Sump, am I doing it wrong?

[HockeyRooster]

I have my tank up and running and everything seems okay. I am having a problem understanding how much water to have in my sump. The reason I am concerned is because the water in the return section seems to be stagnant on the surface.
Hopefully the pic shows what is going on but essentially, the water flows into the first chamber (with skimmer that I can get dialed in but that’s another issue). The water is then at the same level for the rest of the sump. Is this right? I’m not even sure if I am asking makes sense but please let me know what you think.

 

[Scurvy]

Looks on the high side to me. Ideally you want water flowing over and under the baffles. Skimmer chamber wil stay as high as that first baffle if you drop the water level in the next two chambers. From there I would also remove the skimmer stand or shorten it quite a bit. That should help you dial in the skimmer too. Skimmer should be in 7 or 8” of water.

Red line may be a tad too low but you get the idea I think.

 

[HockeyRooster]

Thanks. The reason I have the water so high is because the bubbles travel into the return section if there is a drop off after the second baffle.
Regarding your line, do you suggest the water line be just higher the second baffle?

Also, the skimmer is so high because I can’t get it to stop overflowing, even at that height. I still have to raise it up and try to get it to work. I ran it for a couple of days at this height with the drain open and it refuses to settle down. And I bought it used.

 

[un5tab1e]

Lower the level to where it's just barely dropping over that baffle into the return. Skimmer I'd read up and put it at the recommended level and let it run a bit to break in.

 

[HockeyRooster]

Lower the level to where it's just barely dropping over that baffle into the return. Skimmer I'd read up and put it at the recommended level and let it run a bit to break in.

Thanks regarding the water level.

On the skimmer, it’s a bubble Magnus which is notoriously difficult to dial in and often needs to be in a shallow amount of water. Frustrating but I’ll keep at it.

 

[HockeyRooster]

How’s this? Now I see gentle agitation on all surfaces.

 

[Scurvy]

Thats looking better!

Curve skimmers are a trick to dial in. I tried two and gave up on both. Im sure theres many a thread with some advice but I would probably try a valve on the air line to regulate airflow. Good luck!

 

[HockeyRooster]

Thats looking better!

Curve skimmers are a trick to dial in. I tried two and gave up on both. Im sure theres many a thread with some advice but I would probably try a valve on the air line to regulate airflow. Good luck!

I hadn’t read about adding a valve to the airline. Thanks!!!