Skimmer Help - Inconsistent water level in sump

[psphillies]

Happy Friday all,

In need of some help with my Cadlights pls-50 Elite Skimmer.
I have it running in the second chamber of my Waterbox AIO Cube 20. Back sump chamber consists of:
1st Chamber - Intank media basket with floss, biomax, then Purigen
2nd chamber - GFO Reactor, Skimmer
3rd Chamber - Return pump, heater, ATO

Even with the ATO filling up the 3rd chamber constantly, the water level in the 2nd chamber seems to fluctuate quite a bit.
This is causing a very inconstant skim throughout the day, also will sometimes overflow the collection cup and dump back into the sump.

I've read somewhere that the ATO needs to be set under the last baffle in the 3rd chamber for the water level to be consistent throughout the sump. I will try that as well once I am home.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Water Dog]

Can you please post a picture of your sump, specifically the baffle between the second and return chamber? If baffled correctly, the water level in the second chamber should remain constant. The only section that should fluctuate is the return pump chamber due to evaporation, which is why we keep our ATO sensors there.

 

[prdubois]

Unless the ATO is pumping in to much water, the level in the 1st and 2nd chamber should not change. Sounds like your ATO sensor is to high in the 3rd chamber.
You want the ATO to cut off the water while the 3rd chamber is lower then the 2nd

 

[psphillies]

Can you please post a picture of your sump, specifically the baffle between the second and return chamber? If baffled correctly, the water level in the second chamber should remain constant. The only section that should fluctuate is the return pump chamber due to evaporation, which is why we keep our ATO sensors there.

I will post a picture once I am home from work!
Already been counting down the time to 5.

I keep my ATO sensor in the 3rd chamber as well.

 

[psphillies]

Unless the ATO is pumping in to much water, the level in the 1st and 2nd chamber should not change. Sounds like your ATO sensor is to high in the 3rd chamber.
You want the ATO to cut off the water while the 3rd chamber is lower then the 2nd

The 3rd chambers water level is definitely higher than the second. I will check on that and change once I'm home.

Thank you for the quick reply!

 

[Water Dog]

The only thing I can think of that may be an underlying cause would be that perhaps the OP has the ATO sensor /water level in the return chamber above the baffle wall, thus making the second chamber‘s water level be unstable, as it’s no longer fixed by the baffle wall and is instead dependent on the ATO.

 

[psphillies]

The only thing I can think of that may be an underlying cause would be that perhaps the OP has the ATO sensor /water level in the return chamber above the baffle wall, thus making the second chamber‘s water level be unstable, as it’s no longer fixed by the baffle wall and is dependent on the ATO.

I am starting to think that is the cause as well. I will post pictures before and after the change once I am home and will check to see if that was the issue!

 

[stanleo]

The 3rd chambers water level is definitely higher than the second. I will check on that and change once I'm home.

Thank you for the quick reply!

That is your problem. Your last chamber, the return chamber should never have a water level higher than the last baffle. That will keep the water levels in all chambers constant.

 

[prdubois]

That would do it. It concept is the 3rd chamber that has the return pump is the only one that changes level.
ATO should fill that chamber when it is low.
Only time the other chambers should be higher is when the return pump is off. (Like Power Outage)
Thing to remember is if you are going to power down the return pump you need to power off the skimmer 1st
Also you should make sure that when the return pump is off that the sump will hold the extra water volume.

 

[psphillies]

That is your problem. Your last chamber, the return chamber should never have a water level higher than the last baffle. That will keep the water levels in all chambers constant.

Awesome! Hoping this solves the problem.
Now if only all skimmer problems were this easy of a fix

 

[psphillies]

That would do it. It concept is the 3rd chamber that has the return pump is the only one that changes level.
ATO should fill that chamber when it is low.
Only time the other chambers should be higher is when the return pump is off. (Like Power Outage)
Thing to remember is if you are going to power down the return pump you need to power off the skimmer 1st
Also you should make sure that when the return pump is off that the sump will hold the extra water volume.

Great! Thank you for the tips as well. Always appreciated!

 

[psphillies]

That is your problem. Your last chamber, the return chamber should never have a water level higher than the last baffle. That will keep the water levels in all chambers constant.

Solved! My skimmer has never run more consistently thank you

 

[psphillies]

That would do it. It concept is the 3rd chamber that has the return pump is the only one that changes level.
ATO should fill that chamber when it is low.
Only time the other chambers should be higher is when the return pump is off. (Like Power Outage)
Thing to remember is if you are going to power down the return pump you need to power off the skimmer 1st
Also you should make sure that when the return pump is off that the sump will hold the extra water volume.

Solved! Thank you for your help. Glad I didn't wind up replacing any equipment.

 

[psphillies]

The only thing I can think of that may be an underlying cause would be that perhaps the OP has the ATO sensor /water level in the return chamber above the baffle wall, thus making the second chamber‘s water level be unstable, as it’s no longer fixed by the baffle wall and is instead dependent on the ATO.

Solved. Water level in the 3rd chamber was definitely the issue. Thank you for your help!

 

[prdubois]

extra eyes always help