Protein skimmer help?????

thebradybunch · 12/24/2007, 08:57 AM

I have a Super Vortex 1002 skimmer. I know it's not the best but I have seen some good reviews from some folks that have them. My question is the instructions (which are horrible BTW) talks about adjusting the air flow and the water flow. I can change the water flow easily but I do not understand how to adjust the air flow. I do not see an adjustment on it anywhere. What am I missing?

Also I put it in the sump and let it run for several days and when it starts is fills the collection cup with foam and appears to be working. I am not seeing any green water or junk just foam. The tank is only a couple weeks old. Does it sound like it is working correctly?

Lastly, yesterday I noticed tons of micobubbles in the tank. I turned the skimmer off and this morning the tank is clear. What caused that. Sorry to be so long.

Merry Christmas all!

celano · 12/24/2007, 11:04 AM

I'm not to familiar with this skimmer but I'll try an answer some of your questions.
Is this skimmer a NW? If so there should be a piece of tubing that runs down to the pump. This is how you adjust the air going into the skimmer. If there isn't a valve on the air line then you cant adjust it. If the skimmer didn't come with one you might have to purchase one.

As far as the cup filling with foam but no skimmate. That sounds about right on a new tank. Eventually as your tank matures the higher your bio load will be and therefore your skimmer should work better/pull out more gunk. The only exception to this is if your skimmer is a piece of crap to begin with....then it wont really pull out anything no matter how high you bio load is.

Now onto the micro bubble problem. Some skimmers can take as long as 2 weeks to fully break in and get adjusted. Usually its the oils from the manufacturing process that need to break down and wear off before the skimmer can function properly. They should slow down eventually but will never fully stop....after all that is was a skimmer does. Did you try using a foam pad or filter sock over the exit? A lot of times that works at controlling bubbles but they will have to be removed and cleaned regularly.

Like I said at the beginning, I'm not familiar with this skimmer so these suggestions/comments are more of a basic guideline. Maybe someone with more experience with this skimmer can chime in.

thebradybunch · 12/24/2007, 11:12 AM

Thank you for your help. Sorry but I am not sure what you mean by NW. Also the tubing does not run to the pump. It runs to the intake tube on the skimmer. As far as the bubbles go they only showed up yesterday and the skimmer has been running all week.

celano · 12/24/2007, 01:05 PM

OK I did some googling on your skimmer and it looks like its a venturi type. NW=needle wheel which is what I'm most familiar with.....venturi's not so much.

As far as I can tell from looking at some pics is that you should still have an adjustment valve that allows you to control the amount of air going into the skimmer. If it didn't come with one and it should have then you need to contact Catalina and have them ship one to you. There are several aftermarket valves that work great to. The one I used on my Seaclone I bought from Lowe's and it worked sooo much better then the stock one.

As far as the micro bubbles go just give it some time and see if they don't settle down. One week isn't that long of a break in period a lot of skimmers take anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks.
By chance you didn't let the sump get to low on water and the pump started sucking in air? I know its a long shot but just thought I'd ask.

thebradybunch · 12/24/2007, 01:34 PM

Again thanks for your help. I took the skimmer out of the sump and took the covers off the pump and found the pump has 3 venturi outputs on it. I unhooked the air inlet tube from the skimmer input and ran it to the pump and readjusted the water flow. I put it back in the sump and it appears to be working really good.

I still don't have a air adjustment. Are you just using a on/off valve on the air line?

celano · 12/24/2007, 01:55 PM

Sweet man I'm glad you got it working! Skimmers can be frustrating pieces of equipment but once you get them dialed in and working properly its obvious why they've become an industry standard.
The skimmer I'm currently using is a little different than yours.
Its a Euroreef es5-3 that uses a NW style pump. I run mine with no air valve so I can get as much air into the reaction chamber as possible. But the valve I used on my Seaclone was adjustable. The idea behind an adjustable valve is you can control just how much air gets into the chamber. Some people like to dial the air intake back a little to increase contact time but I just run mine wide open. Its worked good for me so far so I'm not gonna change it. In the end it comes down to each individual setup. Every reef is a little different so finding what works best for you is key.....even if is does take a little trial and error.

thebradybunch · 12/24/2007, 01:58 PM

You've been a huge help. Thanks again and have a great Christmas

12/24/2007, 08:57 AM	#1
thebradybunch Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Greensboro,NC Posts: 351	Protein skimmer help????? I have a Super Vortex 1002 skimmer. I know it's not the best but I have seen some good reviews from some folks that have them. My question is the instructions (which are horrible BTW) talks about adjusting the air flow and the water flow. I can change the water flow easily but I do not understand how to adjust the air flow. I do not see an adjustment on it anywhere. What am I missing? Also I put it in the sump and let it run for several days and when it starts is fills the collection cup with foam and appears to be working. I am not seeing any green water or junk just foam. The tank is only a couple weeks old. Does it sound like it is working correctly? Lastly, yesterday I noticed tons of micobubbles in the tank. I turned the skimmer off and this morning the tank is clear. What caused that. Sorry to be so long. Merry Christmas all!

