new skimmer design?

So how about this... It's been awhile since my prime but...

By increasing the surface area the bubble/air solution has to come in contact with, it would cause more buildup upon the surface and would probably "clog" after time if not cleaned, but allow the increase of internal pressure of the bubbles and allow for longer dwell time and longevity of the film before the bubble pops, allowing for more export of skimmate?


Think of a cylinder above the skimmer that's the transport to a collection cup, and it's filled with straws.


Posted it here, got a couple responses so far...


http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f...02541.html





Any thoughts? lol...

 

One guy says:

sounds like you're thinking of a rudimentary water collimator. My physics class proposed using something similar made with lots of small ID brass tubing inside of a larger tube with the gaps filled for a fountain to take up the spot an ugly *** piece of "art" was taking up. The school shot the idea down despite the fact we were willing to make the fountain spout and dig the area for the pond it would go in as a class project to teach a physics concept. The piece of art was this although it is now repaired as you can see. When I say it was a rusted hunk of junk that was an eyesore on our campus i do so while stabbing my eyes out at the same time. To drive the point home school tours were routed to "AVOID" it so prospective students didn't see it.


To answer your question though, since I'm not intimately familiar with how skimmers work (I'll get right on that though), in theory if what you say is true then yes this should work.

Then I say:


Lol, ahh yes! Abstract art! There's some like that around Cedar Rapids where I'm from.. some uhh, interesting concepts.. heh


In thinking further on it, one would probably have to combat REALLY WET skimmate until the proper length of the neck is acquired.. but then I wonder if it might turn into something where you wouldn't have a need for the cup really, but long enough tubes that would just clog like arteries until it was "full" or ready for empty lol...


Here's a rudimentary sketch...hob style..

https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=57213AAB99234120!459&authkey=!APo_jM2V8l-0zy8

Some guy asks to elaborate, I respond with:


Think of a stretched piece of latex, or a balloon if you will.

Blow it up really big, and SLOWLY poke a fairly pointy object into it, it will pop fairly quickly.

Now take the same balloon (same amount of mass) and blow it up 1/8 the size of the original balloon, do the same with the pointy object.


The balloon pops later if it's smaller because there's more mass to stretch to the pressure change, this can be the same principle of air popping a bubble. Until the outside pressure overrides the walls of the blown up "material", the material holds structure. Like a balloon entering the atmosphere, once it gets high enough it pops...


If I'm remembering this correctly /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/smile.gif




Yes, it would basically be like maximizing the number of bubbles that CAN rise up the neck of the skimmer into the collection cup, because the bubbles will keep internal pressure longer if they're 1/2" versus a normal skimmer neck being an inch to multiple inches... And even if a skimmer just operated off of available surface area for the skimmate to scum up, this would allow for more..so residual deposits would increase..

But the neck would have to be long enough to combat really went skimmate..? Otherwise you would just pump out water in a frothy foam I assume /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/smile.gif

 

Just the link for the pic is:


https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=57213AAB99234120!459&authkey=!APo_jM2V8l-0zy8

 

Ya, it'll be interesting, I've got some supplies en route, I think the absolute hardest part will be the length of the riser group, otherwise it'll just be a super foamy wet surge out the top...

 

Got 30ft of some square 3/8" inside diameter 1/2" OD square tubing, so I think that will prevent premature clogging... as far as cleaning a skimmer, what is this "cleaning a skimmer" you speak of /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default//emoticons/tongue.gif

 

New post from elsewhere, in response to my post:

Kung after some research on skimmers what you say would in theory work. The best use skimmers use a bi current system. The current for the water being pumped in flows down while the air Bibles riding from the bottom create a current going up. This maximizes the water air contact time.reducing the size of the bubbles gives the air a larger surface area which allows it to pull more proteins out of the water. If you could find a way to have say 1/4 inch diameter tubes and have the water getting pumped down a series if say 50 pipes with a stream of tiny air bubbles rising through those same tubes you should have a ridiculously efficient skimmer. The prob would finding a way to create the downward flow in each tube that doesn't reverse the flow from the bubbles.


Scratch that. I just thought of something.three counter currents are needed to increase the surface area if sure to water in large containers. You should, in theory, be able to just use an air lift with really tiny bubbles but not do small they can't rise efficiently and at the top of your tubing would be a small lip before it over spills into the collection cup. The small lip will are for the mixture to foam good at the to and allow for water run off to go back to the tank. By small lip i'm thinking maybe an inch or 2.