my skimmer is sucking

FishMachine · 05/23/2007, 03:48 PM

on my 60 gallon, i get very little skimmate from my h and s rated for 100 gallons, not recirculating. is the problem that i have 2 chemi pures and 1 purigen before the skimmer in my sump? i also have my chaeto next to the skimmer because my sump is small, only 10 gallons so it is packed.

Thanks
FishMachine

nickterp · 05/23/2007, 04:17 PM

I think that the best input for a skimmer is unfiltered water coming straight from the tank and thats it. So, no other filtration, no chemicals, or anything else should touch the water before it enters the skimmer (some people use a filter sock before, that's ok). I know that just dropping some food in the water, or putting my hands in the tank can cause the bubble column to collapse, so its pretty sensitive.

I have 2 10gallon tanks, one sump and one refugium. But I used to have just 1 10gallon. What I did was use some pieces of glass as baffles to form 3 chambers and keep everything seperate. First chamber was for overflow from tank and skimmer, which overflowed into the second (middle) chamber where the refigum was, which then went through a bubble trap into the third chamber where only the return pump was.

I would recommend at least putting the chemical media after the skimmer and away from any flow that the skimmer will in take. Also, the chaeto should be kept seperate as well if you can.

How is everything set up now?

frederickk · 05/24/2007, 03:02 PM

I would do as said above, try to have your skimmer before in the sump. You will see a better result.

05/23/2007, 03:48 PM	#1
FishMachine Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 735	my skimmer is sucking on my 60 gallon, i get very little skimmate from my h and s rated for 100 gallons, not recirculating. is the problem that i have 2 chemi pures and 1 purigen before the skimmer in my sump? i also have my chaeto next to the skimmer because my sump is small, only 10 gallons so it is packed. Thanks FishMachine __________________ 120 or more gallon sps reef in the works Current Tank Info: 26 gallon freshwater community, 12 gallon nano cube dx, 60 gallon reef

05/23/2007, 04:17 PM	#2
nickterp Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Virginia Posts: 263	I think that the best input for a skimmer is unfiltered water coming straight from the tank and thats it. So, no other filtration, no chemicals, or anything else should touch the water before it enters the skimmer (some people use a filter sock before, that's ok). I know that just dropping some food in the water, or putting my hands in the tank can cause the bubble column to collapse, so its pretty sensitive. I have 2 10gallon tanks, one sump and one refugium. But I used to have just 1 10gallon. What I did was use some pieces of glass as baffles to form 3 chambers and keep everything seperate. First chamber was for overflow from tank and skimmer, which overflowed into the second (middle) chamber where the refigum was, which then went through a bubble trap into the third chamber where only the return pump was. I would recommend at least putting the chemical media after the skimmer and away from any flow that the skimmer will in take. Also, the chaeto should be kept seperate as well if you can. How is everything set up now?

05/24/2007, 03:02 PM	#3
frederickk Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 2,712	I would do as said above, try to have your skimmer before in the sump. You will see a better result.