Protein Skimmer Question

[sandman71]

Picked up a pre owned 150 with it came the protein skimmer in the picture my question is what is the black tube used for? I assume its for a pump to get water to the skimmer and if so how big of a pump would be needed? Thanks in advance.

 

[rb647]

no, the pump is already connected. That tube is the outflow tube. Turn the second long section of it to face straight down instead of straight up. Let us know if you can figure it out from there.

 

[sandman71]

rb647;1047516 wrote: no, the pump is already connected. That tube is the outflow tube. Turn the second long section of it to face straight down instead of straight up. Let us know if you can figure it out from there.

We are talking about the black tube correct not the grey pvc with an A on it

 

[morganatlanta]

Looks like a recirculating skimmer to me. Black tube would be for water in at a fairly slow rate. Bubbles would come from the closed loop with the venturi on it. I'd try to find the manual for it with some googling, but failing that, I'd go for something around 150gph.

 

[sandman71]

MorganAtlanta;1047557 wrote: Looks like a recirculating skimmer to me. Black tube would be for water in at a fairly slow rate. Bubbles would come from the closed loop with the venturi on it. I'd try to find the manual for it with some googling, but failing that, I'd go for something around 150gph.

Id say your dead on when hooked it up in a tub only way to get it to fill was through black hose judging by the plumbing with it looks like the gate valve would drain excess i guess to keep water level correct thank you for the reply

 

[rb647]

oh, i did not notice the difference between black and gray. yes it is currently setup for recirc. to convert it to normal (non-recirc), you can remove the black hose and the line that brings water from the skimmer to the pump (pump intake). plug both holes left behind in the skimmer body. and then the pump will take water from outside the skimmer. then flip the outlet pipe like I mentioned earlier.