Does my skimmer look right?

[DD0513]

I am trying to dial my skimmer in. The skim will be half an inch down in the tube, then if I adjust it slightly, I will come in the next morning and it will be overflowing the cup. I have been struggling with water level fluctuations in my sump. I think my return pump is slightly out running the drain. I valves my return back about a third of the way to keep it steady. So I am attaching a video to see if it looks right or if it should be slightly lower or higher. How often should I have to dump it out? Thank you for your help.

 

[DD0513]

 

[Largeangels]

Do you have pics of the sump?

 

[davidm777]

Yep I was just gonna ask for pics of the sump. Water level should not fluctuate on the skimmer chamber.

 

[get-salty]

sounds like you need a different return pump. the one you're using is on its way out. fix that problem first then adjust your water level then adjust your skimmer.

dont do everything at once.

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

It looks like it’s skimming a bit wet

 

[kboogie]

I would say your water height is too high.

I like to have my water like (not bubbles above the water) be no lower than the bottom of the collection cup and no higher than halfway up the collection cup.

From this image, it looks like your waterline is just below the top of the collection cup.

 

[Red_Beard]

Looks a bit wet to me too. I usually empty once maybe twice a week, but i skim dry.
Sump level fluctuation is going to make it extreamly not easy to dial in. I would start with getting the level there stabilized. Then start with bubbles 1 inch below the rim and go from there.

 

[DD0513]

Do you have pics of the sump?

 

[DD0513]

 

[DD0513]

How do I make it skin dryer? I am not super familiar with the skimming set up.

It looks like it’s skimming a bit wet

 

[Red_Beard]

Ah. Is that skimmer in the same chamber as the return pump? That one is going to be rough to keep stabile. Evaporation, pump flow rate, overflow flow rate, pretty much any fluctuation is going to result in water level changes in the return pump chamber. Also, i would recommend hanging that kessil, so you dont melt the lens or your cover.
Edit: to skim dryer, lower the bubble level in the skimmer neck.

 

[p1u5h13r4m24]

I always set mine up do the bubbles are lower in the neck of the cup. I’d say about 1-1.5” lower.

 

[DD0513]

Looks a bit wet to me too. I usually empty once maybe twice a week, but i skim dry.
Sump level fluctuation is going to make it extreamly not easy to dial in. I would start with getting the level there stabilized. Then start with bubbles 1 inch below the rim and go from there.

So should it be more like this?

 

[Red_Beard]

So should it be more like this?

Yes, more like that.

 

[DD0513]

I always set mine up do the bubbles are lower in the neck of the cup. I’d say about 1-1.5” lower.

I guess I’m not understanding the skimmer then, so if the bubbles are under the rim of the cup, it will still put the waste into the cup? I thought it had to be slightly over flowing.

 

[DD0513]

Yes, more like that.

So even like that, it gets the waste into the cup, I was totally misunderstanding thinking it had to be slightly overflowing the tube to get the waste into the cup.

 

[DD0513]

Ah. Is that skimmer in the same chamber as the return pump? That one is going to be rough to keep stabile. Evaporation, pump flow rate, overflow flow rate, pretty much any fluctuation is going to result in water level changes in the return pump chamber. Also, i would recommend hanging that kessil, so you dont melt the lens or your cover.
Edit: to skim dryer, lower the bubble level in the skimmer neck.

It is not in the return chamber, the return pump is in the rear middle chamber, skimmer in the right chamber.

 

[Red_Beard]

So even like that, it gets the waste into the cup, I was totally misunderstanding thinking it had to be slightly overflowing the tube to get the waste into the cup.

I did at first too when i first got mine going. It would overflow on the regular and drive me crazy! But yes, even like that it will pull waste. Let it run like that for a few days and see. You and adjust up or down as needed, but be careful, a little adjustment goes a long way

 

[DD0513]

Ok, thank you for all of your help.