skimmer airline question

[sergifed91]

getting ready to run a airline to the outside this weekend. knowing there are a lot of members here. I would like to hear how you did it and what you used? tubing, pvc, etc? what size is the air line on your skimmer 1/4 in diameter 3/16 diameter etc... how far did you run it? were there any obstacles you had to over comer? any picture. also with flooding how did you deal with that? where I live in iowa we don't get a lot of floods or flooding. but atleast 2 to 3 times a year in the spring and summer months we nights were we get rain that isn't really not that much but comes down so hard and so fast that the sewer systems can't keep up and the streets, drive ways and yards are flooded and all looking like a river.

 

[COreef8]

The CO2 inside my house is crazy high so I really wanted to run the skimmer intake outside but I had to run about a 40 foot line to the skimmer. The skimmer would lose a lot of airflow if it had to pull air that far so I bought a “950 GPH” air pump off amazon for $40.

It has an intake connection too so the air pump sits about half way between the tank and home exterior. I use 40+ feet of 1/2” ID poly tubing to run from the outside to the air pump intake, then to the tank with a couple barb elbows to pass through a wall. The tubing runs along the baseboards inside a large cable cover so it still looks clean. Despite the distance, the pump still puts out more air than my Reef Octopus Regal 200SSS will take, and it does draw a lot of air.

Since my skimmer has an air silencer with two 1/2” inputs, I hooked the air pump up to just one. If the air pump puts out more than the skimmer needs, it spits the extra back out the other silencer intake. If it needs more air, it pulls from the open intake. This is nice so I don’t have to worry about the air pump failing.

I have since switched back to a CO2 scrubber but still use the air pump and tubing if the pH in the tank gets too high. Then the pump turns on automatically and feeds the skimmer with fresh air from outside instead of the scrubber. The pump has been in place for almost a year without any hiccups.

 

[Tastee]

I run twin 1/4” airline from my skimmer out the back of my stand, down through the floor and into the void under the house. Only about 10’ of run. The house is on brick piers so underneath is dry and well ventilated. No risk of flooding in my case. I see no noticeable drop in skimmer airflow in this configuration. It is of course a short run.