YHSublime February 3, 2014 Share February 3, 2014 I have had some skimmer troubles with my CS3, and I'm looking for advice and troubleshooting. After I broke it in, I found a lot of flux. Sometimes i would skim below my cup, sometimes the skimmer would overflow. After months of randomly coming home and finding a weeks worth of skimmmate dumped back into my tank regularly, I decided to take some action. I cleaned all the pumps, both the psk-1000's, and the MJ-12000 as well. Cleaned the body, and put everything back into the sump. I then journaled all the changes I made, not just in the tank or sump, but also in the house (used the gas oven, cooked something in particular, turned on the heat, etc.) I started with two theories: 1. After cleaning the MJ I noticed that when I plugged it in, it provided a lot more flow then it normally does. I unplugged, and tried again, and it was back to regular. I guess it's possible the MJ is randomly kicking in at a higher speed. I've not tried another recirc pump or bought a new one yet, so this theory is still on the table. Has anybody had this happen that they know about? 2. Even though it's a recirculating, I believe that the water level dropping in the sump causes causes an overflow. I only have a 5 gallon top off, often associated with the overflowing of my skimmer cup is no water in my top off. I have been diligent about making sure it's topped off, and the only change I made yesterday was making sure my top off was topped off. Last night I was admiring how fine tuned I had the skimmer. Right up to the base of the neck, I had been skimming dry for a week. No joke, I thought about taking a picture it was perfect. I had a week of dry skimmate trapped in my cup, and I was feeling accomplished. This morning at about 6:15am, I walk into my living room, and the cup is overflowing. Has anybody else ever had this problem with their skimmers. Any thoughts or suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 February 3, 2014 Share February 3, 2014 Oh man, that sucks. I have never used a recirculating so I have no answers for you, just my sympathy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 3, 2014 Author Share February 3, 2014 Oh man, that sucks. I have never used a recirculating so I have no answers for you, just my sympathy. Yeah, it's concerning. No changes were made last night that could have caused it (at least visible or changes I would have documented, heat had been on for the whole day, we didn't cook, etc.) The more I write everything out, the more I believe it's got to be mechanical. I'm wondering if anybody has had similar experiences with their skimmers, and if so, what might have caused it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw February 3, 2014 Share February 3, 2014 I had a bunch of issues with the CS-2 that I had. Same types of issues you are listing here. However, the CS-1 I had performed beautifully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM February 3, 2014 Share February 3, 2014 It sounds like you might have narrowed in on an MJ1200 feed pump that sometimes puts out way more flow than other times. That would certainly make for random overflows if your feeder pump dumped more or less water into the skimmer at different times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveoutlaw February 3, 2014 Share February 3, 2014 Well, I find that hard to believe, buuuuuuut.......if it is the MJ1200, that's an easy fix........just replace it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef February 3, 2014 Share February 3, 2014 And have you thought about getting a skimmate locker...know this doesn't solve the overflow problem..but it would solve the back in the sump problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 3, 2014 Author Share February 3, 2014 It sounds like you might have narrowed in on an MJ1200 feed pump that sometimes puts out way more flow than other times. That would certainly make for random overflows if your feeder pump dumped more or less water into the skimmer at different times. Well, I find that hard to believe, buuuuuuut.......if it is the MJ1200, that's an easy fix........just replace it. So I have tried to replicate said "increased flow" from the MJ, but have not been able to do so. It's possible that it's kicking in higher. I will try another MJ and see, maybe I will buy new and see if that makes a difference. So Steve, I take it you never identified any way to keep yours from randomly overflowing? I'm wondering if anybody has had experience with a maxi jet switching up flow? And have you thought about getting a skimmate locker...know this doesn't solve the overflow problem..but it would solve the back in the sump problem? Yeah, I have though about not only a skimmate locker, but also a pressure switch to shut it off when it goes too high. However, I like things as "set and forget" as I can get them, I'm already spending more time than I would like with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandy7200 February 3, 2014 Share February 3, 2014 I have had some skimmer troubles with my CS3, and I'm looking for advice and troubleshooting. After I broke it in, I found a lot of flux. Sometimes i would skim below my cup, sometimes the skimmer would overflow. After months of randomly coming home and finding a weeks worth of skimmmate dumped back into my tank regularly, I decided to take some action. I cleaned all the pumps, both the psk-1000's, and the MJ-12000 as well. Cleaned the body, and put everything back into the sump. I then journaled all the changes I made, not just in the tank or sump, but also in the house (used the gas oven, cooked something in particular, turned on the heat, etc.) I started with two theories: 1. After cleaning the MJ I noticed that when I plugged it in, it provided a lot more flow then it normally does. I unplugged, and tried again, and it was back to regular. I guess it's possible the MJ is randomly kicking in at a higher speed. I've not tried another recirc pump or bought a new one yet, so this theory is still on the table. Has anybody had this happen that they know about? I suspect a variable output on a mj1200 is causing your issue. 2. Even though it's a recirculating, I believe that the water level dropping in the sump causes causes an overflow. I only have a 5 gallon top off, often associated with the overflowing of my skimmer cup is no water in my top off. I have been diligent about making sure it's topped off, and the only change I made yesterday was making sure my top off was topped off. If this was the case, the opposite would happen. A lower water level for a non-recirc skimmer causes additional head pressure on the feed pump and thus less flow. This would LOWER the water level in the skimmer and not RAISE it. Last night I was admiring how fine tuned I had the skimmer. Right up to the base of the neck, I had been skimming dry for a week. No joke, I thought about taking a picture it was perfect. I had a week of dry skimmate trapped in my cup, and I was feeling accomplished. This morning at about 6:15am, I walk into my living room, and the cup is overflowing. Has anybody else ever had this problem with their skimmers. Any thoughts or suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Rhoads February 3, 2014 Share February 3, 2014 Isaac, I have a MJ I will trade you if you want to try another one. I only use it to make salt anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 3, 2014 Author Share February 3, 2014 Isaac, I have a MJ I will trade you if you want to try another one. I only use it to make salt anyway. I appreciate that! I'll take it to PM to figure something out. 1. After cleaning the MJ I noticed that when I plugged it in, it provided a lot more flow then it normally does. I unplugged, and tried again, and it was back to regular. I guess it's possible the MJ is randomly kicking in at a higher speed. I've not tried another recirc pump or bought a new one yet, so this theory is still on the table. Has anybody had this happen that they know about? I suspect a variable output on a mj1200 is causing your issue. 