Skimmer Break-In

[John]

Ladies and Gents,

 

I spent this weekend setting up my 57G Rimless...YAY!...Although not new the hobby, setting up a tank from scratch is new to me...my other system was a hand-me-down...Okay, on to my confusion...the skimmer (Reef Octopus Super Reef 1000) is purring like a champ, but the collection cup is filled with wet skimmate...I knew to expect this (new skimmer break-in process), but I don't know what to do since its overflowing...Keep the lid off the collection cup, remove the collection cup, etc? The collection cup fills every 5 minutes or so, so I don't want to waste the 'new' water...what to do...please help!

 

Thanks in advance!

[Origami]

Do you have the gate opened up fully, and it's still overflowing? How much water is the skimmer sitting in (how deep is it)?

[John]

Yes, the gate is fully open.

 

8" of water

 

Air line is clear

 

Again, since using a new skimmer is something I've never done before, I have no experience or expectations.

Edited February 28, 2011 by John

[Origami]

It looks like (from the instruction manual) that there's a plug in the bottom of the collection cup. Pull the plug and let it drain back into the sump. (Keep the plug somewhere safe.) When it settles down, replace the plug and dial in the foam height.

[John]

Okay, will try that...I hope it doesn't take too long to break in...we'll see

[John]

Had to lower the water level in the sump...now it looks like its supposed to...now I have to fix my gravity-fed ATO or make a skimmer stand...great...just when I thought I was done

[FearTheTerps]

just when I thought I was done

 

DONE????

 

You're never done. "Done" = tinkering, tweaking, rearranging, upgrading......

[Papa Splax]

I have been having a similar problem (except my skimmer cant sit inside my refugium) so i keep checking and one day it drained like 6g onto my floor... I think its doing better now but yesterday i looked and it was overflowing but just rolling back into the skimmer and out into tank... luckily

[John]

This morning it was still overflowing...walked away for some coffee and when I came back it was no longer overflowing...it was actually skimming...I'll let it run wide open for a few days and see what kind of skimmate I get before I tune it...

[F&Fmgr]

glad to hear its working..keep me posted

[John]

Sean,

 

yeah, I'll take some pictures tomorrow...might start a build thread even though it's all put together now

[F&Fmgr]

doesn't have to be a build thread, progress thread will do

[BowieReefer84]

I like to start the skimmer dry, and work it up to the wetness that I like over time until tuned. Just an idea.

[John]

The way I understand it is the gate valve on the output side controls the water level...if left wide open, the lower the water level the drier the skimmate...close the valve to raise the water level for more wet skimmate...thus, I have it wide open at the moment and will monitor the progress.

 

Sean, I added some pics tonight via my signature...I'll get some in the morning with the light...

[John]

The skimmer has been working great, but I wanted to share an observation since someone else may benefit from reading this. Originally, I had the skimmer on 24x7, but following feeding the skimmer's water level would drop and it would take a few hours before the skimmer would start to pull skimmate. This would cause a build-up of residue in the skimmer chamber after a few days. Thus, I have programmed the skimmer to wait 1.5 hours after feeding and now it immediately starts pulling skimmate.

[Mopar32985]

I have the same skimmer what I do is keep it in 6 to 8 inches of water. Then I cut a strip of filter floss and inserted it into the air intake. It slowed down the bubbles and made much smaller bubbles. Now I get excellent dry skimmate I really hopes this helps.