Have new skimmer, building sump, anyway to determine water/baffle level prior to going "live"?

[October Sky]

I've been piecing together my 40b/20l for months now, slowly gathering everything, and I'm pretty much done. The next logical step is converting the standard Aqueon 20l to a sump. My only concern is water level for the drain chamber where the skimmer will sit.

My skimmer is a new Eshopps X-120, which has a manufacture suggested level of 7"-9". Online though, they suggest anywhere from 5" to 10". That's quite a difference. My current tank (29 biocube) cannot possibly fit the skimmer, but I do have buckets and crates which could. I also have the 20l.

Could I put fresh or old saltwater in a bucket with the skimmer to determine it's optimal water level? If I use fresh salt water, what would I look for? If I use old (waterchange) saltwater, what would I look for?

As I've been taking my time putting this all together, I'm going for the cleanest look possible (within my budget). Last thing I want is a skimmer on a stand because my first baffle is too tall. Additionally, if it prefers a low water level, I would prefer no stand to gain the extra space for possible overflow problems.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Ty Hamatake]

You'd want to use tank water, the problem though is the break in time needed for the skimmer. You could potentially have to run the skimmer for weeks before it starts running optimally. If you have the time to do that, just make sure you're letting the skimmate drain back into the water to keep the nutrients that allow skimming possible in the water.

 

[October Sky]

You'd want to use tank water, the problem though is the break in time needed for the skimmer. You could potentially have to run the skimmer for weeks before it starts running optimally. If you have the time to do that, just make sure you're letting the skimmate drain back into the water to keep the nutrients that allow skimming possible in the water.

I could do partial water changes every day or other day to speed this up, maybe? I'm due for a large water change tomorrow, as I missed last week due to sick kids. So instead of the normal 4, I'm doing 10. If I can fit this skimmer in a 5 gallon, which I easily can by the looks of it, it will only need a little more than 3 gallons for "optimal height." So I could pull the cup, drain a little and add new "dirty" water. I'm off for the next 5 days, so I might as well start this now.

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Is there a drainline in the bottom of the collection cup that you could open up? Might be easier than doing water changes, which really wont speed anything up.

 

[madweazl]

If the manufacturer suggest 7-9" I'd set the skimmer at a depth of 8" regardless of what other sources state. Depending on how you setup your sump, the first baffle isn't all that important. Make the first chamber large enough to accommodate your skimmer with the water flowing under the baffle (inch or two above the bottom of the sump) into a refugium chamber. Now set the height of the next baffle to the height you'd like to maintain in the skimmer chamber (e.g. eight inches). Install another baffle for a bubble trap with a subsequent return chamber larger enough for your pump and you're set. With that said, I don't know if a 20L is large enough to make this work but it's food for thought.

 

[October Sky]

Is there a drainline in the bottom of the collection cup that you could open up? Might be easier than doing water changes, which really wont speed anything up.

There isn't a drain, but what I meant by water changes was to add new "dirty water" while maintaining the same water level by changing out old water.

 

[October Sky]

If the manufacturer suggest 7-9" I'd set the skimmer at a depth of 8" regardless of what other sources state. Depending on how you setup your sump, the first baffle isn't all that important. Make the first chamber large enough to accommodate your skimmer with the water flowing under the baffle (inch or two above the bottom of the sump) into a refugium chamber. Now set the height of the next baffle to the height you'd like to maintain in the skimmer chamber (e.g. eight inches). Install another baffle for a bubble trap with a subsequent return chamber larger enough for your pump and you're set. With that said, I don't know if a 20L is large enough to make this work but it's food for thought.

I don't know why I was dead set on the bubble trap being after the skimmer, maybe I thought I needed sand in the fuge area? I'll definitely look into this!

 

[madweazl]

I don't know why I was dead set on the bubble trap being after the skimmer, maybe I thought I needed sand in the fuge area? I'll definitely look into this!

You don't have to use substrate in the refugium area, that is up to you. I use an eshopps sump but they're fairly typical; it has a slot in the first chamber 2-3" above the floor (allows you to run some type of substrate should you choose). This water flows into the refugium chamber, up and over the bubble trap.