Problems with my SRO 2000 XP Cone

tcwoodrn · 03/21/2010, 04:37 PM

I added a Super Reef Octopus 2000 XP Cone skimmer to my setup 16 days ago. For the first few days I had it sitting in 8" of water and it would skim well when the dial was set at wide open, however the skim was a little watery and I couldn't adjust it at all.

I started thread in the Reef Specialty forum (you can find that here) and was told to raise it up and put it in 6" of water. Since then the skimmer has been horribly inconsistent and not skimming a damn thing. I keep getting told to let it "break in", but my tank is suffering by not having a fully functioning skimmer.

I set the skimmer so that the bubble were about half way up the cup. One minute I check it and the bubbles are way low, without adjusting it I will come check it later and there will be a lot of water in the cup, but nothing containing anything of value.

I am extremely frustrated. I see other's threads with this skimmer and they talk about how well it works within 24 hours. My tank is starting to show the effects of not having a skimmer and that is totally unacceptable to me.

Can anyone help me? Should I lower it to 7-8" of water (water level is always consistent)? When they say set it in 6" of water do they mean from the base of the skimmer or top of the pump? (The base of my skimmer is at 6.1")

bglegs · 03/21/2010, 04:56 PM

I'm having the same problem.Mine is sitting in 6.25" of water.The water level inside skimmer is a little past the middle of the sticker like it says in the other thread that started.I'm getting very little skimmate and it's watery.I'm getting frustrated like you.

grandp10 · 03/21/2010, 04:59 PM

tagging along.

tkeracer619 · 03/21/2010, 05:21 PM

Pull the skimmer and run it in a mild white vinegar/water bath for a few hours. Need to make sure there are no oils anywhere. At this point it shouldn't have any but since your having issues lets start from square 1.

Put it back in the sump with the adjustment wide open and in 8" of water. Let the skimmer run for an hour or so and see if it produces any foam.

Setting the skimmer with bubbles half way up the neck is going to result in what you describe. You want the bubbles lower then the neck and in the cone part. After it runs for a while they will rise into the neck. You have to start dry and work your way wet. You cant start wet and work your way dry.

tcwoodrn · 03/21/2010, 06:30 PM

I did run the pump in mild vinegar when I got it to clean it out.

Another issue is that the guy from Reef Specialty says my internal water level will end up being in the middle of the sticker. Right now the internal water level is at about an inch below the sticker and the bubbles intermittently crest into the cup.

The weird thing is that I will set the bubbles into the cone part, then an hour later it will be bubbling into the cup... I don't get it at all. I know I'm missing something, but right now I wish I had my ASM G1 back.

Mounda · 03/22/2010, 03:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tcwoodrn

I know I'm missing something, but right now I wish I had my ASM G1 back.

You must be really frustrated, stop feeding till you get this issue solved so you don't accumulate too much waste.

tkeracer619 · 03/22/2010, 10:07 AM

Because this has 10x the power of your asm you are setting it too wet.

You say you adjusted it in the cone? Leave the adjustment wide open.

If it bubbles out of the skimmer its too wet and you will need to raise the skimmer out of the water. Unless you leave the skimmer wide open you won't know if the skimmer is in too deep of water.

Stop feeding.

tcwoodrn · 03/22/2010, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

Because this has 10x the power of your asm you are setting it too wet.

You say you adjusted it in the cone? Leave the adjustment wide open.

If it bubbles out of the skimmer its too wet and you will need to raise the skimmer out of the water. Unless you leave the skimmer wide open you won't know if the skimmer is in too deep of water.

Stop feeding.

Let me start by saying I appreciate all your help.

When I run it wide open the bubbles are barely at the sticker on the side of the skimmer. At what point do I start making turns toward closed to get it properly set?

tkeracer619 · 03/22/2010, 10:41 AM

After it has been running like that for a few hours with no food in the tank and no hands in the tank.

Make a small adjustment and wait a few hours.

