Wow thats just awesome! I never would have thought of that application for a 5G carboy :razz:

very cool
 

very cool idea. this could be a very effective skimmer for people on a budget. just a question - how will you clean the bottle neck if it gets gunked up?
At present, I wet skim on my beckett now and only requires cleaning every 9-10 days and because sometimes the foam level drops and starts to gunk up the riser column and the more the riser gunks up, the harder it is for the foam to rise.

removable top
 

OK thinking about my own question on the previous post: just wondering how effective it would be if you were to make the top removable? I'm wondering if a long elastic band that can be used to loop around two opposite bulkheads (sedra intake bulkhead and small pump feed bulkhead) and crisscross them at the funnel to hold down the top. Will that be enough pressure to hold down the top for the foam to spit out the top?

Go
 

Good trouble shooting Chin!
This is why one should test things out before permanently sealing them. In my case I had a plan but lacked the parts (I was in a big fat hurry). I will insert a 1 1/2" ABS threaded coupler before the elbow so that I can remove the skimmate drain and use a bottle washing brush inside. I imagine your solution would work too, especially if you could place an O ring on the neck to prevent the skimmate from seeping out between the neck and the ABS elbow.
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mexico hotels

update
 

Dale
any update to your skimmer? interested in its performance.

5G water bottle skimmer
 

I know this is a old post, but I was wondering if anyone knew what size tank this DIY skimmer would handle. Also has anyone else try to make one?

I suppose you could even stack three together to make a larger skimmer. Add additional pumps... scalable to any size tank! Very cool.

As far as how it might perform...I'm thinking that the neck is a bit narrow...one could add a bubble diffuser at the bottom. Other than that, it should work as well as any other Sedra pump based NW skimmer. What does it matter if it is made of polycarb instead of acrylic as long as the water doesn't fall out the sides!

Thanks Untamed .... I also agree about the materials. I used to work in a camera shop another life time ago way before digital and computers. I always
said you can have the crappiest camera body but it was the "LENS" thats taking the pictures. Its the "pump" thats making the bubbles.:biggrin: plus Im
showing off my display tank not my sump :wink: Just one more question what
is the purpose for the bubble plate?

Tanks.... Bill

This is how i did my 5 g skimmer. I also wanted to be able to clean the bottle neck, so I cut it out, glued on a 4" threaded coupling.

(Ignore the crappy silicone work... i was too lazy to take the thing apart and properly glue when the picture was taken.

The bubble plate is to reduce turbulence and channel the bubbles in the proper direction and orientation.