ETSS Skimmer Club!

[jonnyu]

Sounds good. I will setup tomorrow and post pics on Sunday. Now for micro bubbles. I have the water flow through a few 4x4x12 sponges and I still get bubbles. Now is this like other skimmers that once broken in they stop releasing so many bubbles in the tank?

[rigleautomotive]

Originally Posted by jonnyu

Sounds good. I will setup tomorrow and post pics on Sunday. Now for micro bubbles. I have the water flow through a few 4x4x12 sponges and I still get bubbles. Now is this like other skimmers that once broken in they stop releasing so many bubbles in the tank?

When you get it dialed in you will get less micro bubbles but a etss sump or a copy of one is needed to get maximum performance from this skimmer without micro bubbles making it into the display.

[vitodog]

I have a "SumpBuddy 40" for my 90 gal. and I was wondering if anybody periodically, cleans the mixing box. I routinely clean the injector assembly, collection cup, riser tube and tower, but I have not cleaned the mixing box and it is starting to look like I need to. How do you clean the mixing box? I was wondering if it is ok to soak the skimmer in a vinegar and water mixture for a few hours. Anybody see a problem or potential problem with doing this? Thank you.

[todd57]

I soaked mine in vinegar prior to starting it up with no problems. I have a Reef Devil. My problem is I am not able to find where to set it to only have foam to the top of the riser tube. Mine foams into collector cup big time. It seems I can't find the right adjustment. How long should I wait between adjustments. Right now I have it running right back into the sump so needless to say it is not doing me any good. Please Help!!!!!

[rigleautomotive]

set it so the bubbles are cracking about 4 inches from the top of the reaction tube and watch it for a full day.The next day you may need to raise it up but go in very small increments and wait a full day to adjust again unless you are over flowing.Trying to adjust it too high before it kicks in will give you these issues.Set it on the low side for a day or 2 until you can slowly raise the level to where the foam starts to make it over the top into the collection cup

[todd57]

When you say set it are you saying to close the valve until the foam is 4" from the top? Are the bubbles supposed to drop then? I don't think they do. Is it possible that the water is too high in my sump? I have it up to the valve.

[rigleautomotive]

Yes thats a very distinct possibility.The sump water on the skimmer side needs to be 6 to 8 inches (maxium)and consistent.You need to open the valve up till the foam level is 4 inches from the top of the reaction tube.If you open the valve all the way and its still higher then 4 inches from top then you have a obstruction or your water level in the sump is too high.These skimmers require a constant level on the skimmer side of the sump.thats why a etss sump or a copy must be employed to get optimal performance

[todd57]

Originally Posted by rigleautomotive

Yes thats a very distinct possibility.The sump water on the skimmer side needs to be 6 to 8 inches (maxium)and consistent.You need to open the valve up till the foam level is 4 inches from the top of the reaction tube.If you open the valve all the way and its still higher then 4 inches from top then you have a obstruction or your water level in the sump is too high.These skimmers require a constant level on the skimmer side of the sump.thats why a etss sump or a copy must be employed to get optimal performance

My level is constant. I will set the valve all the way closed then back it off till I get the foam correct. I seem to have been doing it wrong. Ill then see what happens. Thanks for the help

[todd57]

Originally Posted by todd57

My level is constant. I will set the valve all the way closed then back it off till I get the foam correct. I seem to have been doing it wrong. Ill then see what happens. Thanks for the help

I did that but setting closed flowed water out of the top. Then backing it off never seemed to get the foam to a brown state. I think I'm going to go with another type skimmer.

[rigleautomotive]

Originally Posted by rigleautomotive

Yes thats a very distinct possibility.The sump water on the skimmer side needs to be 6 to 8 inches (maxium)and consistent.You need to open the valve up till the foam level is 4 inches from the top of the reaction tube.If you open the valve all the way and its still higher then 4 inches from top then you have a obstruction or your water level in the sump is too high.These skimmers require a constant level on the skimmer side of the sump.thats why a etss sump or a copy must be employed to get optimal performance

Originally Posted by todd57

I did that but setting closed flowed water out of the top. Then backing it off never seemed to get the foam to a brown state. I think I'm going to go with another type skimmer.

