New to the Hobby (Red Sea Reefer 250)

[Lucas Lembke]

Also, does the skimmer seem to be working correctly? And should I empty the collection cup? Also, what does the red nozzle on the arm connected to the skimmer do when I adjust it?

 

[Branespikin]

Ok the top is now silent. However, there is an annoying trickling noise in the sump. Any idea of what it could be? Here is what the overflow looks like now.

Probably its water trickling into your socks

 

[Branespikin]

Also, does the skimmer seem to be working correctly? And should I empty the collection cup? Also, what does the red nozzle on the arm connected to the skimmer do when I adjust it?

Skimmer needs break in time days some time weeks. Did u give it a vinegar bath. The arm should raise the water level in the skimmer. Bubbles should be at the top of the neck. But Skimmer needs to break in to get perfect dial in

 

[Lucas Lembke]

Skimmer needs break in time days some time weeks. Did u give it a vinegar bath. The arm should raise the water level in the skimmer. Bubbles should be at the top of the neck. But Skimmer needs to break in to get perfect dial in

How's this? Do you mean this by up to the neck?

 

[Lucas Lembke]

I have Dr. Tims one and only when should I put this in the tank? Also, I noticed that my skimmer was a bit noisy it kind of sounds like its grinding up something but it's not extreme. I noticed that this sound is coming from the two tiny tubs in the 2nd picture. In the 2nd picture listed, I have one of the two openings covered up but the other is not. Should the other one be covered up as well to decrease noise level? If not, what is the problem?

 

[Circa916]

I'm not sure about dr Tims but most bacteria that you introduce wants you to turn the skimmer off. I let the bacteria run through the system for 4-5 days before turning on the skimmer otherwise it will just remove the bacteria and bubble over like crazy

 

[Branespikin]

How's this? Do you mean this by up to the neck?

 

[Pongo]

The small cup hanging on the side of the skimmer is the silencer for the air intake.
If you pull the hose off the bottom of it you'll instantly hear why it is there.
Mine has a knob on top to adjust the amount of air drawn into the skimmer.

When I put my bacteria in to cycle my tank I left the skimmer off for 24 hours.
I also dosed the tank up to 1ppm of ammonia to feed the bacteria.
I checked ammonia level daily to see how long it took to drop to undetectable.

Then I started checking for nitrites and when they showed up started checking for nitrates.

 

[Branespikin]

I have Dr. Tims one and only when should I put this in the tank? Also, I noticed that my skimmer was a bit noisy it kind of sounds like its grinding up something but it's not extreme. I noticed that this sound is coming from the two tiny tubs in the 2nd picture. In the 2nd picture listed, I have one of the two openings covered up but the other is not. Should the other one be covered up as well to decrease noise level? If not, what is the problem?

Don’t cover the other one. Thats your air intake

 

[Lucas Lembke]

Ok I adjusted to the neck. How do things get to the collection cup then??

 

[Pongo]

Eventually after the skimmer breaks in and you get some livestock in the tank the foam will build up in the skimmer neck.
Then you'll start to get nice smelly gunk making its way into the cup.

Patience, patience.

 

[Branespikin]

They slowly creep up throughout the day. You wont see real gunk to you get fish in there. Because it basically pulls out the fish poop

 

[Lucas Lembke]

Got everything up and running except for the float switch on the varios pump and the ATO. I might just not use float switch

 

[Branespikin]

I would look up in hiw to connect that varios float just to play it safe. Im assuming you just plug it in and set it in low spot so if your pump would run dry the float would disconnect pump. Especially since your ato is not up and runnning. First chamber to lose water due to evaporation is the return pump chamber so watch out

 

[Lucas Lembke]

Ok ill try to figure it out. Also, could you walk me through the setup of the ATO

 

[Josh Kraft]

Ok ill try to figure it out. Also, could you walk me through the setup of the ATO

Add a little RODI water to the ATO and watch the white float. If your water is low, you will see a few droplets coming out below the white float. I would add more saltwater to get it to the right level (when water stops dripping). Then you can fill your ATO.

Do you have something to test the salinity of your water?

 

[Lucas Lembke]

Add a little RODI water to the ATO and watch the white float. If your water is low, you will see a few droplets coming out below the white float. I would add more saltwater to get it to the right level (when water stops dripping). Then you can fill your ATO.

Do you have something to test the salinity of your water?

No I do not. I also do not have a test kit yet. I will need one to test my parameters after I put the Dr Tims solution in

 

[Josh Kraft]

Stability is key. I'd get a refractometer first, and learn how to do water changes.

When I first started, I didn't test anything except salinity, I just made sure to stick to my water change schedule. Keeping salinity is simple with an ATO, once you get your water where it should it, it's just a matter of making sure you keep RO water in your ATO and making sure your water change water is mixed correctly.

 

[Lucas Lembke]

So the dc pump and skimmer were running all of today and I realized that the pump kept restarting and it was because the dc pump wasn't in deep enough water. Should I add more saltwater directly to the sump specifically the pump chamber?

 

[Josh Kraft]

There should always be 6 inches of water main pump compartment