Skimmer overflow???

Sacohen · Feb 28, 2015

I have a 29 gallon sump and my skimmer sits about 9" in the water.

This puts the drain port for the skimmer cup under the top of the sump (not in the water).

I'm trying to figure out how to run the drain tubing to the collection jug.

My thoughts are...

1) Drill the side of the sump with the appropriate size bulkhead or uni-seal

2) Drill the drain higher in the collection cup.

Any suggestions?

Reefing Madness · Feb 28, 2015

Drill the drain higher in the cup.

Sacohen · Feb 28, 2015

Probably the easiest, but I didn't want to ruin the cup in case I want to resell it.

Hesitant to drill the sump.
I've never done it.

redfishbluefish · Feb 28, 2015

I wouldn't drill anything. First, I'd raise the skimmer up as high as I could. Second, I'd pick up a couple tubing elbows and run it over the top of the tank. This might require slightly filling the cup before it drains, but certainly easier then drilling. If this solution doesn't work, you could then drill.

Sacohen · Feb 28, 2015

The stand for the skimmer is as high as it can go.

I ran the tubing over the sump edge into a container last night basic recreating the series of elbows and it would not draon unless I started a siphon.

I thought once the water level in the cup got higher than the sump edge the weight of the water would force it over the echo in the tubing.
There wa no kink in the tubing last night.
That happened when I moved to cup to get a better picture.

miamiangler · Feb 28, 2015

I put a bulk head on the side of the sump ,just make sure when everything stops and fills with water It does not pour out of the hole . I would not drill hole higher In the collection cup . It would spill all over when time for cleaning ,been there and done that !

kacrocorals581 · Feb 28, 2015

use egg crate to make it higher

Sacohen · Feb 28, 2015

Don't have the room on the stand to go any higher.

It's already on a 4" eggcrate stand so it's not so low in the water.

ifarmer · Feb 28, 2015

make the skimmer stand higher.
do not drill the cup,you are going to ruin your skimmer.

Other options would be replace your 29g sump with a 20g long sump.

ritter6788 · Feb 28, 2015

Plug the drain hole and just clean out your cup. The collection bucket is going to stink anyway.

FarmerTy · Feb 28, 2015

Mine is setup similar to yours and when my cup fills high enough, it spills over into the skimmate reservoir... no drilling needed and no siphon needed.

Sacohen · Mar 1, 2015

tybota said:
Mine is setup similar to yours and when my cup fills high enough, it spills over into the skimmate reservoir... no drilling needed and no siphon needed.

Then you're just re-introducing the skimmate back into your system and making the skimmer and all the filtration do double the work.

ritter6788 said:
Plug the drain hole and just clean out your cup. The collection bucket is going to stink anyway.

I already have it set up similarly on my 55 and it doesn't stink.
It goes into a closed container, like a gallon milk jug) and there is a small bag of activated carbon up an the top to reduce any odor.

Similar to this by Avast Marine, but DYI.
http://www.avastmarine.com/ssc/do/product/Davy-Jones-Skimmate-Locker

FarmerTy · Mar 1, 2015

Sacohen said:
Then you're just re-introducing the skimmate back into your system and making the skimmer and all the filtration do double the work.

I already have it set up similarly on my 55 and it doesn't stink.
It goes into a closed container, like a gallon milk jug) and there is a small bag of activated carbon up an the top to reduce any odor.

Similar to this by Avast Marine, but DYI.
http://www.avastmarine.com/ssc/do/product/Davy-Jones-Skimmate-Locker

No, it doesn't spill back into my skimmer, it spills over the lip of the sump through the tubing into my external skimmate reservoir... same as what you're trying to do. Sorry if the description I put isn't as clear.

FarmerTy · Mar 1, 2015

FarmerTy · Mar 1, 2015

Mine works just fine... it just fills up to the height of the tubing that's going over the lip of the sump, once it overcomes that difference of height, gravity takes care of the rest. It's nice to be able to see some skimmate in your cup before it gets sucked down into the external reservoir. That way I can judge the color of the skimmate before it gets added to the rest.

Sacohen · Mar 1, 2015

Tybota;
That's what I want, but the sump wall is too high and the liquid won't make it over the edge.

I thought it would too, but it didn't and i don't really feel like sucking on skimmate to get a siphon going.

FarmerTy · Mar 1, 2015

I was worried about the same but it worked for me oddly. Perhaps your skimmate is too chunky (sorry for lack of a better word) and it's clogging the line? It just seems odd that the weight of the backed up liquid in the cup would not push it over the edge of the sump lid once the height of the skimmate is high enough. It's somehow defying gravity and mother nature doesn't like it when you mess with one of her universal forces. [emoji16]

FarmerTy · Mar 1, 2015

Is at any point the tubing run any higher than the top of the skimmer cup edge where the bubbles spill over from normal operation?

Just a thought, and sorry, tough to try to diagnose when it's not really in front of me so I'm just shooting into the dark here but, maybe get a less rigid tubing, one that is more pliable, so you can maneuver it through the two bends? I know you mentioned the kink in the picture was just from taking the photo. I was just worried that once that more rigid tubing made it over your sump wall, that it didn't go quickly down to the reservoir from that point. If at any time that it is higher than the top of your skimmer cup spillover point, then gravity will not help you drain it.

Sacohen · Mar 1, 2015

I wasn't even using the skinner. I was testing it with plain water.
If anything it going to work it would be water.

It maybe that the height the water has to climb to go over the sump edge is greater the half the total height of the water in the cup.

FarmerTy · Mar 1, 2015

That sounds a lot less messy and smelly of a test. As long as their aren't any restrictions that could cause a difference of pressure, it should flow up the tubing the same height as it is in the cup. If the end of the tubing say is plugged, then that won't happen. If there is something clogged in the exit port of the skimmer cup, then it won't happen as well.