Newtman Posted November 25, 2005 Report Share Posted November 25, 2005 does anyone kno where i could get a large diameter piece of acrylic pipe? it needs to be at least 15mm thick,and a diameter of mabye 250mm or so. Im hoping that i will be able to build a skimmer,but cant find anywhere that sells pipe big enough :-? cheers Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted November 25, 2005 Report Share Posted November 25, 2005 i've already tried myself - so dont try engineering plastics they dont have pipe big enough try 'westy1' he made some zeovit filters; not quite that size but his source may have larger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newtman Posted November 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2005 thanks chimera,yea rang them all ready lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted November 25, 2005 Report Share Posted November 25, 2005 Try: Universal plastics, Great south road or Plasfab, Hill st, Onehunga as per: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/zeovit ... t6784.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newtman Posted November 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2005 thanks ill check them out,hmmm shiping now comes into mind if they do have some :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted November 25, 2005 Report Share Posted November 25, 2005 does anyone kno where i could get a large diameter piece of acrylic pipe? it needs to be at least 15mm thick,and a diameter of mabye 250mm or so. Im hoping that i will be able to build a skimmer,but cant find anywhere that sells pipe big enough :-? cheers Tim What happen? You win lotto? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newtman Posted November 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2005 What happen? You win lotto? lol yea i wish!! ,nah going marine soon so need to start getting equipment n things, you know the tank in our lounge? well it will be moved against the wall and plumbed through to the sump in the dining type room on the other side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted November 25, 2005 Report Share Posted November 25, 2005 That pipe is going to be pretty expensive if you do find it. I'd make a guess at over $1000/meter. I think 15mm is going to be pretty excessive unless you're going really tall. I'd probably use PVC downpipe, maybe with a clear window built into it if you need to see the bubbles. Or just get a sheet of perspex and bend it into the right shape... Or use a hexagonal acrylic fish tank as the main chamber. Those are fairly common, cheap and big. You could make an uber skimmer out of one of them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted November 25, 2005 Report Share Posted November 25, 2005 or just order a beckett skimmer from ocean werx and be done with it. by the time you've got all your parts it would be much the same price i'd be guessing. not something you want to skimp to much on either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newtman Posted November 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2005 ah i c,yea if thats the case probly is better to buy 1,i was planing on it being about 1.5m high,mabye thiner pipe? or just dw abt the whole idea all together :-? if it works out cheap enough for all the bits i need then ill still go ahead with it but ill have to fine some prices first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted November 26, 2005 Report Share Posted November 26, 2005 if you go 1.5m high, you really dont want it that thin. there is quite a bit too skimmers - you cant just pick a random height and width of the cylinder, plus if its a beckett/downdraft style you need fat as pumps to run it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted November 26, 2005 Report Share Posted November 26, 2005 I have a peice you can have "aquired" it for the same reason it's about 250 dia and 2 meters or so long. Problem I discovered is that usless you know some one (which I don't) the rest of the plumbing cost soooooo much its just not worth it (like $100 for end caps that size), then you need to add on the cost of pumps, etc etc, it would easy set you back a couple of thousand. You can save yourself the cost of pumps by using air driven, which a lot of the DIY guys in the US do, but you would need a massive air pump and have to run 6-12 ofv the longest/biggest wooden air stones you can get and have to replace them every month or so.... Sorry dude there's no cheap answer, IMHO you best bet for bang for $ is the beckett from ocean werx like Chim says. Through it might pay to wait a couple or 3 weeks till those that have been ordered arrive and are run for a bit. Anyway back to the point, if you have a plan and still want to give it a go you can have the pipe, let me know if you need me to messure it etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newtman Posted November 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2005 Awsome!! :bounce: ,sweet as graig yes please,are your sure you dont want anything for it?? :-? i have lets say contacts 8) who can hopefully machine some parts for me so the only price issues realy will be the pumps. what thickness is it ? dam was just out round at mark n janes last night ,lyk 5 min from you lol. kapimana meetings on wed,mabye could sort summin then? Cheers Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted November 27, 2005 Report Share Posted November 27, 2005 I'm in brisbane later this week for work, so will miss another meeting but might be at M&J's tonight so will drop it off. Think the thickness is around 10-12mm, it's been 6 months or so since I looked at it sorry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newtman Posted November 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2005 oh cool,thanks heaps have fun in brisbane Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newtman Posted November 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2005 hey what pumps are you all using on your skimmers?and can you buy them seperatly? any recomendations,and links ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Posted November 27, 2005 Report Share Posted November 27, 2005 do you still want it 1.5m? if you do it will need to be a powerful pump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveA Posted November 27, 2005 Report Share Posted November 27, 2005 Would a 2m length of pipe with an ID of about 200 to 250mm and wall thickness of about 5-6mm d?. If you want such then you can help me tidy up my garage by putting it to good use. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newtman Posted November 27, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2005 steeve.. what kind of plastic is it?it might do,but i need the wall thickness to enable the base and top to be taped into to afix a plate to the bottom and the business end to the top,so might not be thick enough, but ill let you kno if i do,thanks for the offer anth.. yes probly somewhere around there,depending on pump cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted November 27, 2005 Report Share Posted November 27, 2005 what type of skimmer is it going to be>????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted November 28, 2005 Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 Yes put it this way if the skimmer will be air stone driven ( or stones for one that big), the pump need not be huge. But if it will be venturii / becket, the pump will have to be BIG, plus have a good pressure rating. Will not only be expensive initially, but use a lot of electricity. IMO you should first plan the whole thing, price it, and then figure if you should just buy a needlewheel one. Also, may be interesting for the rest of us to inform as to all up cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeBlog Posted November 28, 2005 Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 But if it will be venturii / becket, the pump will have to be BIG, plus have a good pressure rating. This is not necessarily true for needlewheel (venturi) type skimmers. You can make the needlewheel recirculating with the feed from the overflow and have an air pump to overcome the head pressure due to the skimmer height. This is what I've done and it works great although a bit more finicky to find the sweet spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted November 28, 2005 Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 This is not necessarily true for needlewheel (venturi) type skimmers. Needlewheel & venturi are two totally different things. Venturi requires big pressure rated pump. Needlewheel much more economical on power consumption, plus is generally regarded as doing a better job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeBlog Posted November 28, 2005 Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 Needlewheel & venturi are two totally different things. Venturi requires big pressure rated pump. Most needlewheel skimmers use a venturi to pull the air through, e.g. ASM, EuroReef, Deltec, etc... The venturi is just on the intake side of the pump in a needlewheel setup as opposed to straight venturi that is on the output side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted November 28, 2005 Report Share Posted November 28, 2005 Oh, I see what you mean. Probably simplest though to refer to venturi only, as venturi, and needlewheel as needlewheel. Because all venturis are not nessecarily needlewheel. The main difference in power consumption being that with venturi only, big pump and pressure is required to produce proper bubble size and quantity, whereas with needlewheel big pressure is not required as the needles do the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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