Can you make a protein skimmer?

[jess128]

Hi everyone,
I need a protein skimmer for my 65g tank. I was going to make my own but I'd need the help of my dad and he's been saying he'll do it for about 6 months now... so I'm wondering if someone will make me a protein skimmer?

I'll give you the money for the equiptment you'll need and I can pay you for putting it together for me. I don't know much about skimmers but I really don't want a HOB. If I could have my way (and I hope it's possible) I'd like one that works much like the fluval filters do. The skimmer can be in the stand and there would be an intake and an outtake tube going up the back of the tank. Is that possible or merely a fantasy?

Please PM me if you're interested in making a protein skimmer for me, it would be much appreciated. If you could also tell me how much money you'll need, that would be great too.

P.S: I've looked into it and know about how much a DIY skimmer costs to make, so don't bother trying to rip me off. I trust you all anyway.

-Jess

[Invigor]

you need to have a sealed unit to operate like a fluval, and unfortunately I think a sealed skimmer would blow up if you're injecting air into it without it going anywhere...2nd, if you were somehow to plumb it in a way it comes out of the tank into a skimmer under the stand, it would flood because you can't have it going down into a skimmer with an open top.

The only way I can see it is if you had a closed loop system with the pump pushing it into a skimmer that is the same or higher than your tank's water level and have it just flow back into your tank with gravity. You would need to regulate the pump so there's enough time for the water and air to mix and not too much water to overflow your skimmer. Personally I would run it so the water level in the skimmer is only a few inches above my water level, so if the power were to go out, not much water from the skimmer would drain back and overflow my tank. Mind you, unless you had a HUGE skimmer, they don't hold much water...a few gallons at most.

This is currently my issue as I have a berlin turbo skimmer with no easy way to hook it up without having a sump. Just thinkin about doing it that way made a light go on..I wonder...hmm I'm late for work.

HTH!

[jess128]

Thanks for your help Invigor. A closed loop system sounds like it would work, are they really complicated? I'd like something relavively easy to maintain, although I won't be too picky at this point. I don't think I'd need to worry about it overflowing the tank, it's only a 65g so the skimmer doesn't need to be very big.

[Richer]

Invigor's suggestion should work, but it sounds like a complicated version of a HOB skimmer to me. IMO, the most feasible option is a HOB skimmer... anything else would be a bit too complicated if you want it to be easy to maintain.

Hopefully someone else can come up with a better option for you. I plan on building my own external beckett skimmer by the end of the month. Afterwards I'm going to sell my bakpak 2... that should work for your tank if you stock lightly. Just something to keep in mind.

-Richer

[jess128]

How much would that bakpak be selling for Richer? I was going to make my own skimmer to save money of course. I'm willing to have an HOB. I've heard from some people that skimmers can smell really bad and I thought that having it in the stand would help with the smell. The tank is in my bedroom so I thought it being in the stand would also help with the noise as well. Thanks again guys.

[Richer]

I'm not sure how much I'll sell the skimmer for, I haven't given it that much thought. I did upgrade the pump to a MJ1200 a few days ago, so probably something under 150 bucks.

The problem I see with having a skimmer under your tank is the chance that if power should ever go out in your house, the water flowing in from the tank will probably overflow your skimmer and cause a nasty mess. This problem could be solved if you use a HOB overflow, plumb that into a sump under your tank, and then use the return pump to power a skimmer. Hopefully Dez, Teevee or someone else may have something in mind... they've been diying a lot longer than I have

-Richer

[Invigor]

mine's complicated because that's what I've got and I'm not in the market to buy a new one :P

It's a $300 skimmer so I'm gonna make the blasted thing work.