Skimmer tuning - need help

[hooked on salt]

It's been a while since I had a decent skimmer so I'm a little rusty and need some pointers.

ORCA skimmer custom body 8" (ID), 28" tall, with an OceanRunner 3700 needlewheel pump. Plumbed to my basement with 1-1/2" line to skimmer and 1" line to fuge. 55 gal sump/fuge with Iwaki WMD40 return pump. Tank 150 gal RR. (All but the tank came from Jessezm )

I used new sand and have everything running. The water is milky. I have the skimmer running but I'm not sure where the water level should be. I'm guessing at the bottom of the neck when it's running? With the pump and the drain running wide open and the output pipe unrestricted, the skimmer only fills up to the skimmer output pipe and drains directly to the sump. I restricted the output to raise the level inside the skimmer. I realize it'll take a while to start making skimmate but I didn't think I'd need to restrict the skimmer output to raise the water level. Suggestions/comments?

Thanks.
Jerry

 

[tgray3]

I don't have experience with this particular skimmer but you might want to try restricting the air. That should raise the water level in the reaction chamber.

 

[hooked on salt]

Ok, I did add a gate valve to the output. I just wasn't sure if that was the right way to raise the water level. Had a few minor floods too....

 

[acroholic]

Closing the gate valve is THE way you adjust the water column in the skimmer. I have an Orca 200 with the gatevelve mod.

What I would do first is start closing the gate valve until you first reach the point where is starts to restrict water flow, meaning close the gate valve until you start seeing water rise in the skimmer column, then open it back up about 1/4 turn. That is your starting point.

Run your air intake wide open, then wait until you start seeing some foam in the riser tube. When you start seeing some foam, close the valve in 1/16 increments and wait several hours between each adjustment. What you should see is a slow rise in the water/foam level in the riser tube. From this point you decide how much more to close the gate valve or how much to leave it open depending on your foam production and wether you prefer wet or dry skimming.

Mistake I made: do not make any adjustments to the gate valve right after feeding. Frozen food ruins skimmer operation for several hours becasue of the oils, etc. I closed the gate valve a bit after feeding (newb mistake) once and bubbled 10 gallon of water onto the floor.

Also for an Orca, a good thing to have for your waste collection container is a Coravlvue float switch that comes with a 2 receptacle outlet that turns off power to the pump if the skimmer overfoams and fills the waste container too fast. I just installed a new needle wheel on mine, and it has overfoamed twice on me and this float switch eliminates the problems of flooding.
Dave

 

[hooked on salt]

I'll have to look into the overflow switch. Sounds like a good idea. While I was setting up my Tunze's tonight I had another mini flood in the basement. I think I need to let a little more flow until things settle down some.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

If your water is "milky" from the sand, you are going to have problems fine tuning anything. I would wait for the milkiness to clear first, then start adjusting.

 

[hooked on salt]

I believe you! Just can't rush it. I'll just have to keep doing frequent water changes on my 55 until things settle down in the 150. Thanks.

 

[weaglereefer]

Acroholic;313416 wrote: Also for an Orca, a good thing to have for your waste collection container is a Coravlvue float switch that comes with a 2 receptacle outlet that turns off power to the pump if the skimmer overfoams and fills the waste container too fast. I just installed a new needle wheel on mine, and it has overfoamed twice on me and this float switch eliminates the problems of flooding.
Dave

Hmm, seems like that's an idea that would be great on any HOB or out-of-sump skimmer Would a regular electrical float switch for an auto top off work for that as well? *gears turning in my head*

 

[acroholic]

au01st;313710 wrote: Hmm, seems like that's an idea that would be great on any HOB or out-of-sump skimmer Would a regular electrical float switch for an auto top off work for that as well? *gears turning in my head*

I believe you can't use a microswitch directly because they burn out with the voltages used in water pumps. Microswitches can be used to turn higher voltage relays that can handle the higher voltages of water pumps, like a pump start relay used with irrigation systems.

The CoralVue switch is complete turnkey. The receptacle wired to it is good for up to 200 volts. Not bad at $59. Here is a link for the switch:

 

[hooked on salt]

Lost a couple of gallons last night. Guess I need to open the gate a little more...