John February 28, 2011 Share February 28, 2011 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! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami February 28, 2011 Share February 28, 2011 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)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John February 28, 2011 Author Share February 28, 2011 (edited) 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami February 28, 2011 Share February 28, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John February 28, 2011 Author Share February 28, 2011 Okay, will try that...I hope it doesn't take too long to break in...we'll see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John February 28, 2011 Author Share February 28, 2011 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FearTheTerps February 28, 2011 Share February 28, 2011 just when I thought I was done DONE???? You're never done. "Done" = tinkering, tweaking, rearranging, upgrading...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papa Splax February 28, 2011 Share February 28, 2011 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John February 28, 2011 Author Share February 28, 2011 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... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&Fmgr March 1, 2011 Share March 1, 2011 glad to hear its working..keep me posted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John March 1, 2011 Author Share March 1, 2011 Sean, yeah, I'll take some pictures tomorrow...might start a build thread even though it's all put together now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&Fmgr March 1, 2011 Share March 1, 2011 doesn't have to be a build thread, progress thread will do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowieReefer84 March 1, 2011 Share March 1, 2011 I like to start the skimmer dry, and work it up to the wetness that I like over time until tuned. Just an idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John March 1, 2011 Author Share March 1, 2011 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... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John April 2, 2011 Author Share April 2, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mopar32985 April 2, 2011 Share April 2, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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