DIY Bubble Plate
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: DIY
Forum Description: Do it Yourself
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=33722
Printed Date: July 24 2026 at 10:39pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.03 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: DIY Bubble Plate
Posted By: downhill_biker
Subject: DIY Bubble Plate
Date Posted: June 10 2009 at 12:39am
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here is what i had in mind: the first pic is the skimmer how it is now, the second has the mod. i would add an elbow and a down tube on the skimmer infeed. it would then feed into a 4" piece of pvc with a cap on it with lots of holes drilled in it to act as a bubble plate. what do you guys think? i think i can do all this work inside the skimmer without breaking it apart. what does everyone think? will this help my skimmer perform? 
------------- Make sure you post your best pictures every month in our POTM forum. |
Replies:
Posted By: Dion Richins
Date Posted: June 10 2009 at 8:36am
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Why? If your using modifiable rec pumps (Like the sedra) with the air being drawn in through them then mesh modding them will do a ton more than what I could see the bubble plate doing. My g4 had a very small feed pump with the rec pump doing all of the work. Does awesome. I'm debating on adding the second rec pump but with it filling up every other day I'm thinking ....Why? ------------- http://www.customaquariumfurniture.com" rel="nofollow - Bad "censored" Cabinets Best quality in the valley! He is one sexy bald guy, even with out a finger!(MAC) |
Posted By: dew2loud1
Date Posted: June 10 2009 at 10:59am
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A bubble plate works by reducing turbulance. In high turbulance
some of the proteins that are attached to the bubbles are dislodged
which means less skimmate. Bubbleplates in standard skimmers and
cone shaped skimmers all serve to create a less turbulant smoother
transition to the collection cup. If you wanted to use a bubble plate than you wouldn't necessarily want your feed pump going in it all all, they are for the output of the two recirc pumps that you already have on your skimmer this would change the turbulance inside the skimmer now to a calmer upward flow of bubbles. Does it work? Not sure if there is appreciable differences in some skimmers the turbulance does seem to effect the foam head significantly on others I've seen what looks like a hurricane inside and it still skims. Bubbleplates are more important on short fat skimmers with tons of air intake to calm them down a bit. It's interesting because this is all counter intuitive from how skimmers were built ten years ago, then we wanted them to "swirl" to increase contact time, not it seems that this dislodges more proteins than it helps to collect. What skimmer do you have, didn't see it mentioned and what if any mods have you done so far? If you want an easy premade bubbleplate of sorts I've seen pvc clean out drains that are already drilled and ready to go. Dion glad to see the G4x is still working good for you. |
Posted By: downhill_biker
Date Posted: June 10 2009 at 11:14am
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The skimmer is a Aqua Euro 265 dual recirc. The two recirc pumps dont really add much turbulence, and that is why i am not worry about "bubble plating" them. the sedra 9000 feed pump is mesh modded and feeds a lot of the bubbles in the skimmer. this is why i want to A: get it feeding at the bottom of the skimmer, and B: take down the turbulence made by it. i probably will mesh mod the recirc pumps, but i think getting the sedra down to the bottom will do more, since the two recirc pumps are relatively low flow. ------------- Make sure you post your best pictures every month in our POTM forum. |
Posted By: Dion Richins
Date Posted: June 10 2009 at 11:21am
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Thanks dew2loud1 I learn something every day!!! ------------- http://www.customaquariumfurniture.com" rel="nofollow - Bad "censored" Cabinets Best quality in the valley! He is one sexy bald guy, even with out a finger!(MAC) |
Posted By: downhill_biker
Date Posted: June 10 2009 at 11:30am
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i just measured and only have a 3" opening on the neck, so that limits what i can put in the skimmer. i guess my main objective is to get the sedra 9000 feed pump to feed into the bottom of the skimmer. i think that once i get it down there it will reduce turbulence enough that i dont need a bubble plate. my plan is to put a 90 elbow on the infeed and put a piece of pipe going to the bottom in. i will also mesh mod the other pumps and i should have a pretty good skimmer. ------------- Make sure you post your best pictures every month in our POTM forum. |
Posted By: dew2loud1
Date Posted: June 10 2009 at 12:21pm
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That should be a decent amount of air for that size skimmer, the aqua
euro's are pretty similar to the octopus line, the inputs and outputs
on the pumps are very restricted. You can remove the plumbing and
port the output out with a dremel which helps a ton with the octopus
pumps and should help a lot with the resun aqua euro pumps. It
will be tough to get in there and re-run the plumbing but its worth a
try. Is yours like this, external model, this one has a bubble plate though http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktHOLB1Im4Y Thats a lot of air and turbulance for that body. Have you always used the meshmodded sedra as the feed pump, any difference in skimmate with a smaller pump? How is the skimmer doing now? |
Posted By: BobC63
Date Posted: June 10 2009 at 12:43pm
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If my memory is correct the 265 is the same diameter as my OctoNW200 but the body is 6" taller...
also, the feed pump inlet is up high on that body... I think I would rather drill a new inlet down lower and uniseal it and then close up the old inlet vs. trying to plumb elbows insdie the skimmer...
