# DIY Protein Skimmer



## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

hi there

i'm in the process of upgrading my nano tank with a sump,
and i've never used a sump before.
so while i'm doing new things, i've decided to try and do some DIY jobs on it
to save some money, this skimmer ( which i've also never used ) is one of them
and i hope to so a DIY reactor of some description later on.

i'm also pretty crap at DIY so this should be a laugh
seen a few designs and plans online, watched a few vids on tubeyou, i think i know
what i'm doin

so, first things first, i went out looking for something see through to use as the body.
i found these in The Range, and purchased 2, one for this and one for the DIY reactor









then i removed the label from inside and took the sticker off the top, and turned it upside down









i then took my new drill, cheapo one but it seems to be okay,took my hole cutting set and put a 51mm( ish ) hole in the middle of the upturned pot









then took a 1.5 inch tank connector and screwed it into place

















then rummaged around and find something to use as a collection cup









turned this over and drilled a hole the same size as the other in this too









then placed the 'cup' on top of the 'body' to get a rough idea of what it will look like









then took the tank connector off of the 'body' and screwed it to the 'cup' to see how different it looked









then i drilled a 5mm hole in the lid of the 'cup', so its not air-tight anymore
thats all i've done for now,
i've got to get another tank connector so the 'cup' and 'body' have one and then cut them down and cut a small piece of pipe to join the two pieces together, i will only have one ( if any ) glued so i can remove the 'cup' for cleaning etc

not decided if its going to be air pump powered, big one ofcourse, or powerhead with venturi powered yet

total cost so far = 8.97 

pot for 'body' 2.99
tank connector 2.99
pot for 'cup' had laying around, but came as a pack of three originally prob about 5 quid, so we'll say 2.99 aswell so its a little over if anything


any ( nice lol ) comments welcome, as are constructive criticism

thanks for looking
Daz


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

I won't comment until I see it in action 

Give it a good month or so in the tank, then swap back to your old one and see what crap it pulls out. Maybe it'll work as good! But without being funny, probably not I guess


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

lol okay

i've seen loads of these on various forums
i'll pm you some links if you like

maybe we can have a DIY contest lol

Daz


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

dazdaraz said:


> lol okay
> 
> i've seen loads of these on various forums
> i'll pm you some links if you like
> ...


I've got a Bubble Magus which was like £80 (oversize for my tank) from China. It's amazing, I love it, I'd never swap :Na_Na_Na_Na: And so simple.


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## Railz (Oct 30, 2010)

but they have only just come out with a external bubble magus :/


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## lionfish (Jul 15, 2009)

dazdaraz said:


> lol okay
> 
> i've seen loads of these on various forums
> i'll pm you some links if you like
> ...


Please keep us updated with this thread , as I'm thinking of doing something similar myself


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

*little bit more...*

hi there

done a little bit more work on the skimmer tonight
nothing major, basically a bit to funnel the bubbles to the neck
of the skimmer and into the 'cup' easier

so, take one funnel,









cut the top and bottom off









and put it inside the 'body' of the skimmer









like i said, not much but it has its purpose.

i'm also fairly sure that i'll be using an air pump to run it and possibly
have an open base like the GNOME glass skimmer,
Gnome Glass Skimmers and strainers launches at ReefStock

but may change this at any given moment of thought lol

Daz


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## lionfish (Jul 15, 2009)

Any news on how this is going ?


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## dazdaraz (Feb 23, 2008)

there is news yes
Bad news.  

Was bubbling up nicely but wasn't pullin anythin, i only had liverock in it so could be there weren't anything or much to skim for this skimmer. But the bad news, i broke the tank 
Was tryin to cut the botto off to put a piece of glass with a hole for sumping but broke the front pane. So i may be quittin marines again for a bit, unfortunatley

DazDaz


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