Reef Octo skimmer EXT output plumbing

[HOLYREEFER]

I recently purchased a reef octopus 250 EXT skimmer.

My question is they have the output pipe “A” which is like 2 inch’s for height but my sump is like 6 inches of height. The plumbing is 1.5 inch pvc so getting it isn’t hard but will me adding height to the output effect the skimmer?

I know there will be more back pressure because the water would seat in the chamber longer but would it best for me to place the skimmer on top of my chiller vs next to the sump?


I guess I could have the sump tank drilled on the side ?

Any suggestions or help would be appreciated

The pic shows how I extended the pipe for height wil this work or have a negative impact on the skimmer performance?


After looking at this pic for so long my sump is acrylic I guess it would be best to drill it for a bulkhead fitting so there isn’t back pressure on the skimmer right?

 

[Marco_99]

Personally, I don’t know much about external set ups. This guy goes through some pretty good explaining whether he knows what he’s talking about or not. If you don’t wanna watch the whole thing go to about 13 minutes when he talks about heights. I’m sure someone on here will chime in on here with some good knowledge and first hand experience.

 

[HOLYREEFER]

This was very useful I see the sump level matters when placing the skimmer next to the sump if the sump water level is higher it has a chance of overflowing

 

[Tangdora]

You need to use the short, if you need extra height to clear your sump you need to put a stand under it to raise the whole skimmer. Also do not cut any of the dark grey pieces befor the gate valve. While they look 1.5 in they are not. They are actually metric and 1.5 pvc will not fit which is why they give you the metric to standard adapter to used post gate valve. Also should you decide to drill like I did. Do NOT run it directly into the chamber with your return pumper or you’re going to have micro bubbles all over your tank. Try to return it back at least a chamber, two even better to allow some of the bubble to pop. Also the water level in the sump can go to the height of the bulkhead without any real back pressure occurring. .

 

[HOLYREEFER]

When you say height of the bulkhead which one (bulk head) are you referring ?

 

[Tangdora]

The top where the water exits. Which should be level with the top of the gate valve if your piping is level

 

[HOLYREEFER]

I’m going to place a bulkhead in my sump I got this email from reefoctopus

 

[BeanAnimal]

The output of the skimmer is higher than the sump. It dumps into the sump. This is the only way that the skimmer will work properly. If you try to use a bulkhead to feed it into the sump, then it still must discharge at the water surface or above, so that the sump’s water level does not interact with the discharge — if it does discharge below the sump water line it will affect tuning, and overflow the skimmer when the return pump is off and the sump is full.

 

[HOLYREEFER]

The output of the skimmer is higher than the sump. It dumps into the sump. This is the only way that the skimmer will work properly. If you try to use a bulkhead to feed it into the sump, then it still must discharge at the water surface or above, so that the sump’s water level does not interact with the discharge — if it does discharge below the sump water line it will affect tuning, and overflow the skimmer when the return pump is off and the sump is full.

Yes, I figured that I was going to place it well above the water level, have a float switch that activates for the pump to turn off if the water level were to get that high (obviously the power is off etc…)

 

[BeanAnimal]

I run mine over the sump wall, and then down into the water, but I have drilled several holes at the water surface to prevent air from being trapped and causing back pressure. That section of my sump does not raise when return pump is off.

One of the major benefits of an external skimmer is that it runs independent of the sump's water level (if it is setup correctly) and you don't need a special elevated sump compartment, etc.

 

[Kasrift]

I run mine over the sump wall, and then down into the water, but I have drilled several holes at the water surface to prevent air from being trapped and causing back pressure. That section of my sump does not raise when return pump is off.

One of the major benefits of an external skimmer is that it runs independent of the sump's water level (if it is setup correctly) and you don't need a special elevated sump compartment, etc.

Can you provide a picture of what you mean? I'm setting up a Reef Octopus 250ext and ran it over the sump wall and it is overflowing.

 

[BeanAnimal]

You can't extend the discharge pipe height.
It has to go horizontal from the fixed height that is it and then drop into the sump. If you use an elbow to turn it 90 down to the sump and submerge the discharge, there will be back pressure.

You have a few options to prevent the back pressure.

1 - Use a TEE with an open top instead of a an elbow.
or
2 - don't submerge the discharge
or
3 - drill a few holes in the pipe just above the water level of the sump. This will allow air to escape.

 

[Kasrift]

You can't extend the discharge pipe height.
It has to go horizontal from the fixed height that is it and then drop into the sump. If you use an elbow to turn it 90 down to the sump and submerge the discharge, there will be back pressure.

You have a few options to prevent the back pressure.

1 - Use a TEE with an open top instead of a an elbow.
or
2 - don't submerge the discharge
or
3 - drill a few holes in the pipe just above the water level of the sump. This will allow air to escape.

Helpful, thanks. Can you show how you plumbed it over the sump wall in your setup if you didn't extend the pipe discharge height?

 

[BeanAnimal]

I am not where I can take a photo. I set the base of the skimmer so that the horizontal discharge cleared the top edge of the sump. There is a simple shelf beside my sump that the skimmer sits on.