12/24/2007, 11:04 AM	#2
celano Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Illinois Posts: 910	I'm not to familiar with this skimmer but I'll try an answer some of your questions. Is this skimmer a NW? If so there should be a piece of tubing that runs down to the pump. This is how you adjust the air going into the skimmer. If there isn't a valve on the air line then you cant adjust it. If the skimmer didn't come with one you might have to purchase one. As far as the cup filling with foam but no skimmate. That sounds about right on a new tank. Eventually as your tank matures the higher your bio load will be and therefore your skimmer should work better/pull out more gunk. The only exception to this is if your skimmer is a piece of crap to begin with....then it wont really pull out anything no matter how high you bio load is. Now onto the micro bubble problem. Some skimmers can take as long as 2 weeks to fully break in and get adjusted. Usually its the oils from the manufacturing process that need to break down and wear off before the skimmer can function properly. They should slow down eventually but will never fully stop....after all that is was a skimmer does. Did you try using a foam pad or filter sock over the exit? A lot of times that works at controlling bubbles but they will have to be removed and cleaned regularly. Like I said at the beginning, I'm not familiar with this skimmer so these suggestions/comments are more of a basic guideline. Maybe someone with more experience with this skimmer can chime in. __________________ To many men work on parts of things. Doing a job to completion satifies me. Current tank info: The space between what's wrong and right.

12/24/2007, 01:05 PM	#4
celano Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Illinois Posts: 910	OK I did some googling on your skimmer and it looks like its a venturi type. NW=needle wheel which is what I'm most familiar with.....venturi's not so much. As far as I can tell from looking at some pics is that you should still have an adjustment valve that allows you to control the amount of air going into the skimmer. If it didn't come with one and it should have then you need to contact Catalina and have them ship one to you. There are several aftermarket valves that work great to. The one I used on my Seaclone I bought from Lowe's and it worked sooo much better then the stock one. As far as the micro bubbles go just give it some time and see if they don't settle down. One week isn't that long of a break in period a lot of skimmers take anywhere from 3 days to 2 weeks. By chance you didn't let the sump get to low on water and the pump started sucking in air? I know its a long shot but just thought I'd ask. __________________ To many men work on parts of things. Doing a job to completion satifies me. Current tank info: The space between what's wrong and right.

12/24/2007, 01:55 PM	#6
celano Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Illinois Posts: 910	Sweet man I'm glad you got it working! Skimmers can be frustrating pieces of equipment but once you get them dialed in and working properly its obvious why they've become an industry standard. The skimmer I'm currently using is a little different than yours. Its a Euroreef es5-3 that uses a NW style pump. I run mine with no air valve so I can get as much air into the reaction chamber as possible. But the valve I used on my Seaclone was adjustable. The idea behind an adjustable valve is you can control just how much air gets into the chamber. Some people like to dial the air intake back a little to increase contact time but I just run mine wide open. Its worked good for me so far so I'm not gonna change it. In the end it comes down to each individual setup. Every reef is a little different so finding what works best for you is key.....even if is does take a little trial and error. __________________ To many men work on parts of things. Doing a job to completion satifies me. Current tank info: The space between what's wrong and right.

12/24/2007, 11:12 AM	#3
thebradybunch Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Greensboro,NC Posts: 351	Thank you for your help. Sorry but I am not sure what you mean by NW. Also the tubing does not run to the pump. It runs to the intake tube on the skimmer. As far as the bubbles go they only showed up yesterday and the skimmer has been running all week.

12/24/2007, 01:34 PM	#5
thebradybunch Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Greensboro,NC Posts: 351	Again thanks for your help. I took the skimmer out of the sump and took the covers off the pump and found the pump has 3 venturi outputs on it. I unhooked the air inlet tube from the skimmer input and ran it to the pump and readjusted the water flow. I put it back in the sump and it appears to be working really good. I still don't have a air adjustment. Are you just using a on/off valve on the air line?

12/24/2007, 01:58 PM	#7
thebradybunch Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Greensboro,NC Posts: 351	You've been a huge help. Thanks again and have a great Christmas