The Puffer Forum

I took a 550 l/h pump and a venturi and one of these bottles:

http://www.ocado.com/catalog/images-hir ... aa4227affe

Water and air is pumped into the bottom spherical segment and I have drilled holes in the lower part of the upper two spherical segments which effectively lets out 'more water than bubbles'.

I have duct taped the neck and upper part of a normal 2L bottle to the neck of the POM bottle so the two necks are touching and the part of the 2L bottle makes a bowl which will provide some room for the foam to collect before I wipe or scoop it out.

I know, though it may be hard to believe, that this works (to some degree) as I have tried it on a spare tank full of 'dirty' tank water I kept during a water change. smelly foam with visible bits of dirt started to erupt out of the bottle after a few hours or so of it running.

Is this safe to use in my aquarium?

Some years back, I played with some DIY skimming devices. I would test them with critters that were not too delicate at first. The skimmed material can be toxic (due to concentration in the devise), so don't risk special pets w/o testing first.

It might also be worth a Google search for DIY skimmers if you have not already done so.. There used to be some interesting ones out there.

HTH

Good idea. Unfortunately mine didn't work in the main tank anyway for some reason, maybe because the tank in which i tested it had was bare bottom and the pump intake was close to the bottom.

I do like looking at DIY stuff, but for things like this I like to hold out for a secondhand bargain.

Why's that, Bert?

Time is money, these DIY projects not only take time to build but often need significant upkeep and repairs. I cannot be faffed with that. I currently run 2 proficiensea power skimmers powered by eheim submersibles, they are fantastic. I expect them to last forever which is what I want. The first I got with sump, overflow, return pump etc for around £200 if I remember correctly, the second was around £80 with the pump. For a good product that is worth the upfront cost for reduced stress overall. Having said that, if you love tinkering sand building etc then why not. We all have our quirks, I like making my own tank backgrounds, this takes many hours for something that can be purchased fairly cheap but gives the tank a great appearance. I will get round to the how to build a tank background one day as I have promised

I confess that long ago I played with a good bit of DIY equipment. But back then, I was still in the lab and had constant access to a lot of lab equipment and a lot of lab folk who would tests for me on their own time. My DIY equipment went away when I could no longer easily and cheaply test the effectivity of the DIY stuff. It did need more upkeep (fiddling adjustments) than good OTC equipment. Ease of operation ans assurance of function are not small things. Without good to great skimming, huge water changes are the only answer. We cannot easily read their function at home. Put a good OTC skimmer in the system and if you get huge skimming for several days, you know you have a problem. NIMFT if I can avoid it.

@ RTR That's awesome! Wish I had a lab!
I don't really have the money for a proper skimmer so I figured something was better than nothing.

@Bertie Yeah, I love to do little DIY projects. Gives my mind something to chew on lol.

LOL! I am too old and cranky to seriously challenge myself any more. Now I only look for things to make my life easier.