msx skimmer help

acanman · Dec 23, 2009

i know theres break in time with a new skimmer.. i just put together and in my tank like 30 min ago.. and was wondering if i should leave the air valve open until it starts to break in or what.. and if so how long does it take before i should start trying to tune on it.. i was messing with it and it seems to want to overflow into the collection cup if i move the valve anyway but open... any suggestions???

gilmour01 · Dec 23, 2009

are you talking about the wedge pipe outlet?

acanman · Dec 24, 2009

yes..

gilmour01 · Dec 24, 2009

just keep it wide open for now. you made need to either decrease the water level or raise the skimmer a little if it keeps overflowing. it probably just needs to break in.

luke33 · Dec 24, 2009

It could take 7-14 days to break in. I would run it where the water level is at the bottom of the taper or the foam head is at the bottom of the neck. What level of water are you running it in. Also what model is it? Also is your sump water fluctuating where the skimmer sits?

acanman · Dec 24, 2009

luke33 said:
It could take 7-14 days to break in. I would run it where the water level is at the bottom of the taper or the foam head is at the bottom of the neck. What level of water are you running it in. Also what model is it? Also is your sump water fluctuating where the skimmer sits?

i got it from you luke.. the 160.. its running in about 10 inches of water now.. and ya theres plenty of water movement in my sump i have a powerhead in there also..

acanman · Dec 24, 2009

im starting to get it dialed in.. its pulling out all kinds of junk..

acanman · Dec 24, 2009

heres a few pics of it in action.

acanman · Dec 24, 2009

luke33 · Dec 24, 2009

Gotcha : ) Its lookin good man, i'd pry open up the wedge pipe just a bit to lower the water level or you can raise the skimmer an inch or two to make it easier to adjust. In 10" the skimmer will pull the most air though.

acanman · Jan 3, 2010

i need some help.. the skimmer keeps overflowing the collection cup and running back in the sump... i dont know whats causing it..

Myteemouse · Jan 3, 2010

raise it t o 8 inches of water and open the wedge pipe all the way open..
I have the SWC 250 and It can be tricky with the wedge pipe.
I'm gonna mod mine with a gate valve for more fine tuning!

acanman · Jan 3, 2010

ive got it at bout 10 inches of water and the wedge pipe is all the way open and i keeps overflowing

Myteemouse · Jan 3, 2010

you'll have to raise it to 8 inches of water.. I had to do it with mine to.
I put a 2 " platform under it

acanman · Jan 3, 2010

ok i got it in 8inches of water.. and the wedge pipe open.. that was the problem i guess its not overflowing now. but i dont understand i have been running it in 10 inches of water since day 1

luke33 · Jan 3, 2010

Its finally broke in all the way. The 160 does best in 8" water. The 200 does best in 10". For some the 160 runs fine in 10" but not for others. The people who do fine in 10" usually have very small bioloads. Just let me know if you need anything.

Luke

acanman · Jan 3, 2010

i was kinda thinking that.. wonder when the microbubbles will go away?

Ike · Jan 3, 2010

The 160 is fairly finicky, mainly because that's a lot of air for that size skimmer. Having it in 8" vs. 10" will make things better as you've discovered. Also, if you're running an upgraded pinwheel or the mesh you may want to rethink doing so and go back to the stock pinwheel...