If you come back with it wide open and you are getting liquid in the cup try raising the skimmer 1/2".

tcwoodrn · 03/22/2010, 11:27 AM

Where is the sweet spot that I should stop adjusting? The guy in the reef specialty forum told me that the internal water level should be in the middle of the sticker and the bubbles should be 1/2 way up the cup. That doesn't seem to be what you're saying, and since his advice isn't working I'll listen to you lol.

tkeracer619 · 03/22/2010, 11:30 AM

Well every system is different. When installing a skimmer you always work from the bottom up. You won't get much use out of flooding a skimmer for 2 weeks as you already found out

You stop adjusting it when you find the sweet spot. There is no definitive answer. Why you start dry and work your way wet.

tkeracer619 · 03/22/2010, 09:16 PM

Anything yet?

minireef30 · 03/22/2010, 10:42 PM

I don't know if the exit pipe needs to be out of the water on that skimmer but try that and see if it helps?

tcwoodrn · 03/22/2010, 11:26 PM

It is staying dry but I can tell that some of the bubbles have approached the top and nearly made it into the cup. I've been making quarter turns every hour or so and seeing where that goes. At one point I went back and noticed a little wet stuff in the cup so I dialed it back and have left it there. I also did my weekly 20% change today so I had to shut the skimmer off and turn it back on which messed with it a little bit.

I can say that it has been way more consistent today and I have no gotten the spikes and recessions that I had a few days ago.

I will keep you all posted as things develop for those tagging along.

tcwoodrn · 03/25/2010, 05:03 PM

Ok so consistency is no longer an issue. I have it dialed in to the point that I don't have to empty the cup very often, I could probably leave it for a week without issue.

The only issue that remains is that what is skimmed is still quite watery and doesn't seem to have a whole lot of "value". This may sound stupid but when I first set it up and it was skimming a lot of stuff out, what was in the cup smelled terrible. The stuff that comes out now is light watery brown and odorless.

I know its not super skimming because my fine white sand is dirty which typically happens when my skimmer isn't in tune. I have cut feeding back immensely to the point that I am worried about starving my fish.... what now?

tegee · 03/25/2010, 06:07 PM

I had the same issue as your describing and found that I had my discharge/exit pipe submerged below the water level causing back pressure. Is you exit pipe out of the water and no cause a vapor lock affect?

Let us know and it will also be helpful if you could share some pics of your setup in order for us to see what other issue you may be facing, just a suggestion......

tkeracer619 · 03/25/2010, 06:17 PM

Try start feeding normally and see if it starts pulling out more.

Glad it is running consistent now. Make very small adjustments to fine tune it so you need to clean it once a week. The adjustment is very sensitive so any movement will make a change.

grandp10 · 03/25/2010, 06:57 PM

So does the exit pipe really need to be above the waterline?

tegee · 03/25/2010, 07:16 PM

From my experience YES......with it submerged I get very inconsistent operation of the skimmer. Give it a try it can't hurt anything???

acliao · 03/25/2010, 07:42 PM

My water level is in the lower middle part of my exit pipe and it's producing good consistent results. I also found if the exit pipe is submerged in the water, the back pressure will cause the foam head to collapse or overflow the skimmer.

tcwoodrn · 03/25/2010, 07:50 PM

My exit pipe is 75% underwater. I don't know how to make it better without raising in too high in the sump. It is already at 6.1".

And of course right after I talked about consistency I look at it and the bubbles are way down.... great. Just not very thrilled with this skimmer so far.

keithbou30 · 03/25/2010, 08:16 PM

i run the bubbleblaster pump on mine but it is the super reef oct not the cone, and i run at 6.25 in. my exit pipe is pretty much all the way under the water only 1/8 in. also make sure that if your drain line is running to much pressure it will back feed into the exit pipe on the skimmer and that will cause that.

keithbou30 · 03/25/2010, 08:20 PM

make sure that your drain pipe is not flowing a stong amount of water next to the exit pipe on the skimmer i had that problem

fastfive · 04/01/2010, 08:31 PM

Mod your output valve by adding a sort piece of pvc. The piece of pvc needs to be sanded down to fit the valve. This will keep your skimmer in 6 inches of water but the valve will be above water.

