Help adjusting Excalibur Skimmer?

TheBadGuy · 07/07/2006, 08:18 PM

I have an Excalibur protein skimmer that came with my wet/dry system I purchased years ago and it has never worked like I want it to but truth be told, I do not know how to adjust it properly. I know I need to upgrade but right now I think this one will work much better if adjusted correctly.

This is an "in sump" unit and hangs on the end of my sump with two adjustable screws that you can use to elevate or lower the entire skimmer in the water.

Instead of getting just scum in there I get the collection cup full of just water so I kept raising it and raising it thinking it was too low and water was making its way up into the cup. Today while speaking to someone at my local pet shop, he said I wanted to lower it and it being high was why I was getting mostly water in there.

So today, at 5 pm I emptied the skimmer collection and lowered it to where the bottom of the skimmer was less than 1" from the base of the sump and as low as it would go. The collection cup itself is a few inches out of the water.

At 10 pm tonight I checked on it and the cup was again full of water. Any suggestions on how I want to adjust this thing??

TheBadGuy · 07/08/2006, 06:23 AM

Bump

TheBadGuy · 07/08/2006, 06:52 PM

Bump!!

I have tried adjusting it every which way and still am getting the cup filled with water. My nitrates are higher than I would like and its no doubt b/c my skimmer is not operating properly.

Any help would be appreciated

Bdubbya · 07/08/2006, 09:51 PM

Can you post a picture? That might help. I'm having a hard time visuallizing it.

TheBadGuy · 07/08/2006, 10:24 PM

I will take a photo tomorrow. Here is a crude illustration. below. The skimmer has two plastic screws that catch onto the rim of the sump and you can adjust the skimmer to go up and down in the sump.

My problem is I am getting just straight cruddy water in the collection cup instead of just the skimmed crude

Volcmreefer · 07/08/2006, 11:12 PM

I had an Excalibur and it sucked. Save up your money and buy something else. I bought a 85.00 Sea-clone, did some mods and it works twice as good as the crappy Excalibur I had. As far as the adjustment, just keep f*&#ing with it and mabye it will get better.

mufret · 07/09/2006, 07:18 AM

You need to adjust the water level inside the skimmer and that's done with the skimmer's outflow tube. It sounds like you have it all the way up. Lower it as far as possible and start there. Let it run for a few hours and see where the water level is, inside the skimmer. If it's below the water level mark on the skimeer's body, then raise the outflow tube a bit. Once set properly the Excaliber is a pretty decent skimmer. BTW, which pump are you using on it? Trying to push too much water through the skimmer can also cause the problems you're having.

TheBadGuy · 07/09/2006, 08:07 AM

Quote:

If it's below the water level mark on the skimeer's body, then raise the outflow tube a bit. Once set properly the Excaliber is a pretty decent skimmer

Mine doesn't have a water line mark on the body. Do you have a picture of where one should be?

The pump is a Rio 800 I believe

TheBadGuy · 07/09/2006, 09:19 AM

Quote:

that's done with the skimmer's outflow tube

Also, I am not sure about this. The only adjusting I have been doing is with the screws to adjust height fo the unit

twon8 · 07/09/2006, 11:44 AM

you need a pic so we can help you.

TheBadGuy · 07/09/2006, 01:23 PM

I will try but b/c of its location in my stand/sump, there is little to no room and I am not sure if the picture will help with what I can capture. Thats why I tried the illustration

TheBadGuy · 07/09/2006, 02:14 PM

Here is the best I could get:

Here are the screws I was talking about and the ONLY adjustable feature on this skimmer. It controls the height of the skimmer in the sump. Completely lowered the cylinder w/ open bottom practically is touching the bottom of the sump. If I raise it as high as I can it leaves about 4" or so between the bottom opening of the cylinder and the bottom of the sump

I just emptied the collection cup again before taking a photo. As you can see the bubbles are starting to overflow into the collection cup. In about an hour or two it will be full with greenish water.

