Plastic bottle protein skimmer

[Moe33334]

And do u need a bubble stone at the bottom tube for it to work to push out water or can u just stick the tubing down there?

[jahrob]

@Moe33334 just the tubing will work as well...in my case i decided to put a plastic air "stone". This makes for a skimmer that shakes less...but then again stonbe or not it will work just fine...give it a shot and let me know how it went. Cheers!

[Moe33334]

Doesn't that create a lot of bubbles inside of the tank floating around?

[Moe33334]

What is the tube hanging off the side of the bubble chamber for what does that do n how does it work??

[jahrob]

@Moe33334 the tube has an air hose inside that takes air to the bottom of the tube...forcing water up and out of the tube thru the pvc elbow at the top...this flow of water takes water from the outside of the chamber thru slits in the bottom of the chamber...water gets cleaned in the chamber and circulated outside of the skimmer...

[sk81514]

i cant see any thing in this vid shit

[Reeferz4129]

Just made mine with some modifications but, the same concept as yours :) I used a see through salsa dip plastic container as the collection cup which the hose pokes through a hole a cu under it and it has deep indentations so the gunk wont go back into the bottom chamber and its more durable than a plastic bottle.

[jahrob]

@Reeferz4129 Great ! im happy that this video helped out and that you improved the idea!

hope to see more vids of your tanks in progress

Cheers!

[Reeferz4129]

@jahrob And also, thank you for the vid 8) who knew something so easy could be so effective? Thanks again!

[bassam2168]

can you use a normal air stone and and do you have to drill a hole on top of the elbow connector

[jahrob]

@bassam2168

it all depends on the size of bubbles...a normal stone produces bubbles too big as to form foam...the size of pores are too large...if you can get a stone that produces very tinny bubbles then the material it is made of has litle importance. Wooden stones have very small pores thats why I used them...

[neffin]

really cheap and yet soooo effective! thnx for postin dude!!

[jahrob]

@neffin happy that this video is of help for you! cheers!

[thoedestmex]

yehman thanks. ive had 6 other saltwater tanks but didnt have a skimmer on em. i had other stuff on em. but this is a big tank, i sold all my others to just make my saltwater 1 big tank. still cant get a collection cup, but i have it to where its going to go and spill at

[thoedestmex]

alright. preciate it man

[jahrob]

@thoedestmex you welcome. good luck with your aquarium! :)

[thoedestmex]

so when you clean it out does it not leak when you detach it or something?

[jahrob]

@thoedestmex if you let it overflow...(not cleaning it for days...) then it might leak...if you seal the joint at the bottle opening it will be fine...

[vanhalenman60]

do you need micro bubles or can you use a silica airsone

[jahrob]

@vanhalenman60 here i used a "wooden stone" a sillica stone might not work. so yes...for microbubles a wooden stone is the cheap easy way to go

[thoedestmex]

how did you make the collection cup? i have a skimmer it just doesnt have a collection cup so i need to make one.

if you could let me know id appreciate that.

[thoedestmex]

how did you make the collection cup? i have a skimmer it just doesnt have a collection cup so i need to make one.

if you could let me know id appreciate that.

[jahrob]

i took a standard soda plastic bottle and cut it at about 1 inch from above its bottom...the the top half *with (the opening) was coupled with a piece of hose the green hose you see in the video...was pushed at hand pressure inside the bottle at 1 to 2 inches inside the bottle...then i used some taping to seal the edges..just in case...remember you want the hose to be short enough for the foam to crawl up and fall inside the upside the bottle..

[chengaun]

can this be used in freshwater??

[brotherblonde]

@chengaun I just noticed no one has answered you after 3 months. I have only just seen this video myself. The simple answer is, no. Skimmers only work with salt water. I have forgotten the chemistry involved,...( from what I understand, protein skimmers only work in saltwater tanks because the high salinity which also makes the water more dense allows for the surface tension that's needed in the bubbles in order for the large organics molecules to adsorb to them.) Hope that helps.

[chengaun]

@brotherblonde thanks. that helps alot. :)

[jahrob]

@chengaun Your fresh water tank will highly benefit from using a skimmer. The skimming process will work in fresh water as well

[jahrob]

@brotherblonde The skimming process is more of a physical one...molecular oxigen is higly polar...electrically active...it will have other molecules attach to it self and then other forces *VanderWalls" and water tension it self will finish the pick-up work! the chemical properties of the molecules will not fundamentally change...With this said...the skimming process will work in both, fresh and salt water tanks without exception.

[brotherblonde]

@jahrob OK, thanks for that. I appreciate your input and the information. We learn new stuff every day. Thanks.