03/21/2010, 04:37 PM	#1
tcwoodrn Moved On Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Detroit, Michigan Posts: 153	Problems with my SRO 2000 XP Cone I added a Super Reef Octopus 2000 XP Cone skimmer to my setup 16 days ago. For the first few days I had it sitting in 8" of water and it would skim well when the dial was set at wide open, however the skim was a little watery and I couldn't adjust it at all. I started thread in the Reef Specialty forum (you can find that here) and was told to raise it up and put it in 6" of water. Since then the skimmer has been horribly inconsistent and not skimming a damn thing. I keep getting told to let it "break in", but my tank is suffering by not having a fully functioning skimmer. I set the skimmer so that the bubble were about half way up the cup. One minute I check it and the bubbles are way low, without adjusting it I will come check it later and there will be a lot of water in the cup, but nothing containing anything of value. I am extremely frustrated. I see other's threads with this skimmer and they talk about how well it works within 24 hours. My tank is starting to show the effects of not having a skimmer and that is totally unacceptable to me. Can anyone help me? Should I lower it to 7-8" of water (water level is always consistent)? When they say set it in 6" of water do they mean from the base of the skimmer or top of the pump? (The base of my skimmer is at 6.1")

03/21/2010, 05:21 PM	#4
tkeracer619 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 17,289	Pull the skimmer and run it in a mild white vinegar/water bath for a few hours. Need to make sure there are no oils anywhere. At this point it shouldn't have any but since your having issues lets start from square 1. Put it back in the sump with the adjustment wide open and in 8" of water. Let the skimmer run for an hour or so and see if it produces any foam. Setting the skimmer with bubbles half way up the neck is going to result in what you describe. You want the bubbles lower then the neck and in the cone part. After it runs for a while they will rise into the neck. You have to start dry and work your way wet. You cant start wet and work your way dry. __________________ Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k.

03/22/2010, 10:07 AM	#7
tkeracer619 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 17,289	Because this has 10x the power of your asm you are setting it too wet. You say you adjusted it in the cone? Leave the adjustment wide open. If it bubbles out of the skimmer its too wet and you will need to raise the skimmer out of the water. Unless you leave the skimmer wide open you won't know if the skimmer is in too deep of water. Stop feeding. __________________ Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k.

03/22/2010, 10:41 AM	#9
tkeracer619 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 17,289	After it has been running like that for a few hours with no food in the tank and no hands in the tank. Make a small adjustment and wait a few hours. If you come back with it wide open and you are getting liquid in the cup try raising the skimmer 1/2". __________________ Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k.

03/22/2010, 11:30 AM	#11
tkeracer619 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 17,289	Well every system is different. When installing a skimmer you always work from the bottom up. You won't get much use out of flooding a skimmer for 2 weeks as you already found out You stop adjusting it when you find the sweet spot. There is no definitive answer. Why you start dry and work your way wet. __________________ Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k.

03/21/2010, 04:56 PM	#2
bglegs Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Illinois Posts: 267	I'm having the same problem.Mine is sitting in 6.25" of water.The water level inside skimmer is a little past the middle of the sticker like it says in the other thread that started.I'm getting very little skimmate and it's watery.I'm getting frustrated like you.

03/21/2010, 04:59 PM	#3
grandp10 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 516	tagging along.

03/21/2010, 06:30 PM	#5
tcwoodrn Moved On Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Detroit, Michigan Posts: 153	I did run the pump in mild vinegar when I got it to clean it out. Another issue is that the guy from Reef Specialty says my internal water level will end up being in the middle of the sticker. Right now the internal water level is at about an inch below the sticker and the bubbles intermittently crest into the cup. The weird thing is that I will set the bubbles into the cone part, then an hour later it will be bubbling into the cup... I don't get it at all. I know I'm missing something, but right now I wish I had my ASM G1 back.

03/22/2010, 11:27 AM	#10
tcwoodrn Moved On Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Detroit, Michigan Posts: 153	Where is the sweet spot that I should stop adjusting? The guy in the reef specialty forum told me that the internal water level should be in the middle of the sticker and the bubbles should be 1/2 way up the cup. That doesn't seem to be what you're saying, and since his advice isn't working I'll listen to you lol.

03/22/2010, 09:16 PM	#12
tkeracer619 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 17,289	Anything yet? __________________ Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k.

