Disaster strikes

[Paul B]

OMG, what am I going to do? I am beside myself.
(a few minutes ago I was two feet to the right) :

I was designing a new venturi valve for my home made 5' skimmer which is, I don't really know, maybe 15 years old, and you know how those large vinyl hoses get in that time. Nice and brittle. Anyway, the entire bulkhead fitting where the venturi screws into, cracked and came out. Luckily, I drained the skimmer before I did this because I knew I would have trouble with it. ???
I am sure all of those years of injecting ozone into it did not help.
Now there is a large hole in the side of the skimmer and I am sure water would not want to stay in the thing I can live for a few days (or forever) without the skimmer but it also feeds my algae trough which I really want to keep working.
This seems like a good time to clean the skimmer being I can hardly see through it anymore. I am soaking it in bleach now then it will be vinegar.
I had to install a temporary pump to feed the algae trough.
The skimmer bracket where it is bolted to the back of the tank is also very rusty and needs replacement so I can do that also.
Sometime you need to have an accident to get time to maintain these things.
After I get the thing back together and cleaned I still want to design a new venturi valve. The thing works pretty good but there is always room for improvement.
Have a great day
Paul

You can see the bulkhead here with the blue on it and the air hose stuck into the venturi

 

[Paul B]

The thing was due for some maintenance anyway. This was galvanized steel and is the bracket that was under the skimmer and supported it's weight. I am replacing it with stainless steel.

 

[Tazmaniancowboy]

WOW Paul, that is cool that you are still using it(well were still using it LOL)15 years later. That must have been a great design. Looks like DIY is your thing. You have any full system/tank shots floating around? Wish I could see the stuff in person. Good luck with the fix. Go and get another 15 out of it! LOL

 

[Paul B]

The skimmer is repaired and the bracket is re-designed with stainless steel so it should last forever. The skimmer didn't break, I broke it trying to remove a hose that had turned to glass over the years. One of the improvements is that the venturi valve is connected with a union so I can remove it without dealing with the hoses.
I also built 3 new venturi valves so I can test which one is best. The one I have been using for all of those years is fine but there is always room for improvement.
The skimmer nor the valve ever needed any maintenance and I think it should go another 15 years before I need to tinker with it again. Of course I may be dead then so someone else will have to do it.
I don't have a full system shot, just a tank shot

 

[Phyl]

Very nice. Great work on the skimmer. I know someone is looking to do a DIY skimmer. It would be great if you could post a build thread! *hint hint* ;D

 

[Paul B]

I got the thing back together and bolted to the stand, I got it running and found out why the bottom bracket rusted so bad. There is a slight leak, more like a seepage on one of the lower fittings. It was probably leaking for years. So of course I had to un bolt the thing, dis connect the 7 hoses, take it to my workshop and fix the leak.
Now I am waiting for the sealer to dry. I think I will test it before I put it back on the tank like I should have done in the first place.
The good news is that the new venturi valve works better than the old one but more bad news is that one of my MH lights that I did not touch, does not go on. So I have another "fun" thing to fix.

Phyl, this model skimmer is a little labor intensive and I am not sure a DIY thread would work. There are much easier models to build. I can do it if you like but it will be a long process.

 

[Paul B]

What a bargain, the ballast was only $85.00.
So now the lights and skimmer are working. I am not going to touch anything for a while