If you look at the above quote you will see that you misunderstood or misread .The valve needs to be open all the way to start.As the foam starts to form a stable head (this may take a day or 2 in between adjustments)you turn the valve in 1/4 turn increments until you begin to see the foam rise over the top into the waste area.The skimmer is not the problem.You have one of the best designed skimmer types ever created but you need to gain more expertise in understanding its operation.

[todd57]

Originally Posted by rigleautomotive

If you look at the above quote you will see that you misunderstood or misread .The valve needs to be open all the way to start.As the foam starts to form a stable head (this may take a day or 2 in between adjustments)you turn the valve in 1/4 turn increments until you begin to see the foam rise over the top into the waste area.The skimmer is not the problem.You have one of the best designed skimmer types ever created but you need to gain more expertise in understanding its operation.

I raised the skimmer 2" and started over with the valve all the way open. I never misunderstood. Now the water finally lowered to a point where I can start to make adjustments that do something positive. Prior to this I couldn't get the foam to stop going over the collection cup no matter where the valve was set. Seems to be working now. Thanks for the help.

[jonnyu]

Well after many changes I am back on track on getting this thing to work. I think I got it working. Trick is let it run for about 2 days - 3 days to start bubbling up in the chamber (with Valve all the way open) Then after that raise the water level in the riser 1" from the bottom of the riser. Do NOT raise the level to the middle of the riser. you will flood your house. (when it breaks in the bubbles will run up 4" to 5" in the riser over night and will over flow the skimmer) Let it run for about 1 day. you will see the foam will start moving up the riser. adjust at 1/4 turn per day till you get it past the halfway point. After that 1/8 turns per day till you get it collect waste in the waste cup. The number 1 thing with these skimmer is patience. Once you get it set then your good to go.

[moliken]

i have read the entire thread. thanks for the great info. here's my question/situation.
I have about 140 gals in a clam/softie dominated system, few sps. motr info in sig.
i have a very temperamental bullet 3 run by a genx40, which is one of the ones precision marine recommends. but i plan to at least double the system next go-round.
i hate the skimmer. i'm getting crud all up and down the cylinder, not just near the collection cup. and it's not thick crud like i used to get w/ my asm g3.
if i feed the sk may come back to its normal bubble position but i usually have to screw around with it. never a real thick column of small bubbles.
is there a recommendation for an etss for my system? acc to what ive read once these get dialed in they are set for a year.

[moliken]

anyboody??

[rigleautomotive]

A 600 pro would do that tank nicely.Drive it with a Iwalki 40 or 55 and you will have the ability to make a gallon of skimmate a day if you so choose.A sump that can flow 5 times your tank display (and a pump to supply this GPH)is also needed for optimal performance as is the need for the water level on the skimmer side to be consistently between 6 and 7 inches.

[moliken]

Originally Posted by rigleautomotive

A 600 pro would do that tank nicely.Drive it with a Iwalki 40 or 55 and you will have the ability to make a gallon of skimmate a day if you so choose.A sump that can flow 5 times your tank display (and a pump to supply this GPH)is also needed for optimal performance as is the need for the water level on the skimmer side to be consistently between 6 and 7 inches.

thanks dan. i think i got a frag or 2 from you at the tfp swap. anyway, i am using the genx40x 1190 gph pressure pump for my pm right now. sump is powered by a blue line 40, about 900 gph.. i can find info on a 600 xr. is that the same as the "pro"?

[rigleautomotive]

Originally Posted by moliken

thanks dan. i think i got a frag or 2 from you at the tfp swap. anyway, i am using the genx40x 1190 gph pressure pump for my pm right now. sump is powered by a blue line 40, about 900 gph.. i can find info on a 600 xr. is that the same as the "pro"?

Yes,it used to be called the 600 pro.same skimmer(essentially)

[bif24701]

I have had my Protein 400 system for about 6 months now and I upgraded the skimmer pump from the Rio to the mag 7 and getting great foam. Also a lot of foam. Is this a good uupgrade for the protein 400 w0 sump buddy 40. V

[bif24701]

Bump.