Is it working right? I thought I would mainly have a bubbly crude instead of a cup of dirty water

Bdubbya · 07/10/2006, 05:13 PM

Is the riser tube on the side all the way down? Can you take the skimmer out of the sump and take a pic? This looks like it might be an older version model than I had, but I will try to help. You're not putting anything in the tank to treat the water, right?

Bdubbya · 07/10/2006, 05:15 PM

I had another thought after I posted. The water level in the sump will effect the level in the skimmer. If you put it in an area with a lower water level this should help.

TheBadGuy · 07/10/2006, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bdubbya
Is the riser tube on the side all the way down? Can you take the skimmer out of the sump and take a pic? This looks like it might be an older version model than I had, but I will try to help. You're not putting anything in the tank to treat the water, right?

The riser tube?? I am sorry, I am not sure which part that would be. This thing is just one long cylinder with a hole half way down that has a small tube that goes to a little platform where the pump plugs in. Besides that, all it has is the screws to adjust height.

To take out the skimmer from the sump I have to disconnect the hose going from the overflow thats very difficult to reach and pull the entire sump out of the stand.

TheBadGuy · 07/10/2006, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bdubbya
I had another thought after I posted. The water level in the sump will effect the level in the skimmer. If you put it in an area with a lower water level this should help.

My sump is a converted wet/dry which the skimmer was a part of. All Excalibur. It only has three sections. The first that has water go almost to the top of the sump before it overflows into a second section. Thatâ€™s where the skimmer is, the second section is where I am using as a refug and then the third is a skinny section with a return pump.

While I can't say for sure that water level isn't the cause, I can without a doubt say that the section itâ€™s in, is the one the manufacture determined the skimmer to go in. I know this b/c the first section, is the only one with alittle cut out in the rim where those screws are meant to sit in

Thanks for putting some thought into this in an attempt to help me!!

Bdubbya · 07/11/2006, 04:04 PM

Twist the screws so that the skimmer is as high out of the water as the screws will allow. Let it stay like that for a little while to see if it helps. If this doesn't help you can try lifting it further out of the water by putting a small piece of styrofoam under the screws.

07/07/2006, 08:18 PM	#1
TheBadGuy Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Hillsborough, NC Posts: 178	Help adjusting Excalibur Skimmer? I have an Excalibur protein skimmer that came with my wet/dry system I purchased years ago and it has never worked like I want it to but truth be told, I do not know how to adjust it properly. I know I need to upgrade but right now I think this one will work much better if adjusted correctly. This is an "in sump" unit and hangs on the end of my sump with two adjustable screws that you can use to elevate or lower the entire skimmer in the water. Instead of getting just scum in there I get the collection cup full of just water so I kept raising it and raising it thinking it was too low and water was making its way up into the cup. Today while speaking to someone at my local pet shop, he said I wanted to lower it and it being high was why I was getting mostly water in there. So today, at 5 pm I emptied the skimmer collection and lowered it to where the bottom of the skimmer was less than 1" from the base of the sump and as low as it would go. The collection cup itself is a few inches out of the water. At 10 pm tonight I checked on it and the cup was again full of water. Any suggestions on how I want to adjust this thing?? __________________ The west was not won with a registered gun!! Current Tank Info: 125 Gallon, 200 pds Live Rock 6 fish

07/08/2006, 06:23 AM	#2
TheBadGuy Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Hillsborough, NC Posts: 178	Bump __________________ The west was not won with a registered gun!! Current Tank Info: 125 Gallon, 200 pds Live Rock 6 fish

07/08/2006, 06:52 PM	#3
TheBadGuy Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Hillsborough, NC Posts: 178	Bump!! I have tried adjusting it every which way and still am getting the cup filled with water. My nitrates are higher than I would like and its no doubt b/c my skimmer is not operating properly. Any help would be appreciated __________________ The west was not won with a registered gun!! Current Tank Info: 125 Gallon, 200 pds Live Rock 6 fish