[jahrob]

@brotherblonde good luck with your tank!  :)

[Tacofiesta99]

can you pleas make a video explaining how u did this. very cool

[jahrob]

@Tacofiesta99...i just got a new camera and will most likely be making a new video on this...but in August...perhaps...Im out of "office" for a while...

sorry...if you have questions just ask and i will try to help you as much as i can

cheers!

[Joel94162]

Do you worry about micro-bubbles with your design?

[jahrob]

mmm i don't know if microbubbles would be an issue with these small skimmers...my guess is no.

[nanoreefcrazy]

do you still have that skimmer?

[jahrob]

These skimmers are so easy to make and last long time...if it gets too dirty you can always change the plastic botle for another one laying around....

[FishyMoe]

why don't they make all skimmers out of this plastic? Its very lightweight and durable and doesn't seep chemicals into the water. You could even make them out of recycled plastic.

[jahrob]

its a good question...but i guess factors such as mass production-material price ratios tip the decition making process in other directions...

[FishyMoe]

hmm maybe... but isnt PET like the most common plastic (i dont know)? i mean how many coke bottles would coke make a year... oh nice skimmer by the way.

[jahrob]

thanks...i wish i had more time...i don't keep closed system aquariums anymore so i dont use skimmers now...really enjoyed the discovery process while building this litle guy here...

cheers!

[shall51994]

hould u possibly send me more detailed directions i cant get on that website

[collinw24]

About how much skimmate does this pull from the aquarium?

[jahrob]

its kind of hard to tell...i guess it depends on how much air is going into the tank and how heavy is the organic load on the system too. In my experience this kind of skimmer is good for small aquariums (15 to 35 litres). This skimmer in particular required adjustment at about 24 hours after feeding the fish in the tank cuz it was pretty efficient...

[chengaun]

is this aquarium saltwater or freshwater??

[jahrob]

salt

[Vanlommel1]

thats awesome

[jahrob]

thanks!

[sloppi1234]

truly youre the B

[vanhalenman60]

can u use a protien skimmer in a freshwater tank

[nodnerb04]

no only for saltwater tanks

[jahrob]

@nodnerb04 the skimming process is the same in both salt and fresh water tanks...why would it be different?

[jbfan225]

@jahrob how does it make microbubbles good enough to skim in freshwater?

[jahrob]

@jbfan225 micro bubbles make more contact surface...therefore the foam is more efficient in picking up, slime and phisiological waste products...it is also dryer foam...which mean you loose less water with the skimmate. what we want by creating a sort of whirlpull in the reaction chamber is the most possible contact time between bubbles and the products we want to take out. It doesn't mater if your tank is fresh or salt water...the physics and chemestry behind it is the same.

[jahrob]

@vanhalenman60 yes you can. the skimming process is the same

[jahrob]

the plastic botle has slits in the bottom...the airstone is at the bottom of the green hose...so the air pushes water up and "new water" enters the botle as water exits thru the PVC elbow in the top...it is important to leave the top PVC elbow out of the water or halfway in so the water can exit depending on how much air you are putting in...thats the tricky part about these small skimmers...try making one and maybe improove something in it. Good luck!

[SimpleAznMan]

I don't see how the waterflow works in this... Because of where the top PVC elbow is. It seems as if water is flowing into that pipe and the airstone (within the PVC) is pushing that same water out... and not the water after its processed by your reaction chamber.

[FallenAngel5986]

whats the model of the air pump that you're using? :D

[jahrob]

the air pump is one of those small simple ones you can get in the pet shop store...for aquariums up to 10 litres or 30 litres maybe...this nano skimmer is probably  one of the cheapest things i've built...

[samsomiller]

that crap that comes out top smells so bad......

[jahrob]

well...its is crap in a sense what you take out of the water with a skimmer...isn't it ?

thats why with small skimmers and well...all skimmer should be cleaned regularly so the skimmate doesnt break down in open air...which is maybe the reason you have experienced the bad smell...

[AcidRain4]

nice skimmer, i want to make one, but i am retarded and cant follow the pictures in the instructions :( please take some still photos with a better camera and explain the process in greater detail, i really want to make one :)

[alextheromanian]

holy fuck did you film this with a cellphone? i cant see anything

[gsmugglin]

cheap fuck! nano skimmers are cheap u can find one for about 30 bucks

[jahrob]

great...send in the 30 bucks then...

[Jagerspades]

thats 30 bucks he can spend on fish / coral :O

[phantasm48]

Nice video! Thanks for taking the time w/ the captions too.

[jahrob]

thanks...the video quality sucks big time but thats as much as you get with a cellphone camera hehe

[jahrob]

Comments appreciated too