!~!~! Skimmer help !~!~!

[ClownsRCoo]

Hello everyone,

I have just started my skimmer today for the first time in my sump. I ran it all day while at work and when i came home and looked at how it was doing i need your help.

I have a bubble magus curve 5.

I just filled my tank with saltwater and am running everything to check for leaks and get my water temp stable. I have not started to cycle the tank yet and figured now would be a good time to leave the skimmer on just to get used to how it works. When i got home today i saw that my collection cup was full of water. It looks like the bubbles are carrying a lot of water with them up into the cup and it almost looks like a bot of boiling water boiling over. The skimmer cup has a drain outlet tube on it but that is laying in the water and when i held it up nothing is coming out of that tube. I thought that was the purpose of that drain was so it didnt overflow itself.

Why is my skimmer collecting so much water in the cup? Is my water level too high? I turned the water output adjustment tube all the way to MIN and it was still filling the cup with water after only a few seconds.

The instruction manual on this thing sucks and is very vague. It says to keep the water level it is in at 25-27cm which is like 9.8 -10.6"

I have my sump water level sitting at 10.25" right now

Its obviously not working the way it should so someone please help me.





Also on a side note what kind of ventilation do all of you have in your stand? I have noticed its getting really humid in there and with all of the bubbling and splashing i am worried i will get mold growing in there. Does anyone have a problem with that?

[sleepydoc]

Have you checked to see that the drain is actually patent?

Skimmers have a break in period during which their bubble production is off, but it sounds like you need to 'tune' it by opening up the valve. This essentially reduces the back pressure and the amount of foam going into the cup.

[ClownsRCoo]

Originally Posted by sleepydoc

Have you checked to see that the drain is actually patent?

Skimmers have a break in period during which their bubble production is off, but it sounds like you need to 'tune' it by opening up the valve. This essentially reduces the back pressure and the amount of foam going into the cup.

I dont know what you mean by "patent" and im not sure what valve you are talking about. Sorry for being such a noob at this.

[Boston21]

Try to get it to skim the least amount possible with the controls (not quite familiar with the controls of those kinds of skimmers, I run a ASM Mini G) because you really have no need to skim hard on a uncycled fresh clean tank. There honestly shouldn't be that much too skim I wouldn't think. Does it have rock in it yet?

[ClownsRCoo]

No i dont have the rock in it at all. I dont have it in there running to try to start cleaning anything i have just heard it has a break-in period and figured it could get a jump on that. I just wasnt sure why it seems to be going on full blast no matter what and filling the cup with water. I didnt know if that meant something as far as the water level goes or what.

[Cozwey]

It is just breaking in. My reef octopus took 2 weeks to actually start working. it will eventually slow down. Just let it run. I also used to take the cap off and completely clean the whole cup out. Not the best thing. You want a certain amount gunk in the skimmer so the bubbles can grab this and build up to the cup and foam over.

[imsalty]

Originally Posted by Cozwey

It is just breaking in. My reef octopus took 2 weeks to actually start working. it will eventually slow down. Just let it run. I also used to take the cap off and completely clean the whole cup out. Not the best thing. You want a certain amount gunk in the skimmer so the bubbles can grab this and build up to the cup and foam over.

+1
My Octo took about 2 weeks as well

[ClownsRCoo]

OK thank you both

[mpeaden2]

Try adjusting the height of the skimmer in the sump water. There is usually a 5-6 in range if submersion. Other than that it sounds normal. Also be careful if you add any additives when you start cycle. Some can make skimmer go crazy

[sleepydoc]

Originally Posted by ClownsRCoo

I dont know what you mean by "patent" and im not sure what valve you are talking about. Sorry for being such a noob at this.

Patent - unobstructed, open.

The valve or drain opening you referred to. Make sure there isn't a plug in place.

[nmbeg]

Originally Posted by ClownsRCoo

I dont know what you mean by "patent" and im not sure what valve you are talking about. Sorry for being such a noob at this.

Patent--referring to the drain from the cup. That drain is there to allow you to leave it hanging in a sink or something, so the cup waste automatically goes down the drain, lessening your maintainence of it. Otherwise, you can remove that tube, and plug the hole, requiring manual cup emptying all the time. Seems like you have it closed right now, causing the water to collect in the cup. Whichever way you go, do not leave that tube dangling in your water--otherwise you're putting wastes right back in.

valve--referring to the gate valve on the big water output from the skimmer. opening/closing that valve changes the amount of back pressure on the skimmer, thus lowering/raising your column of bubbles and how much skimmate you produce. Right now, it doesn't make much sense because you are skimming pure saltwater--later on you'll see real bubbles and this will make more sense. you want to find a good height of bubbles that produces good skimmate in the cup, without flooding it with water all the time.

again, this will make more sense once you have proteins in your water.

