My first protein skimmer help

[judin2117]

So I just bought a protein skimmer yesterday that i thought would fit easily in my sump. Turns out i can make it fit but the motor for it and my return pump are touching and the proteins skimmer return hose with the sponge at the end is pressed against everything also. Everything that should be underwater is and all air vents are clear, its just a really tight fit and i was wandering if anyone thought this would be a problem.

[whosurcaddie]

I think you should be fine. Other than the extra vibration you might receive from the two pumps being pressed against one another. Also make sure there is no extra stress on the body of the skimmer or the inlet or outlet tubes of your skimmer.

You should be fine just keep an eye on it.

[Dmorty217]

If it causes extra vibration from touching the return pump that maybe a issue. You can always take the filter off of the skimmer pump

[ThisGuy12]

Can you post pics of your sump setup? Typically the return pump should be in an entirely different chamber from the protein skimmer... You're going to eventually have issues with water levels if you leave them in the same chamber.

Skimmers like constant levels, return chambers fluctuate due to evaporation.

If you can I would move the skimmer out of the chamber and into where the water enters the sump.

[Portsie]

Originally Posted by thisguy12

can you post pics of your sump setup? Typically the return pump should be in an entirely different chamber from the protein skimmer... You're going to eventually have issues with water levels if you leave them in the same chamber.

Skimmers like constant levels, return chambers fluctuate due to evaporation.

If you can i would move the skimmer out of the chamber and into where the water enters the sump.

+1

[judin2117]

I will try to get pics, but i only have 2 chambers and the other has the bio balls to i cant fit it in there

[Dmorty217]

Originally Posted by judin2117

I will try to get pics, but i only have 2 chambers and the other has the bio balls to i cant fit it in there

You will want to slowly start removing the bio balls, they will become a nitrate factory after time. If you have live rock it serves the same purpose as bio balls do and filter media.

[Usernam Invalid]

Yea u will want to remove those bio balls n put the skimmer in that section of the sump. I made the same mistake with the bio balls on my first reef tank

[judin2117]

I have live rock and plan on adding more, i keep getting mixed reviews on the Bio Balls and cant decide if i want to keep them or not.

[judin2117]

also when you say start slowly removing them, how slow are we talking. Should i take out a few a day or like 10% at time every month until there gone. I assume you are saying my good bacteria will find a new home in the live rock and so no need for the bio balls

[EDJFA]

Ditch them. They're there to give bacteria a place to colonize. If you've got rocks and sand, you've more than likely got plenty of bacteria living there as it it. You don't want to give detritus any more places to land and settle, only to cause problems down the road as it decomposes, than you've already got.

[ThisGuy12]

Bio balls will hurt your system ultimately over time, put in live rock and move the skimmer to the supply chamber of the sump.

Nothing should be in your pump chamber except the pump.

[judin2117]

Hopefully here comes 2 pics to show the set up i currently have, thanks to all for the advice already and please let me know if you see any problems with this other than having bio balls

[judin2117]

Second pic

[JMorris271]

You have a lot of space to work with without the balls which should be out of there. They are old school before live rock.. . If you have a good amount of Live rock ditch the bioballs.Is the DT stocked? whats your load?

[judin2117]

i bought the tank from a guy on craiglist fully stocked, I dont know how much live rock is actually in there, but i just added 6 pounds and going off that i feel like i need a good bit more. And i dont understand why everyone hates bioballs, my LFS uses them on there tanks and have a awesome coral tank

[JMorris271]

Sorry.I was thinking you wanted to set the skimmer and return pump in a less cramped but still functional order. Looks like you have enough Rock in there for the size of your fish. I also don't think anyone hates bioballs. There is just a better way to do things and easier.

[Cymonous]

With the amount of fish in there, you probably do need some more rock. I would say another 10-15 lbs. Bioballs are known to collect detrius and eventually release nitrates. High nitrates leads to an excess of algae growth and coral does not do well with high nitrates.

[judin2117]

I was originally just asking if it would hurt to have it so cramped, i get that having it in another chamber is ideal, but i thought having one set up as i do would be better than not having a protein skimmer at all. I am def open to an easier way, it just seems that everyone is against bioballs for being nitrate factories and im just trying to understand why they are a problem now and didnt used to be, or maybe they were and there is more work i should be doing to clean them or someting

[SmoothSmoke]

Your setup as is will not work for long. The return pumps chamber will always fluctuate. The skimmer needs a constant water level to work effectively. You will need to always make adjustments on the skimmer to make it work good.

Id ditch the bio balls if it were my setup. Plus you will probably get a lot of microbubbles in your DT.

[JMorris271]

Cleaning the bio balls kind of defeats there purpose of being there.
I hope it works out for you.

[judin2117]

Can i just take them out and throw a few pounds of live rock in there, does that live rock need lighting. Im all for the advice which is why im on here, i just dont want to make any quick decisions with out understanding them. Someone said slowly remove the bioballs and im just trying to get a feel for what that means and how much live rock i should replace them with.

[oh207]

I started out my reef tank with the same sump. I think its an eshopps wet-fry filter. The best thing to do is remove the bioballs. Get a sock holder and put it under the drain. If you can remove the drip plate and any filter pad that might be there that would be ideal as well. It will only serve to build up detritus and become a nitrate factory. If with the sock holder you can fit your skimmer in the first chamger, then that would be ideal. This way the sock traps the large particles and the skimmer gets a go at removing other organics before it goes to the return section. You will need to change/wash the sock on a regular basis depending on your load. This could end up being multiple times a week.
I ran my setup this way until I was able to replace with a slightly larger sump.

[judin2117]

When you say the drain do you mean the grey tube thats attached to the black lid in my about pic. again my real concern is whether or not its safe to just remove all the bioballs at once or how to go about doing that

[igadget56]

How long has the tank been running?