DIY protein skimmer on my DIY tank

[Airgoose2222]

Still a little rough, but coming along nicely!! The tank is 5'x2'x2'.

 

[Voshon247]

How did you actually make this protein skimmer

 

[Airgoose2222]

I googled a lot of plans online and combined ideas to what would work for me and my tank. One of the best I found had a way to keep bubbles from entering the tank. The bad part was that the inlet and outlet were the same size. I modified it from the pictures to make the outlet larger to reduce the suction effect in the outlet. The outer pipe is 4" and the inlet/outlet were 3/4". Now the outlet is 1 1/2" which has reduced issues. It functioned before with no problems, just would get a big burst if air periodically. There is a Powerhead connected to the inlet that forces water and air bubbles to a pipe inside the 4" pipe which allows bubbles up to the top. The outlet is drilled in the outer pipe which allows the excess water to return to the tank.

4" PVC pipe: $11
2" PVC pipe: $7
3/4" PVC pipe: $7
Ball valve: $4
PVC elbows: $2
Primer/cement: $7
Petco Powerhead: $20

Total: $58

Not too bad considering.
When I opened up the outlet more, I bought the 1 1/2" pipe which was $6. So true out of pocket was $66. Had I done it that way initially, I would be right at about $60. Not too shabby considering that the cost of a skimmer this size would be 4x that or more.

 

[Voshon247]

Nice job

 

[Airgoose2222]

Thanks!! It was a fun little project.

 

[bazeball05]

How is the protein skimmer working? Is it pulling out good skimmate?

 

[Airgoose2222]

It's doing great!!! The stuff coming out is nasty, which is a good thing. Very happy with it so far. Glad I decided to go this route instead of spending way more on a factory skimmer. Pretty easy project too.

 

[reyma10]

Can u show how u did it and which power head did u use from pet smart

 

[Airgoose2222]

It's similar to the pic below. I modified the outlet(return) to lessen the bubble return to the tank and put a T valve on to give an an air outlet too. The pump I got is the Petco brand one for $19.99. It has a flow of around 400gph or so. It doesn't flow that much obviously with the push required, but does great for the skimmer. I switched the inlet/outlets on it so the inlet has the bubbler attached to suck in air through the intake. Hope this helps

 

[Airgoose2222]

Here are a couple updated pics taken today...