[Kannon50]

boy i know your pain! i purchased a Seaside Aquatics CS5.5 skimmer and it is a bubble machine! i thought about using it for my neices birthday party and turning it into a foam party! ... kidding.

mine did/does the same thing, only thing that seemed to help mine. i put a platform under the skimmer. its now sitting in 5-1/2" of water. when i left the house this morning everything was fine, but we will see it only been at this height for about 18hrs.

i emailed the mfg'r and they said 5-1/2" was fine.

[ryansc]

I have that same exact skimmer. For the first week or two I just pulled the cap off of the drain tube while it broke in.

I keep mine sitting in 9.75" of water and have the gate valve turned to about the number 2.

It took a little over a month of trial and error to figure it out.

Once you get it broken in adjust it do the bubbles break about mid way up in the collection cup

[Mark9]

I have a totally different skimmer, but it took me 6 weeks to finally get mine set correctly.
Works like a champ now, clean it out every Saturday.
Skimmers take time to figure out.
I had to raise my skimmer up an inch or so, then raise the pump so that it was just below the waterline, and tilt it a bit for better air.
Then, small adjustments for bubble level and setting the wet/dry.
I put a mark on my dial so i'll never lose the setting.

[Clownemone]

I have the exact same skimmer. I contacted the manufacturer and they recommended a 6-8inch water level as opposed to the higher level recommended on the manual.

Any type of chemical you add will make it go crazy. If you are using a filter sock, make sure to rinse it pretty good before using it.

And yes, it will take a week or two to break in.

I hope this helps : )

[ClownsRCoo]

Thanks everyone that does help a lot. I just put my rock and sand in the tank so it is pertty cloudy still. Would this be a good time to break it in since there is actually stuff in the water for it to filter out or is it better to just let that all settle so it doesnt mess anything up?

[JAnwyl]

I've used two skimmers and they both took about 2 weeks to break in. Those were with tanks that had rocks and fish so I wouldn't be surprised if it took yours a little longer. Also you have clean water.

Just let the skimmer run that's the only way to let it break in, your skimmer cup is gonna be clear water for 2 weeks. I'd say just dump it back in the sump for a week then start dumping it in the sink after that.

[Cozwey]

Most skimmer cups will have a drain plug that doubles for where your hose attaches. Pull the plug and let it run.

[ClownsRCoo]

Hey guys so i need your help with one more thing. I put my rock in last night and the sand and i guess i didnt rinse the sand as good as i thought i did because its REALLY dusty in the tank. I let everything sit over night and tonight when i got home it didnt look too bad so i decided to test my powerhead to see if it all settled or what. Well as soon as i turned it on it became cloudy again and i cant even see in the tank. Will this ever settle and stay down or did i screw myself and not wash it good enough and have to do some major water changes? I havent even started cycling this tank yet so water changes wont totally set me back.

Really the only thing i have that would filter out this dust is my filter sock and when i turn my pumps on that thing clogs almost instantly there is so much.

Should i just turn everything off and wait a week or will it not get much better and ill have to do water changes?

What should i do?

[Reefmedic79]

Turn on all your pumps and powerheads that you intend on using, if not when you add a new it will just start a new sandstorm until everything settles where it will settle. It's not uncommon to take close to a week before it clears up completely. All the fine sand in the column is good to try to keep, IMO, it provides more surface area for bacteria to populate.

[JAnwyl]

Take 2 weeks to get the bugs out of everything (Turn all things on and work out the bugs) Sand is gonna be cloudy at first. Skimmer cup is gonna be clear for 2 weeks.

[nmbeg]

sand cloud is totally normal in the beginning. run all pumps and filters and wait it out.

[ClownsRCoo]

Thank you all. I feel like such an idiot when I can plumb a complex water change station, build my stand, assembly all my equipment and then second guess myself about such simple things as dust in the tank haha. Its very humbling to be in this hobby. Just when you think you are feeling confident and have everything under control something new comes along and throws your through a loop.

[JAnwyl]

Don't tell locals you can plumb or built your stand. I helped one person with computer issues, now I'm the "Computer Genius" and I somehow get roped into helping all family members with there computer problems. By the way you want to plumb my tank and build me a stand?

[hoohoohdillyo]

How did this go? Everything clear up yet?