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Beckett Foam Jet / Protein Skimmer

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by ThyRaven, Apr 16, 2011.

  1. Apr 16, 2011 #1
    ThyRaven

    ThyRaven Well-Known ReefKeeper

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    I am looking to see if anyone else out there is either using or looking into using a Beck Foam Jet skimmer.  I am looking to build the skimmer seen here:
    http://www.reefworkshop.com/DIY_proteinskimmer1.htm
    But there isnt much information on the Beckett Foam part of things.  My understand is that I need a pump in my DT that speeds up the water on my overflow.  Then so far own the drain tube is an air inlet which forces air into the super fast water fall creating a massive of bubble filled water that then shoots into the skimmer.
    The videos of this thing in operation are crazy cool!
    So any help on decoding this build would be great.  Mostly interested in the Foam Jet part of it as the skimmer itself looks self explanatory.
    Thanks,
    Thy
     
  2. Apr 17, 2011 #2
    AJ

    AJ Inactive User

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    Beckett skimmers work as good as any other style of skimmer. The weakness of a beckett style skimmer is that it requires a big pump to feed it. For example, an MRC-MR1 skimmer. It's a beckett skimmer and its recommended to use a Mag 12 pump. That's a big pump! And pumps like that can add a lot of heat to your water which can be a problem in the summer. It also uses a lot of electricity. 1200 GPH and 110 watts. The manufacturer rates this for a 175 gallon tank. Compare that to a Reef Octopus skimmer rated for 200 gallons or an ASM also rated for 200 gallons. Both are pinwheel style skimmers and use pumps that only use around 35 watts. Also, a smaller pump won't add as much heat to the water. I know you can run a beckett on a smaller pump, but they are not as efficient and will not generate the expected foam output to meet the manufacturer specifications.

    Before deciding to go beckett or pinwheel, do some reading on the Internet and see what others have to say. Both have their pros and cons.

    --AJ
     
  3. Apr 17, 2011 #3
    ThyRaven

    ThyRaven Well-Known ReefKeeper

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    Cost is the major factor here as the misses is a tight a$$ and wont let me spend much. I already have 3 pumps - 1 is a MAG 12 and 2 others that rate 1500GPH at 14' of head if I am converting them from metric right.

    The DIY Skimmer I linked above will only cost me $75 to build since I already have the pumps.

    Is there a DIY for a pin wheel skimmer? If so I may look into it just for the power consumption rate being a third plus the heat factor is a small issue. My tank will be in the basement so it'll stay fairly cold down there. plus i was looking into getting a chiller just in case the tank temp does get out of control.
     
  4. Apr 18, 2011 #4
    jtesdall

    jtesdall Expert Reefkeeper

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    I have built DIY Beckett skimmers and I really like them. I agree with everything AJ said. I much better performance from my Beckett builds than I did needle wheel/mesh mods. I have some Beckett nozzles if you need them. I also have at least one housing already constructed.
     
  5. Apr 18, 2011 #5
    ThyRaven

    ThyRaven Well-Known ReefKeeper

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    Can you send me a pic of the constructed one jtesdall? I'd really like to see what you've created. I love working with my hands and building things. That's why I asked if anyone has seen a DIY pinwheel skimmer project that I could take a look at.
     

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