You know what? Scratch that... if it were my skimmer I'd ditch the 2 recirc pumps altogether and just hook up a single modded out OR 3500 pump down low on the body (like the sicce pumps are on the Ocot Extreme line) and then use a bubble plate. I've gotten 50 scfh of air into an OR and that would be way more than plenty given your neck size here. The extra 6" of body length combined with a plate should make for a nice stable bubble column, too...
But everybody knows I am "skimmer crazy"
 ------------- - My Current Tank: 50g Starfire Cube Reef * Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 * |
Posted By: downhill_biker
Date Posted: June 10 2009 at 1:39pm
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I want to be skimmer crazy too bob. my skimmer is very similar to the one on the video, but mine has the inlet coming it above, as bob said, and the pumps below pull strait from the body. i am not quite sure what you have in mind for porting the output, do you mean on the pump itself? i bought this skimmer used, and have always used the sedra 9000 for feed pump, dont know how it would perform otherwise. bob i am going to look into how difficult it would be to add the elbow and pipe, and also how difficult it would be to cut a new hole and use uniseal. i would love to use a sicce but by the time you add up the price of buying the pump/or two, i could just sell my skimmer and get an octo extreme 300. here is a pic of my skimmer running now. the biggest problem i have is how much wasted space for contact there is in the bottom of the skimmer. i am only using the top half, and if i get the sedra 9000 feeding in the bottom it will help a ton. as you can see i am getting decent skimmate, but only about a pint every week. seems like i could get a lot more. i cant really afford to buy new pumps, but if i get the sedra feeding at the bottom, even without a plate, and mod the resun pumps with mesh and open them up a little, i should do much better than i am now.   ------------- Make sure you post your best pictures every month in our POTM forum. |
Posted By: badfinger
Date Posted: June 10 2009 at 4:42pm
| i just barely got a 2009 reef octopus skimmer 110, and its design is basically the air and water enter below the bubble plate and circles around down there, then up threw the bubble plate, attached to the bubble plate is a cylinder that goes about half way up the skimmer, and the cylinder keeps the bubbles in close contact in the middle of the skimmer, then at the top it opens up... it seems to work really well... hope that is a little useful |
Posted By: downhill_biker
Date Posted: June 11 2009 at 12:25pm
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ok, change of plans here. i think i am just going to cut the skimmer open. i have a couple questions though. what do i glue it back together with? i want to put the feed pump lower, what do i drill the hole with, what size? i use uniseals right? where do i find those? ------------- Make sure you post your best pictures every month in our POTM forum. |
Posted By: downhill_biker
Date Posted: June 11 2009 at 12:57pm
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called around and cant find the uniseal, anyone know where to get one?
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Posted By: dew2loud1
Date Posted: June 11 2009 at 1:52pm
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www.savko.com ebay several of the fish supply places have them as well I'd just google them |
Posted By: jfinch
Date Posted: June 11 2009 at 2:23pm
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Bird World in Bountiful has them (not "uniseal" brand, but the same thing). ------------- Jon https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6y_EzjI_ljbIwf2n5uNzTw" rel="nofollow - What I've been doing... |
Posted By: downhill_biker
Date Posted: June 12 2009 at 1:11am
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i was thinking about it, and might as well re-use the one i am pulling out. assuming it will be reusable. i will need the fittings anyway, and can just bend a piece of acrylic and use weld on to seal the hole.
------------- Make sure you post your best pictures every month in our POTM forum. |
Posted By: Dion Richins
Date Posted: June 12 2009 at 8:30am
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Quick question. After looking at my asm's last night I also noticed that there is some space at the bottom that is with out bubbles. However the skimmer empties through the bottom so if you have bubbles filling the complete body wont you end up dumping micro bubbles into your sump? ------------- http://www.customaquariumfurniture.com" rel="nofollow - Bad "censored" Cabinets Best quality in the valley! He is one sexy bald guy, even with out a finger!(MAC) |
Posted By: downhill_biker
Date Posted: June 12 2009 at 11:24am
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yes. in that situation i would. i will be feeding into a piece of pvc in the center, and the water will be sucked out from around the pvc. the bubble plate will be about 5" higher, so bubbles should head up that way before getting sucked out. similar to my first drawing. ------------- Make sure you post your best pictures every month in our POTM forum. |
Posted By: downhill_biker
Date Posted: June 12 2009 at 12:56pm
Here's the new skimmer design. What does everyone think? I still want to use the cup in the bottom to keep micro bubbles out of the skimmer outlet. The bubble plate is just above the two recirc pumps and still gives the top 1/2-2/3 of the skimmer to settle down. Simply removing all the fittings from the inlet should help, I think it necks down to half inch in a couple spots.
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Posted By: sanddune600
Date Posted: June 12 2009 at 7:15pm
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I would be worried about what material the skimmer is made out of some acrylic doesnt do well with weldon I saw someone try and glue one up after cutting and it crazed all over he ended up throwing the whole thing away when he was done
------------- Andy Jorgensen My number is four three 5 7 six four 8 0 three four |
Posted By: downhill_biker
Date Posted: June 13 2009 at 2:00pm
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well, i guess i need to figure that out. i will contact aqua euro and see what they say. they have been super friendly so far helping me with pumps and such. i will just ask them what they use to glue with, and where i can get it. thanks ------------- Make sure you post your best pictures every month in our POTM forum. |