Skimmer questions

[rodasphoto]

I have a recirculating Reef octopus for my 29 gal. biocube.
1. When I turn the power off to the feed pump and skimmer pump the skimmer overflows from the air silencer. What can I do to prevent this?

2. Where should I set the water level on the skimmer? If I set towards the very top I can wet skim but the skimmate is very light in color. If I set towards the bottom of the cup I get crud build up and very little on the collection cup.

3. Is it normal for the skimmer to be sensitive to water height changes? It seems to skim differently depending high the water is in the second chamber.

 

[jbdreefs]

1 . Sounds weird. Have a picture?
3. Skimmers are sensitive to water levels and most manufacturers have a recommended height. Essentially, lower water creates more back pressure on the pump. Internal skimmers should be placed in a stable water level if possible to encourage consistent performance.
2. I think most people prefer a drier skimmate. I could totally be wrong.

Having to clean the skimmer neck is routine maintenance for most. They even make automatic neck cleaners.

 

[rodasphoto]

Here is a pic of my setup.

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Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[jbdreefs]

I am guessing that the flow to your silencer is related to the fact that your skimmer isnt in the water. Is the water level in the skimmer higher than the base of the silencer?

 

[heathlindner25]

I would suggest lowering the bubble level to the bottom of the cup and just let it break in. it may be really big for a 29 biocube and might not have enough gunk to pull out of the water

 

[rodasphoto]

heathlindner25;942123 wrote: I would suggest lowering the bubble level to the bottom of the cup and just let it break in. it may be really big for a 29 biocube and might not have enough gunk to pull out of the water

I have had it running for a while and its definetly broken in. I had a feeling that this skimmer is to big but as soon as I can I want to upgrade to a 60 or 93 cube and won't have to purchase a new skimmer.

 

[rodasphoto]

JBDreefs;942112 wrote: I am guessing that the flow to your silencer is related to the fact that your skimmer isnt in the water. Is the water level in the skimmer higher than the base of the silencer?

The silencer by design from the manufacture is lower than the water level in the skimmer. I will push it to see if it helps.

 

[cotton101]

My 2c.....I prefer a wetter skimmate to a drier one, the more gunk i can pull out the water the better IMO-
you have to find the right balance, you dont want to dump a gallon a day of watery skimmate- i pull about 2 cups full of juicey gunk from a 90 gal everyday. also you bioload affects this sinerio.

 

[rodasphoto]

I pushed up the silencer and turned off both the feed pump and the skimmer pump and now it does overflow.:yay:

Is there any way I could modify the skimmer so that way it works on my tank? Right now the skimmer is 3x what I need.

The easiest solution would to get a new tank but I don't the boss would be happy with that especially since we are expecting.

 

[ringo®]

Rodasphoto;942346 wrote:
Is there any way I could modify the skimmer so that way it works on my tank? Right now the skimmer is 3x what I need.

Maybe run it for half the day or every other day.

 

[rodasphoto]

Ringo®;942369 wrote: Maybe run it for half the day or every other day.

I want it to pull more junk out of the tank but want to somehow choke the neck so that it its better sized for my tank.

 

[heathlindner25]

Rodasphoto;942346 wrote: I pushed up the silencer and turned off both the feed pump and the skimmer pump and now it does overflow.:yay:

Is there any way I could modify the skimmer so that way it works on my tank? Right now the skimmer is 3x what I need.

The easiest solution would to get a new tank but I don't the boss would be happy with that especially since we are expecting.

it's way easier to ask for forgiveness than permission....