[rigleautomotive]

Originally Posted by bif24701

I have had my Protein 400 system for about 6 months now and I upgraded the skimmer pump from the Rio to the mag 7 and getting great foam. Also a lot of foam. Is this a good uupgrade for the protein 400 w0 sump buddy 40. V

Yes ,sure the stronger pump will help .It be more adjustable and you can run it on the wet side if you are trying to get all you can from this skimmer.Just be sure if you are wet skimming to make sg adjustments often or you may end up with a lower then optimal density after time passes

[bif24701]

My skimmate is still very wet. Keeping an eye on SG and adding salt as needed. Will this tone down in time. The skimmate is very light in color. I'd prefer if it was darker so that I wouldn't need to keep adding salt. I am happier however with it over all. With the Rio pump that Gary included it didn't seem to make enough foam, never could get it adjusted well and could take days some times to create any foam.

The bio balls in the downdraft are about 6 months old, do i need to think about replacing them? Or could I just boil them or something like that?

[rigleautomotive]

Originally Posted by bif24701

My skimmate is still very wet. Keeping an eye on SG and adding salt as needed. Will this tone down in time. The skimmate is very light in color. I'd prefer if it was darker so that I wouldn't need to keep adding salt. I am happier however with it over all. With the Rio pump that Gary included it didn't seem to make enough foam, never could get it adjusted well and could take days some times to create any foam.

The bio balls in the downdraft are about 6 months old, do i need to think about replacing them? Or could I just boil them or something like that?

Personally I would suggest a different skimmer if you are looking for dark concentrated skimmate.This type of skimmate is normally produced by a needle wheel type skimmer given the fact that they process water differently.Generally speaking,They process a small volume of water for a longer time and produce less but darker skimmate. .ETSS skimmers process a large volume of water for a very short time hence the lighter less concentrated skimmate.You can throttle the feed valve back a bit to process less water but IMO you are really not using the full potential of this type of foam fractioning especially if you are doing this to get a desired color of skimmate.My goal would be to produce the best water quality possible and running it wet seems to be conducive with this method.

Balls should be replace at 6 months or so and it is not as much that they are dirty but actually worn .The balls actually become worn out from water running over them at a strong pressure and volume . new ones pull much more air into the injector housing then old worn ones.I must admit I do not fully understand why new balls make these skimmers work so good but over the last decade (through many ball changes on several ETSS skimmers) I know for a fact that this is true.

[bif24701]

L

Originally Posted by rigleautomotive

Personally I would suggest a different skimmer if you are looking for dark concentrated skimmate.This type of skimmate is normally produced by a needle wheel type skimmer given the fact that they process water differently.Generally speaking,They process a small volume of water for a longer time and produce less but darker skimmate. .ETSS skimmers process a large volume of water for a very short time hence the lighter less concentrated skimmate.You can throttle the feed valve back a bit to process less water but IMO you are really not using the full potential of this type of foam fractioning especially if you are doing this to get a desired color of skimmate.My goal would be to produce the best water quality possible and running it wet seems to be conducive with this method.

Balls should be replace at 6 months or so and it is not as much that they are dirty but actually worn .The balls actually become worn out from water running over them at a strong pressure and volume . new ones pull much more air into the injector housing then old worn ones.I must admit I do not fully understand why new balls make these skimmers work so good but over the last decade (through many ball changes on several ETSS skimmers) I know for a fact that this is true.

I see, so very light colored skimmate is normal for this type of skimmer. I too want the best water quality possible just dint think replacing a gallon of salt water a day was the norm.

I will order new bio balls from Gary Friday. Thanks.

[rigleautomotive]

Originally Posted by bif24701

L

I see, so very light colored skimmate is normal for this type of skimmer. I too want the best water quality possible just dint think replacing a gallon of salt water a day was the norm.

I will order new bio balls from Gary Friday. Thanks.

Try cranking the feed pump out put valve down just a small amount and give it a day.A gallon is a bit heavy lol even for a ETSS skimmer with a smaller system.A gallon a week would be more realistic.

You may need to turn the valve down a bit more when you get the new balls also given they usually give it more kick

FWIW,most non ETSS users would be very happy to have a skimmer they need to turn down a bit.Its usually the opposite and they can not turn it up enough for foam to reach the cup .when you get it dialed in and become more familiar with the" nature of the beast " you will love it and your corals will love it more

[vickreyreef]

I am looking into an etss skimmer for my set up. 180g sps and fish, 75g softie tank, 100g sump, 40g refugium. Would that be a 800 or 900 professional xr?

Thanks!