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Re: Ehiem surface extractor
Hoa wrote:
<snip>
>Ivo was working on an alternative a while ago. How is it going Ivo?
I'm very happy with my contraption, I enjoy watching the very clean
mirror-like surface it creates. Due to the high fish load, if I turn
the skimming off even for a few minutes an oily, bubbly film quickly
develops at the surface.
The surface skimmer is running continuously since I finished its last
version about 4 months ago. From what I heard of the Eheim device, I
think my design is better: it doesn't drive off CO2, produces no noise,
doesn't suck fish, doesn't clog easily and is quite insensitive to water
level changes. Well, my tank is well covered and the level doesn't change
significantly anyway. It catches small fry though, but has a compartment
that holds the fry and prevents them from being sucked into the canister.
I use the compartment as a pre-filter with a sponge and also as a place to
hold things such as peat (my current experiment to decrease hardness). It's
easy to clean without opening the tank, and the pre-filter enabled me to
space apart the canister servicing.
So much for advertisement. I have to admit it wasn't easy to build. The
current design came after several not so succesful experiments, and
involves a lot of sculpting-type work with plastic and small drill bits
and files. It's based on a $1.50 Lee's Economy Corner Filter plus some
UGF raiser tubing and assorted plastic parts. It's really not easy to
explain in words how it was built, so I took some pictures and can send
them to interested people. Better yet would be to post them in a web site,
but I don't have one (I use my employer's system as my *FREE* internet
provider). If anyone is interested I could try sending the pictures plus
description in a e-mail message.
-Ivo Busko
Baltimore, MD