2. Even though it's a recirculating, I believe that the water level dropping in the sump causes causes an overflow. I only have a 5 gallon top off, often associated with the overflowing of my skimmer cup is no water in my top off. I have been diligent about making sure it's topped off, and the only change I made yesterday was making sure my top off was topped off. If this was the case, the opposite would happen. A lower water level for a non-recirc skimmer causes additional head pressure on the feed pump and thus less flow. This would LOWER the water level in the skimmer and not RAISE it. I guess at least attempting a maxi jet switch will rule out one of the possibilities instead of sitting on my hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandy7200 February 3, 2014 Share February 3, 2014 Let us know either way and we will get it straightened out. Email through our contact page is usually the fastest way to get us though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 3, 2014 Author Share February 3, 2014 Let us know either way and we will get it straightened out. Email through our contact page is usually the fastest way to get us though Roger that. Thanks guys! Hoping the MJ rocks and rolls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 10, 2014 Author Share February 10, 2014 So Tom asked about my plumbing on the CS3, and asked how the water was being returned to the sump, and if it was underwater. I had plumbed to 90 degree elbows off the return for the outgoing water, and put a piece of PVC down into the sump to prevent a splashing noise. Apparently that can create back pressure from air getting trapped, causing the internal water level to rise. So I took it off and went back to my splashing noise making skimming style, and I have a weeks worth of nice nasty skimmate. I am going to run it for another week before I say the issue is solved, but it seems like that was the trick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM February 10, 2014 Share February 10, 2014 Mine exits just a smidge underwater. I put a short piece of PVC on the output of the exit valve that is really just barely under the surface, and the water coming out is quiet. You could try that instead of a 90 and "down into the sump" pipe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc Weaver February 10, 2014 Share February 10, 2014 (edited) Try using a tee fitting instead of the elbow and leave the top of the tee open but with an extension pipe so the height is above the water level in your skimmer, then extend your outlet pipe back underwater and try that. Edited February 10, 2014 by Marc Weaver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 10, 2014 Author Share February 10, 2014 Mine exits just a smidge underwater. I put a short piece of PVC on the output of the exit valve that is really just barely under the surface, and the water coming out is quiet. You could try that instead of a 90 and "down into the sump" pipe. I've checked out several members skimmers since then, and a lot of them have it just like that as well. I have also heard that filter socks do the job. I'm just happy to see results without dumping them back into the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 10, 2014 Author Share February 10, 2014 Try using a tee fitting instead of the elbow and leave the top of the tee open but with an extension pipe so the height is above the water level in your skimmer, then extend your outlet pipe back underwater and try that. Brilliant! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k February 12, 2014 Share February 12, 2014 I use the CS3 on the 500 with a MJ900. I find having a smaller feed pump actually allows more fine tuning with the skimmer valve. MJ 600 works great as feed for CS1. If the intake filter of the MJ's get clogged (and they clog easily), then skimmer output decreases. Best water level for CS3 is 4" above the screws and best for CS1 is 1" above. I also do not use any of the air silencers that come with these skimmers because that sucking sound is the sound of a working skimmer. By listening to the changes in sound, I can tell when the air intake is clogging with salt and it's time for a rinse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 12, 2014 Author Share February 12, 2014 I use the CS3 on the 500 with a MJ900. I find having a smaller feed pump actually allows more fine tuning with the skimmer valve. MJ 600 works great as feed for CS1. If the intake filter of the MJ's get clogged (and they clog easily), then skimmer output decreases. Best water level for CS3 is 4" above the screws and best for CS1 is 1" above. I also do not use any of the air silencers that come with these skimmers because that sucking sound is the sound of a working skimmer. By listening to the changes in sound, I can tell when the air intake is clogging with salt and it's time for a rinse. Thanks for the advise, Rob. I guess bigger is not better. Would you suggest at MJ900 over the 1200 then? I wouldn't mind the white noise of the sucking, as it is quieter than most stuff in my sump/tank, however, I frequently pull the silencer off in order to make sure both are pulling. Like the bikers, huh? Loud pipes save lives? I would say I'm probably exactly 4" above the screws in my sump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 13, 2014 Author Share February 13, 2014 Check out this poo!!! (said no girl ever) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami February 13, 2014 Share February 13, 2014 Stinky. You got a Swabbie on that thing? Sent from my LG G-Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 13, 2014 Author Share February 13, 2014 Stinky. You got a Swabbie on that thing? Sent from my LG G-Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition Doesn't actually smell! No swabbie, easy to pull off and clean by hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k February 14, 2014 Share February 14, 2014 don't you just love squishing it through your fingers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime February 14, 2014 Author Share February 14, 2014 don't you just love squishing it through your fingers? It's a guilty pleasure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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