03/22/2010, 10:42 PM	#13
minireef30 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Bessemer City,NC Posts: 291	I don't know if the exit pipe needs to be out of the water on that skimmer but try that and see if it helps?

03/22/2010, 11:26 PM	#14
tcwoodrn Moved On Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Detroit, Michigan Posts: 153	It is staying dry but I can tell that some of the bubbles have approached the top and nearly made it into the cup. I've been making quarter turns every hour or so and seeing where that goes. At one point I went back and noticed a little wet stuff in the cup so I dialed it back and have left it there. I also did my weekly 20% change today so I had to shut the skimmer off and turn it back on which messed with it a little bit. I can say that it has been way more consistent today and I have no gotten the spikes and recessions that I had a few days ago. I will keep you all posted as things develop for those tagging along.

03/25/2010, 05:03 PM	#15
tcwoodrn Moved On Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Detroit, Michigan Posts: 153	Ok so consistency is no longer an issue. I have it dialed in to the point that I don't have to empty the cup very often, I could probably leave it for a week without issue. The only issue that remains is that what is skimmed is still quite watery and doesn't seem to have a whole lot of "value". This may sound stupid but when I first set it up and it was skimming a lot of stuff out, what was in the cup smelled terrible. The stuff that comes out now is light watery brown and odorless. I know its not super skimming because my fine white sand is dirty which typically happens when my skimmer isn't in tune. I have cut feeding back immensely to the point that I am worried about starving my fish.... what now?

03/25/2010, 06:07 PM	#16
tegee Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: NY Posts: 831	I had the same issue as your describing and found that I had my discharge/exit pipe submerged below the water level causing back pressure. Is you exit pipe out of the water and no cause a vapor lock affect? Let us know and it will also be helpful if you could share some pics of your setup in order for us to see what other issue you may be facing, just a suggestion......

03/25/2010, 06:17 PM	#17
tkeracer619 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 17,289	Try start feeding normally and see if it starts pulling out more. Glad it is running consistent now. Make very small adjustments to fine tune it so you need to clean it once a week. The adjustment is very sensitive so any movement will make a change. __________________ Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k.

03/25/2010, 06:57 PM	#18
grandp10 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 516	So does the exit pipe really need to be above the waterline?

03/25/2010, 07:16 PM	#19
tegee Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: NY Posts: 831	From my experience YES......with it submerged I get very inconsistent operation of the skimmer. Give it a try it can't hurt anything???

03/25/2010, 07:42 PM	#20
acliao Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 107	My water level is in the lower middle part of my exit pipe and it's producing good consistent results. I also found if the exit pipe is submerged in the water, the back pressure will cause the foam head to collapse or overflow the skimmer.

03/25/2010, 07:50 PM	#21
tcwoodrn Moved On Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Detroit, Michigan Posts: 153	My exit pipe is 75% underwater. I don't know how to make it better without raising in too high in the sump. It is already at 6.1". And of course right after I talked about consistency I look at it and the bubbles are way down.... great. Just not very thrilled with this skimmer so far.

03/25/2010, 08:16 PM	#22
keithbou30 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: fern park Fl Posts: 311	i run the bubbleblaster pump on mine but it is the super reef oct not the cone, and i run at 6.25 in. my exit pipe is pretty much all the way under the water only 1/8 in. also make sure that if your drain line is running to much pressure it will back feed into the exit pipe on the skimmer and that will cause that. __________________ Keith B Current Tank Info: 72 gallon bow reef, 5 gall. fuge, super reef octopus skimmer

03/25/2010, 08:20 PM	#23
keithbou30 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: fern park Fl Posts: 311	make sure that your drain pipe is not flowing a stong amount of water next to the exit pipe on the skimmer i had that problem __________________ Keith B Current Tank Info: 72 gallon bow reef, 5 gall. fuge, super reef octopus skimmer

04/01/2010, 08:31 PM	#24
fastfive Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Ohio Posts: 58	Mod your output valve by adding a sort piece of pvc. The piece of pvc needs to be sanded down to fit the valve. This will keep your skimmer in 6 inches of water but the valve will be above water.