will be a little more complicated.

Gonna borrow some into from that Manual and repost it here.
How the Venturi works.

Yeah but you do not need to source the same. As Jeffs clearly stated in the manual that Mazzei venturi is more effective. Mazzei venturi is easier to buy. The only downside is the appearance, Mazzei venturi looks urglier.