I got tired of paying several hundred dollars for protein skimmers. I decided to make my own. now im not claiming its the best, hell im not claiming it works half way decent, lol. im just saying i made for 50$ what would have cost me several hundred. so here's what i did:
first off here are the supplies u will need:
these are 2 - 4inch to 2inch reducers, 4 - 90 degree elbows, a slide repair coupling, a 27 inch piece of 4 inch PVC (clear would be better, but its more expensive, 1 female threaded/slip coupling, a 4 inch flange for the base of the whole rig, and 7 1/2 inches of 2 inch PVC.
not pictured: a 1/4 inch sheet of acrylic or lexan, a male screw to barbed 90 degree fitting for attaching the tubing from the pump to the skimmer-the LFS should have these by the buckets, and at least 2 feet of 1/2 inch PVC tubing. you may also want to buy a 4 inch end cap to top off the collection cup.
your gonna need to file out the rim on the inside of one of the 4to2 reducers so the piece of 2 inch PVC can go all the way through. leave the other 4to2 as-is.
cut about 5 inches of 4 inch tubing to create what will eventually be the collection cup. none of my sizes are exact because this was supposed to be a '"trial" version.
on the larger piece of 4 inch PVC u will need to drill two 7/8 inch holes for the intake and exhaust water. the intake will be about half way down the pipe and the exhaust should be 3 inches from the bottom to allow for the rim of the flange that will be inside the tube. If u are lucky u may have a proffesional help u out like i did. he was a bit bossy but he helped plan things as we went, and as long as i payed him with formula he didnt mind helping.
Now we start the difficult part, making the venturi. i suggest making more than one rough circles on the lexan/plexiglass/ whatever u decide to use. I got lucky and nailed it first attempt.
this is what u will be starting with. get the circle as close as possible to perfect now. because the shaping of the cone comes next.
mark the center and drill a center hole first. then, using a conical grinding stone on your dremel ( u do have one dont u?) gouge out the edges and slowly taper the sides down the small hole exiting the other side. this could be difficult so be prepared to spend a while getting it just right. the finished product should be a basic funnel. this piece will be fitting inside the female threaded/slip coupling.
the small hole on the "venturi" should be facing the slip end. push the venturi into the coupling from the slip end and butt it up to the rim in the middle of the coupling. next we drill our air intake hole.
the hole should be as close to the edge of the venturi as possible, the whole point is for the incoming water to suck the air in.
plain old plastic epoxy, u should be able to find it in the pipe fittings isle at home depot.This is what will seal the 1/2 inch PVC that will fit into those nice neat 7/8 inch holes we made in the main chamber. they didnt come out so nice and neat did they? mine didnt either, lol.
this is the expandable repair coupling all in place and epoxied. go crazy with the epoxy. make sure its totally sealed around the PVC. on the end of the 1/2 inch that is inside the main chamber add a 90 to the end facing downward, that will help eliminate bubbles leaving the skimmer. add a 90 to the top of the expandable repair coupling to direct water where u want it to go, unless u like the fountain look, then dont worry about it.
ok, now the intake. attach two 3 inch pieces of the 1/2 inch tubing to a 90 degree elbow, and epoxy those bad boys in the hole halfway up the main chamber.
u will have to cut a small notch in this piece to accommodate the air intake hole we made in the coupling. boy i hope i havent lost anyone lol.
here is the barb fitting and the "venturi" fitted and all epoxy work done on this piece.
and the final product, i havent had it running long so i will update and let everyone know if ive wasted my time or if this thing is kicking butt and chewing bubble gum.
first off here are the supplies u will need:
these are 2 - 4inch to 2inch reducers, 4 - 90 degree elbows, a slide repair coupling, a 27 inch piece of 4 inch PVC (clear would be better, but its more expensive, 1 female threaded/slip coupling, a 4 inch flange for the base of the whole rig, and 7 1/2 inches of 2 inch PVC.
not pictured: a 1/4 inch sheet of acrylic or lexan, a male screw to barbed 90 degree fitting for attaching the tubing from the pump to the skimmer-the LFS should have these by the buckets, and at least 2 feet of 1/2 inch PVC tubing. you may also want to buy a 4 inch end cap to top off the collection cup.
your gonna need to file out the rim on the inside of one of the 4to2 reducers so the piece of 2 inch PVC can go all the way through. leave the other 4to2 as-is.
cut about 5 inches of 4 inch tubing to create what will eventually be the collection cup. none of my sizes are exact because this was supposed to be a '"trial" version.
on the larger piece of 4 inch PVC u will need to drill two 7/8 inch holes for the intake and exhaust water. the intake will be about half way down the pipe and the exhaust should be 3 inches from the bottom to allow for the rim of the flange that will be inside the tube. If u are lucky u may have a proffesional help u out like i did. he was a bit bossy but he helped plan things as we went, and as long as i payed him with formula he didnt mind helping.
Now we start the difficult part, making the venturi. i suggest making more than one rough circles on the lexan/plexiglass/ whatever u decide to use. I got lucky and nailed it first attempt.
this is what u will be starting with. get the circle as close as possible to perfect now. because the shaping of the cone comes next.
mark the center and drill a center hole first. then, using a conical grinding stone on your dremel ( u do have one dont u?) gouge out the edges and slowly taper the sides down the small hole exiting the other side. this could be difficult so be prepared to spend a while getting it just right. the finished product should be a basic funnel. this piece will be fitting inside the female threaded/slip coupling.
the small hole on the "venturi" should be facing the slip end. push the venturi into the coupling from the slip end and butt it up to the rim in the middle of the coupling. next we drill our air intake hole.
the hole should be as close to the edge of the venturi as possible, the whole point is for the incoming water to suck the air in.
plain old plastic epoxy, u should be able to find it in the pipe fittings isle at home depot.This is what will seal the 1/2 inch PVC that will fit into those nice neat 7/8 inch holes we made in the main chamber. they didnt come out so nice and neat did they? mine didnt either, lol.
this is the expandable repair coupling all in place and epoxied. go crazy with the epoxy. make sure its totally sealed around the PVC. on the end of the 1/2 inch that is inside the main chamber add a 90 to the end facing downward, that will help eliminate bubbles leaving the skimmer. add a 90 to the top of the expandable repair coupling to direct water where u want it to go, unless u like the fountain look, then dont worry about it.
ok, now the intake. attach two 3 inch pieces of the 1/2 inch tubing to a 90 degree elbow, and epoxy those bad boys in the hole halfway up the main chamber.
u will have to cut a small notch in this piece to accommodate the air intake hole we made in the coupling. boy i hope i havent lost anyone lol.
here is the barb fitting and the "venturi" fitted and all epoxy work done on this piece.
and the final product, i havent had it running long so i will update and let everyone know if ive wasted my time or if this thing is kicking butt and chewing bubble gum.
