Need help with skimmer

[J-Dog]

Ok everyone, here is my issue....I am doing a new tank build and I seem to be having a skimmer issue. The problem is that my stand is only 30" tall, while the Super Reef Octopus skimmer I want to get is 23". The skimmers description says I need to set it in 6" of water for optimal skimming. If I raise it that high in my sump, then I no longer have room for the skimmer to fit in the stand. I don't have any room in my stand for an external skimmer, so an internal is a must. How do I resolve this issue? Do all skimmers need to be raised up to work properly? Or is the Reef Octopus line the only ones? Please help

 

[Troylee]

I think your a little confused.. How deep is the water in your sump?? If it's lets say 8" waterline you only need to raise the skimmer 2" up... Most skimmers perform well in 6 to 9 inches of water... So where exactly is the waterline in your sump???

 

[J-Dog]

Well, the first baffle is 12" high, so I'm assuming the water line will be around 13". That means I would need to raise the skimmer 7"......that means I have no room left, not even enough to remove the skimmer cup. Do i have any options to fix this problem?

 

[Troylee]

Sheesh that's awfully tall in a sump... Well is it acrylic or glass?? You could drill holes in the baffles to lower the waterline or cut it down if it's acrylic..

 

[J-Dog]

Are baffles usually that tall? It's acrylic, so maybe I can adjust them. Do all internal skimmers need to be raised up to a certain water level? If not, couldn't I just find a skimmer that could sit in deeper water?

 

[Troylee]

You can take a holesaw and drill holes at 7" or so to drop the water line.. As for baffles being that tall not really... I have seen a few but most are 6 to 8 inches for that reason and to leave plenty of room for wash back in the event of a power outage... If you have a router you could cut them down lower easy enough... How tall is your sump 24"?? Can you post a pic of the baffles?? As for getting a different skimmer Sure you could but not many will ideally sit in 12" of water... It causes a huge wattage increase and makes it really hard to adjust them since the water level is so high in the body...

 

[J-Dog]

My sump is only 16" tall, so the baffles are only 4" below that. I can post a pic tomorrow, if u still want to see them up close. If most sumps only have 6-8" of water, that doesn't seem like much. But I see your point about having room to hold more water if the power goes out. I check back with u tomorrow, thanks for the help

 

[J-Dog]

OK, here are those pictures I promised. Like I said before, the sump measures 16" and the baffles come up 12". Let me know what u think I should to fix this....

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

reef octo skimmers all have a drain on the collection cup. During weekly or bi weekly maintenance, simply shut it down and remove it from the skimmer stand. IMO a cut down baffle would allow for bubbles to enter the return area, and lower the value of that nice new sump.

 

[J-Dog]

reef octo skimmers all have a drain on the collection cup. During weekly or bi weekly maintenance, simply shut it down and remove it from the skimmer stand. IMO a cut down baffle would allow for bubbles to enter the return area, and lower the value of that nice new sump.

Are u saying to take the entire skimmer out of the sump for collection cup cleaning?

 

[Reef Breeders Verified Sponsor]

No, lower it off of the stand. And you only need a 3" stand, 9" is ok, thats why skimmers have an adjustment valve, just open it more. The skimmate would empty into a seperate container.