ETSS Skimmer Club!

[jdieck]

Originally posted by Bulldogger2008
how do you post a picture next to your thread like i see some of y'all doing?

Upload the photo to your RC gallery or any other photo site. Get the link to the photo from the photo properties and then paste the link on the post and enclose it between the IMG and /IMG tags enclosed in [] brackets.

[starsbravo]

jdieck...I have no idea what you are talking about..flange...o-ring...I never seen such on my Reef Devil...can you explain exactly where you are talking about. Thanks

Josh

[jdieck]

Originally posted by starsbravo
jdieck...I have no idea what you are talking about..flange...o-ring...I never seen such on my Reef Devil...can you explain exactly where you are talking about. Thanks

Josh

I am taking about the top cover of the collection cup and it's corresponding O ring. If there is air leak from the collection cup other than the air/skimmate outlet, there could also be a cause of overflowing.

[starsbravo]

There isnt a o-ring...never came with one...it worked fine without it before if there was supposed to be one. No other visible leaks...I would let it run and see if it is just going through a phase but it over skims like crazy and I cant let it do that. Cant go without a skimmer for too much longer.

[jdieck]

Originally posted by starsbravo
There isnt a o-ring...never came with one...it worked fine without it before if there was supposed to be one. No other visible leaks...I would let it run and see if it is just going through a phase but it over skims like crazy and I cant let it do that. Cant go without a skimmer for too much longer.

Got it, It shall be the unit with the sealed top collection cup so there is not screwed top cover and no O ring is needed.
So your alternative is to install an air regulation valve at the air inlet (Top of the column) or at the outlet (The skimmate drain line)

Other thing that you may try if your installation of the skimmer is external to the sump and the installation of the outlet looks like picture 3 in this manual?
http://superskimmer.com/Manuals_Cat/...nstrQstart.pdf

If so the water level in the sump may be acting as back pressure to the outlet.
Here is a mod that you can try to keep a constant pressure in the outlet even if the water level in the sump changes:

[shleprock30]

Originally posted by starsbravo
Cant go without a skimmer for too much longer.

Not sure what pump you are running, I am guessing a mag 7 or 9.5. I would just throttle back the pump until it quit overflowing. Then, slowly ramp it back to where you are now over time.

[JJs Addiction]

I have bought on Reef Central but have not received a ReefDevil and am wondering what to expect and maybe some pointers . I was told it is coming with a mag 7 pump and it has the round housing . Thanks .

[yasmar01]

well i installed the elbow like jdieck reccomended but i dont think its working i have adjusted the skimmer with the gate valve slowly over the course of a few days and it is not skimming at all. i guess i have to rework my install and install it outside the sump. i just dont know how i am going to do it. i dont feel like drilling my sump anymore than it already is

[jdieck]

Originally posted by yasmar01
well i installed the elbow like jdieck reccomended but i dont think its working i have adjusted the skimmer with the gate valve slowly over the course of a few days and it is not skimming at all. i guess i have to rework my install and install it outside the sump. i just dont know how i am going to do it. i dont feel like drilling my sump anymore than it already is

Do you get any foam on the riser? If it does hwo high does it gets?
It might be just that the output gate vale needs to be closed a bit more?

[yasmar01]

i could close it more but at that pont the skimate is basically clear water. i have the pump cut back to about halfway. i read the manual and they say if you

[yasmar01]

have to cut the pump back for the water level to be in the proper position then you are going to cut back on skimmer proformance

[jdieck]

What happens if you fully open the output valve and adjust the foam column using the pump trottle valve?
Does the foam overflows if you open the pump valve with the output valve fully open?

[yasmar01]

no... but the bubble column goes half way up the first clear tube. is that acceptable? last time i did that i was still getting tons of lite colored wet skimmate

[jdieck]

Originally posted by yasmar01
no... but the bubble column goes half way up the first clear tube. is that acceptable? last time i did that i was still getting tons of lite colored wet skimmate

So if fully opening the inlet does not overflow the foam then fully open the inlet (The pump trottle valve) and use the ouput valve to adjust the foam column to reach the flange that joins the top raiser and collection cup to the lower raiser.
Let it run a couple of days after which three things could happen.
a) The column does no longer rise and goo gets accumulated on the sides of the riser, in this case it is skimming and you just need to only close the output valve more.
b) The foam rises and overflows without concentrating much. In this case just open the outlet valve more to the point the foam stops overflowing
c) The foam does not rise and there is no goo accumulation. In this case it is a sign thet there is very little stuff to skim or the skimmer needs more time to kick in. So just wait longer.

