DIY Auto Skimmate Overflow container

[spaulr]

Anyone here made one of these? I've found two good DIY designs but am having troubles locating the acrylic tubing in 1 foot sections. Here's the link to the project I was looking at doing.

http://www.hawkfish.org/snailman/diywaste.htm

Anyone else with a good plan - and where I could get the tubing in pre-cut lengths (I don't have a band or table saw )

 

[Anonymous]

check usplastics.com for the tubing.

or put up a WTB post. someoen might have an extra foot around.

Or just get a gallon milk jug and remember to empty it.

B

 

[trido]

I use a small garbage can with a float valve in it. It is just a two gallon can from the grocery store and a brass float valve from the hardware store. The skim mate isnt going back into the reef so brass wont harm the corals in this application. $7 for the can, $7 for the valve and a couple John Guest quick connects, two feet of 1/4" tubing and your done.

 

[stubbsz]

I must be missing something. I use an empty mineral water bottle.

 

[trido]

I must be missing something. I use an empty mineral water bottle.

When your skimmer goes wonky it is a good idea to have a failsafe to prevent green floods. Every once in a while my skimmer fills my overflow bin to the rim. If it werent for the float valve I would have a FW tank. Skim mate is the worst kind of flood I could imagine in my carpet. :wink:

 

[stubbsz]

I've not had that happen, My old ETS Reef Devil seems pretty reliable but I could see that really being a problem... not only green floods but a drop in salinity as the auto top off throws a lot of fresh RO into the system... and a ph rise as too much kalk comes in with the RO.

I should never have read this thread.

 

[spaulr]

Thanks all for your help. I've been struggling with my skimmer box as of late and haven't had a chance to think about this. I will be coming back to it though....

 

[jimmyj]

If you do want to make the auto shut off valve thing, it's easy to do with just a ping pong ball and some assorted fittings that can be found at HD.

Get a ping pong ball (I used a cool yellow smily face one) and go to HD. Off hand I don't recall the size or name of the fittings needed, but look around for a reducer that is tapered inside and the ping pong ball will fit into. Add a small section of pipe so it's long enough to hold the ping pong ball with some wiggle room, the tapered fitting part on the top. Drill the bottom of the pipe and insert a plastic screw to keep the ping pong ball from falling out. Super easy and works just fine.

 

[bleedingthought]

I use a small garbage can with a float valve in it. It is just a two gallon can from the grocery store and a brass float valve from the hardware store. The skim mate isnt going back into the reef so brass wont harm the corals in this application. $7 for the can, $7 for the valve and a couple John Guest quick connects, two feet of 1/4" tubing and your done.

Wait, what is this float valve for? :?

 

[spaulr]

To shut off the skimmer. When the can get too full of skimmate it cuts power to the skimmer pump, shutting it off. No overflows

 

[trido]

My float valve doesnt shut off the skimmer. If the skimmer goes crazy and fills the fill bin up the the point of full, the skimmer just overflows back into the sump from that point on until I get home from work. I havent had a skimmer problem ever since I remove the gate valve mod.
Of course, when I use epoxy I remember to shut it off before working on the tank.

 

[bleedingthought]

My float valve doesnt shut off the skimmer. If the skimmer goes crazy and fills the fill bin up the the point of full, the skimmer just overflows back into the sump from that point on until I get home from work. I havent had a skimmer problem ever since I remove the gate valve mod.
Of course, when I use epoxy I remember to shut it off before working on the tank.

So how does the float valve make it so the skimmer stops sending skimmate to the overflow container?

 

[spaulr]

Oh, I guess Trido is saying it doesn't. I guessed about the implementation, but guessed wrong :lol: . Trido, what is the float valve for? What does it turn off, or on?

 

[bleedingthought]

Oh, I guess Trido is saying it doesn't. I guessed about the implementation, but guessed wrong :lol: . Trido, what is the float valve for? What does it turn off, or on?

:?:

 

[spaulr]

I just re-read the post. Float valve does not TURN OFF the skimmer. It mearly stops the flow of skimmate to the overflow bucket. The skimmer at this point overflows back into the sump.

I had guessed previously that the float valve shut off the pump to the skimmer preventing any type of overflow situation.