protein skimmer..Awesome!!!

[Steve Nguyen]

Mike,

I think these are the prototypes of next generation of koi. they are too cute to pass up so I had to put it up on my avatar. they hang around in herd just koi.

Steve

[koiczar]

That could be Sakai - Hamamatsu, Sakai - Matsunosuke and Sakai Hiroshima contemplating how else to conquer and master the koi world - LOL!!

[aquitori]

Here is protein skimmer from the UK.

http://www.clarity-wts.com/English/frames.html

[Steve Nguyen]

wish someone steps forward and post a detailed step-by-steps DIY instructions. I am interested in learning how to build one myself. it seems kinda simple to build. my friend's pond has a lot of foaming so I wouldn't mind build one for him. if someone has step-by-step instructions, please post it. tia!

Steve

[keokoi]

Protein skimmers.. Depends how involved you want to get.. SOme run off of airstones and some are venturi or downdraft venturis. Here is a link to a simple one and some that can get more involved.. All parts can be pretty much be acquired at a hardward store.. I never made one for a pond but I had some DIY ones for my 200G reef tank.

The cheapest is the airstone model. The more involved is downdraft venturis but from my reef days those worked best.

The Info above has only to do with my salt water experience and not for Pond Protein skimmers.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...ture/index.php


Joe

[Steve Nguyen]

good link. thanks Joe!

currently, I have a air stones in my pre-filter and there are lots of bubbles foaming on the top. I need to come up with a design for the collection cup to collect the foaming.

Steve

[Brutuscz]

So...here are some pics. The water comes in through the black tube on top...through an old fountain nozzle I had. The fountain nozzle makes things nice and bubbly. You can see where the air tubes also enter through the top...with 6 airstones reaching to the bottom of the 2 inch pvc tube. I basically played tinker toy in the plumbing section at home depot. The base stand is some type of flat drain thing..that fit 2inch plumbing. You can see the water outlet was a 2 inch tee at the bottom..under water. The air and foam outlet was also a tee, but slanting upwards...the slant part was 1.5inches. The foam outlet is 1-2 inches above the water surface (seemed to work best). I duct taped the top..that way the bubbling water emptied out of my foam outlet. The foam outlet empties into a 2 gallon bucket. The entire unit sits in my open 270gallon filter. I adjusted the height of everything several times to get it just right. The foam is not dry...it comes out more of a wet, brown soup. It has been taking out less and less each day...and my water is more clear each day. The pump is 900gph..taking water from a surface skimmer. The air pump is powerful..but I don't remember the specifics. It looks like crap...but has worked amazingly well. Definitely worth the 10-20bucks to build. Took about 1 hour...real easy.

[keokoi]

Becketts pond maks a foam fountain nozzle that works really well. We used to retro this in all of our protein skimmer for SW tanks. making one out of PVC is not that hard as well. My Bacteria shower always is foaming and I remove the foam everyday when I get a chance.


Joe

[Brutuscz]

...ahhh, the famous beckett injectors..I know them well. I had my 150 reef tank for 6 years...and sold it last saturday. I'm moving next month, so I figured it would be easier to get some dough and start from scratch. Miss the reef a real lot though..but not the electric bill that came with it. 1200 watts of metal halides, and a chiller, can get real expensive to run. reefing makes koi keeping look cheap!!! Energy efficient is NOT an option in the reef hobby!!!

[Steve E]

Here is another link to drawings for a protein skimmer/foam fractionator

http://www.planet-reef.com/diyskim.htm

All of these seem easy to build. The ones using 4" pipe take advantage of a 4" toilet flange for the base. Water in at the top and out the bottom (or from the bottom anyway). According to one poster on the Australian forum, he could not get his to work unless he included the necked down/funnel piping at the top and just below the foam collecting area.

Steve