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I thought it was time to upgrade from my current Jebo 180 protein skimmer, which has done a fair job for the money but a bit under-powered for my 6' tank.  However, being a bit cash deficient, it came down to going for a DIY project.  Acrylic tubing is expensive, so I gained inspiration from my kitchen cupboards.

The completed "Tupperware" Beckett Protein Skimmer

The parts used for are Tupperware clones: Spagetti jar - $2.95, spice jar - $1.50, medium storage jar- $1.99.

The plastic containers used to construct the skimmer column.

I cut a hole in the bottom of the spagetti and spice jars. then used an old toilet cistern outlet seal to connect them together. This has the advantage of being able to dismantle it easily for cleaning of the collection cup. Be careful though, as kitchen plastic, although flexible, tends to shatter if sawn. So I made the cuts using a soldering iron and tidied up the cuts with a small round Dremel sanding tool.

Skimmer column parts assembled.

In my plumbing odds box, I found a sink trap (U) which worked out to be ideal for directing the water/air mixture from the Beckett injector into the skimmer column (aka spagetti jar).

U tube fitting to direct air/water mixture into column.

The sump or base region of the skimmer was made from acrylic, scrap pieces with an outlet bulkhead made from screwing together male and female threaded PVC fittings. A rubber washer was placed between the fittings and the arcylic to seal it.

"Bulkhead" fitting for outlet through side of sump.

The upside-down spagetti jar was joined to the top of the acrylic sump using Weldon 16, with the ridge for the origional lid giving a good bond.

Assembled skimmer showing path of water flow.

Beckett injectors are supposed to operate with a pump rated at a minimum of 4000 LPH, but by filling the 40mm down tube with bioballs (making bubbles smaller using the downdraft principle), was able to achieve very effective skimming with a 2700 LPH pump.

You may note that my design has "legs" on the ends of the sump. Although this unit has proved to be 100% watertight, the only place it could reside was in the refugium which has a DSB. The legs allow it to sit over the sand without interfering with the function of the DSB. The pump is directly below the overflow from the main tank. The outlet pipe was gradually shortened to find the optimum working level. This last pic shows the skimmer in action just 10 mins after startup.

It has been up-and-running for about a week now, producing around 500ml of concentrated skimmate daily.

Skimmer in action.

Costs

• Kitchenware = $6.44
• Taps = $2.75
• PVC fittings = $12.70
• Tubing = $3.20
• Beckett = $15.00
• TOTAL = $40.09

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