Skimmer
- Thread starter jdivz87
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Koh23
Valuable Member
New skimmer? Water level is correct?
If yes, open valve fully...
If i see correctly, that is clean water in cup so, lower water level in skimmer by opening valve at max, closing it just raise level in skimmer and it overflow clean water in cup
If yes, open valve fully...
If i see correctly, that is clean water in cup so, lower water level in skimmer by opening valve at max, closing it just raise level in skimmer and it overflow clean water in cup
I'm having a very similar issue. The surface tension of the bubbles is too strong, so it overflows every 20 minutes. Icould change the height fairly quickly, so I did that. The bubbles now have farther up to go, but it's no different. I'll disassemble it later tonight and see if a thorough cleaning resolves it.
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jdivz87
Active Member
Change the height how? If I have mine at 7.5” and it’s recommended to be in 7-8” I if I put it higher it’s less and can’t go lower. Can you explain further please thanks
Put on something raised. If it's skimming too much, I generally raise the collection level. If your pump allows it, change the speed until you get the consistency of bubble you desire. Then raise the skimmer if it's skimming too much, and lower it if not enough. This may mean adjusting your stand pipe if your skimmer has one, or raising the water level in your sump's skimmer compartment if it's already sitting on the bottom.
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jdivz87
Active Member
If I raise it will be less than the recommended right? And by pump you mean return pump? That will make it have less bubbles? And I raised the level from 7” to 7-3/4”?
I can’t go lower then the bottom of the sump, I’m not sure what a stand pipe is I don’t think I have one. I have the reef octopus 110 INT
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close valve and open slightly just until the water reaches below the neck. Should be in 7-8" of water. If too high, raise the skimmer. If too low water height, lower the skimmer into deeper water or raise sump levelAnyone know why this fills up. Currently watching BRS but trying to see if anyone has answer here …
I had it closed then turned on and slowly opened but water just kept rising
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jdivz87
Active Member
I feel like this is exactly what I’ve been doing. The height hasn’t gone over 8” so I’ve been good with heigh. As soon as I put the skimmer in the sump it fills up with water
Koh23
Valuable Member
That is AC pump, right?
So, if u open valve all the way, and it still overflow, solution is to raise whole skimmer few cm higher.
I have 150int skimmer, and diablo (identical, with dc pump), and i always have valve fully OPEN, newer had to close it a bit...
Also, if u can, to try to eliminate external factor, try and clean whole skimmer body with winegar.... If its used, and cleaned, maybe there is some residue, and skimer react with it and overflow.
Also, good idea is to dissasemble and reassemble everything and check that something isnt clogged or blocked, and that everyrhing is correctly installed....
Just throwing ideas here....
So, if u open valve all the way, and it still overflow, solution is to raise whole skimmer few cm higher.
I have 150int skimmer, and diablo (identical, with dc pump), and i always have valve fully OPEN, newer had to close it a bit...
Also, if u can, to try to eliminate external factor, try and clean whole skimmer body with winegar.... If its used, and cleaned, maybe there is some residue, and skimer react with it and overflow.
Also, good idea is to dissasemble and reassemble everything and check that something isnt clogged or blocked, and that everyrhing is correctly installed....
Just throwing ideas here....
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jdivz87
Active Member
I disassembled to make sure no clogs clean and everything and I started with valve close and open and it still just rises up. And starts overflowing. My friend said to let it do that and it will eventually subside but the cup will stay full. So not sure
Appears the tank is brand new.
Let it run over flowing, there is probably some residual contamination in the tank that will settle or filter out eventually.
Have you adjusted the air input at all? It’s on the silencer…
Let it run over flowing, there is probably some residual contamination in the tank that will settle or filter out eventually.
Have you adjusted the air input at all? It’s on the silencer…
Jedi1199
2500 Club Member
Did you pull apart the motor and check the needle wheel? If that gets too dirty, it will not chop the water up into a fine enough foam. I once accidently sucked a couple sea lettuce leaves into one of mine and it immediately stopped making that fine foam and started filling the cup with nearly clean water.
Koh23
Valuable Member
Or, you can simply do:
Open valve fully
Take skimmer cup out
Run it overnight or full day like that.
When water level in body starts to lower itself and more thick foam starts to build, put back skimmer cup.
Also, you can try to adjust air intake, not sure if this model have air valve on silencer, if not, simple piece of tubing and air valve will solve the problem, reduce amount of air, and see what happens
Open valve fully
Take skimmer cup out
Run it overnight or full day like that.
When water level in body starts to lower itself and more thick foam starts to build, put back skimmer cup.
Also, you can try to adjust air intake, not sure if this model have air valve on silencer, if not, simple piece of tubing and air valve will solve the problem, reduce amount of air, and see what happens
Jedi1199
2500 Club Member
I agree with this also, based on how clean the sump is, there is a chance you don't have enough dissolved organics for the skimmer to even remove. If the tank is brand new, you should wait 4-6 weeks until you have life enough in it to produce the waste that should be removed.
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jdivz87
Active Member
Love these ideas! Thank you guys so much! And my tank is definitely newer for sure! But even coralvue when I called said you should still leave it in there to let it get cycling (skimmer)
update! So I ended up raising the skimmer maybe 2” keeping it about 5-1/2”-6” into the water and held there for a minute I noticed the bubbles started to lower and it did not overflow at all. I’ll show pics. But my thing is…. If I raise it that high and the specs all say skimmer has to be 7-8” under water…. Can this cause damage will it still work?
update! So I ended up raising the skimmer maybe 2” keeping it about 5-1/2”-6” into the water and held there for a minute I noticed the bubbles started to lower and it did not overflow at all. I’ll show pics. But my thing is…. If I raise it that high and the specs all say skimmer has to be 7-8” under water…. Can this cause damage will it still work?
Jedi1199
2500 Club Member
As long as the motor is submerged at all times, no.
If you have an ATO on your system, it should be easy enough to manage that. My sump has a baffle between the skimmer chamber and the return pump chamber that will not allow the water to drop lower than the level that keeps the skimmer motor submerged.
This weekend (It is my Friday night right now) I am planning to instal the ATO on my 135 build.
