# DIY Surface Skimmer



## JTravis1973 (Sep 18, 2005)

Hey from New Mexico,
Well as much as I love to keep surface movement to a minimum to conserve CO2 I also don't like the surface scum that results. It's too close to Christmas for Daddy to "buy anything for himself." I've got a skimmer coming, but it's to be wrapped and opened in front of the little ones that "bought it for me." 
Today was one of those rare days off that I didn't do a whole lot around the house that had to be done so I got out my junk box and started tinkering. I had a plastic tube used for sorting quarters that had a small hole in the bottom that some airline would squeeze through with an electrical crimp tube around it. There was also a slit in the side of the sorting tube at the top to slide out the extra quarters. I ran the airtube through the crimp fitting and pressed it through the hole in the bottom of the tube. I fed the other end into the strainer for my power filter. I marked the water level on the filter's intake tube and used electrical tape to bind the new skimmer to the intake tube right where the slit would just be at the water line. Go HERE to see a picture.
After a little tinkering with the skimmer's position I got it right to the point that the water flowing in would never fill the tube more than 1/4 full. This seems to provide enough falloff to keep the water flowing in, but the filter never sucks air. While it's not very pretty it sure seems to work! Good thing the plants are growing "like weeds" as my wife likes to teasingly tell me.
Justin Travis,
Lovington, NM.


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## JTravis1973 (Sep 18, 2005)

*update on skimmer*

Well now my wife cannot say that too much time on my hands is a bad thing. 15 cents worth of plastic, rubber tube, and some tape are definitely worth piddling with. I didn't realize that the skim on the water was blocking that much light! I always new that box of junk parts would come in handy. Justin Travis Lovington, NM.


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## Dewmazz (Sep 6, 2005)

That's really neat. Do you have any detailed plans or schematics that you could post? Using a powerhead in my tank creates too much of a current, and I don't have a canister filter. I'd need something for my aquatech power filter/s.


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## JTravis1973 (Sep 18, 2005)

*click the link*

Try clicking the link in my original post. It'll go to my family page where I have a fairly detailed plan of what I did. Good luck.


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## snowball2020 (May 26, 2004)

the link just brings me to pictures of you and your kids bowling. I can't seem to find the skimmer anywhere :-\ 
can u direct link to the page?


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