07/08/2006, 10:24 PM	#5
TheBadGuy Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Hillsborough, NC Posts: 178	I will take a photo tomorrow. Here is a crude illustration. below. The skimmer has two plastic screws that catch onto the rim of the sump and you can adjust the skimmer to go up and down in the sump. My problem is I am getting just straight cruddy water in the collection cup instead of just the skimmed crude __________________ The west was not won with a registered gun!! Current Tank Info: 125 Gallon, 200 pds Live Rock 6 fish

07/09/2006, 11:44 AM	#10
twon8 Formally registered membe Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: slightly sw of richmond, va Posts: 5,920	you need a pic so we can help you. __________________ Anthony Richmond Reef Club "and as things fell apart, nobody paid much attention." Not building a wall but making a brick Current Tank Info: 300g DD display, 60g frag tank

07/08/2006, 09:51 PM	#4
Bdubbya Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Kansas city Posts: 15	Can you post a picture? That might help. I'm having a hard time visuallizing it.

07/08/2006, 11:12 PM	#6
Volcmreefer Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Milton, FL Posts: 346	I had an Excalibur and it sucked. Save up your money and buy something else. I bought a 85.00 Sea-clone, did some mods and it works twice as good as the crappy Excalibur I had. As far as the adjustment, just keep f*&#ing with it and mabye it will get better.

07/09/2006, 07:18 AM	#7
mufret Moved On Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Canton, GA Posts: 144	You need to adjust the water level inside the skimmer and that's done with the skimmer's outflow tube. It sounds like you have it all the way up. Lower it as far as possible and start there. Let it run for a few hours and see where the water level is, inside the skimmer. If it's below the water level mark on the skimeer's body, then raise the outflow tube a bit. Once set properly the Excaliber is a pretty decent skimmer. BTW, which pump are you using on it? Trying to push too much water through the skimmer can also cause the problems you're having.

07/09/2006, 01:23 PM	#11
TheBadGuy Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Hillsborough, NC Posts: 178	I will try but b/c of its location in my stand/sump, there is little to no room and I am not sure if the picture will help with what I can capture. Thats why I tried the illustration __________________ The west was not won with a registered gun!! Current Tank Info: 125 Gallon, 200 pds Live Rock 6 fish

07/09/2006, 02:14 PM	#12
TheBadGuy Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Hillsborough, NC Posts: 178	Here is the best I could get: Here are the screws I was talking about and the ONLY adjustable feature on this skimmer. It controls the height of the skimmer in the sump. Completely lowered the cylinder w/ open bottom practically is touching the bottom of the sump. If I raise it as high as I can it leaves about 4" or so between the bottom opening of the cylinder and the bottom of the sump I just emptied the collection cup again before taking a photo. As you can see the bubbles are starting to overflow into the collection cup. In about an hour or two it will be full with greenish water. Is it working right? I thought I would mainly have a bubbly crude instead of a cup of dirty water __________________ The west was not won with a registered gun!! Current Tank Info: 125 Gallon, 200 pds Live Rock 6 fish

07/10/2006, 05:13 PM	#13
Bdubbya Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Kansas city Posts: 15	Is the riser tube on the side all the way down? Can you take the skimmer out of the sump and take a pic? This looks like it might be an older version model than I had, but I will try to help. You're not putting anything in the tank to treat the water, right?

07/10/2006, 05:15 PM	#14
Bdubbya Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Kansas city Posts: 15	I had another thought after I posted. The water level in the sump will effect the level in the skimmer. If you put it in an area with a lower water level this should help.

07/11/2006, 04:04 PM	#17
Bdubbya Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Kansas city Posts: 15	Twist the screws so that the skimmer is as high out of the water as the screws will allow. Let it stay like that for a little while to see if it helps. If this doesn't help you can try lifting it further out of the water by putting a small piece of styrofoam under the screws. Last edited by Bdubbya; 07/11/2006 at 04:22 PM.