Note that as far as you get bubbles and there is stuff to be skimmed it will skim regardless if the foam reaches the collection cup or not, the difference is that if it does not reach the cup the goo will concentrate and accumulate on the sides of the riser so if there is no goo acumulation neither on the riser nor on the cup then there is something in the water column that prevents proteins attaching the surface of the bubbles, most comonly some kind of oils.

[yasmar01]

so i am supposed to get the water column to the first flange joint? i thought you were only supposed to get it as high as 1 inch above the black box.

[ostrow]

Originally posted by yasmar01
so i am supposed to get the water column to the first flange joint? i thought you were only supposed to get it as high as 1 inch above the black box.

The key is not the water level. As Jose pointed out, the key is whether skimmate is forming anywhere. So start as he suggested, with the pump fully open, and use the output valve to slowly raise the column until skimmate reaches the cup.

Assuming you get muck accumulating on the riser, then closing the outlet valve will raise it to the cup.

Note that tiny adjustments on the outlet valve can have an enormous effect on the foam column. As little as a 1-degree turn can cause overflow or collapse.

So a tiny tweak and then wait a day and see what happens.

[jdieck]

Originally posted by yasmar01
so i am supposed to get the water column to the first flange joint? i thought you were only supposed to get it as high as 1 inch above the black box.

That instruction is valid only as start point and it is set purposedly very low to prevent the skimmer to overflow once it kicks in. Once kicked in you are supposed to use the output valve to adjust a bit at a time the height of the foam column that will give you the "dryness" of skimmate you look for.
The higher the foam column setting the lighter and more wet the foam will be, the lower the foam height setting the dryer and more concentrated the foam will be.
If the colum height is set too low, very little or no skimmate will be collected in the cup and instead the goo will pile up attached to the sides of the riser.
As Ostrow mentions above once the column of foam reaches near the cup, a small adjustments to the output valve will make the difference between too much or no skimmate so at that point just very, very small adjustments are to be made.

[yasmar01]

thanks fo the help guys. i appreciate it.

[jdieck]

Let us know how it goes.

[jmsalt1]

Well, my 10 year old + Reef Devil II is officially retired! I replaced it with the Sump Buddy 40 about two weeks ago. It took a good week for the skimmer to break in. My only complaint with AE Tech skimmers, at least these two models, is how long the foam collapses when I feed. Even when I don't feed with Selcon, the foam collapses for almost half a day. Just using Life Line herbivore this will happen for hours. Anyone else out there having similar experiences? I know this will happen with most if not all skimmers but the downtime seems a bit long. If I feed in the afternoon, I don't have skimmate being produced again until the next morning. My tank is not heavily stocked but this particular set-up is about 2+ years old so I'm not sure if the duration of foam collapsing like this is longer on downdraft skimmers compared to mesh or needle wheel skimmers, cones and other "high end" skimmers that start pushing $1K.

[ostrow]

Depends on the food, perhaps. I feed only Rod's, PE M.Y.S.I.S. or nori. On my needlewheels, I'd lose skimming for 3hrs or more. On the ETSS 1000, it is skimming again within 30min.

BUT: it skims like crazy, nice and thick with foam filling the whole cup, after about 30-40min. Then there's nothing for a few hrs.

I think because the water gets real clean.

How soon do you check after feeding?

[jmsalt1]

I check periodically, 2, 4, 6 ... hours out and 8 hours plus is not uncommon. I'm just wondering if what I'm experiencing is unique to downdraft skimmers. I wouldn't think that it is but have seen that complaint before about downdrafts. I have only owned two skimmers (that CPR Backpak on my QT doesn't count) and both were AE Tech downdrafts.

[yasmar01]

well guys after all this....i feel like an idiot. i did what jdieck told me to do when i got home and it still didnt seem to be skimming right so i went to adjust my pump and accidentaly hit the hose to my collection cup and it pulled off the skimmer and BOOM!! this thing is skmming like crazy. the hose i was using was to small. i already have a ton of dark skimmate in my bucket. thanks for all the help guys sorry i was such a retard....lol

[jdieck]

Originally posted by yasmar01
well guys after all this....i feel like an idiot. i did what jdieck told me to do when i got home and it still didnt seem to be skimming right so i went to adjust my pump and accidentaly hit the hose to my collection cup and it pulled off the skimmer and BOOM!! this thing is skmming like crazy. the hose i was using was to small. i already have a ton of dark skimmate in my bucket. thanks for all the help guys sorry i was such a retard....lol

If you knew the things I have done

[ostrow]

I don't even understand what you are talking about yasmar but great that it is working.

jmsalt it may be the foods you are using. I can tell you after feeding a piece of Rod's food that is the size of a half dollar, I get thick skimming after maybe 30min every time.