Skimmer Q&A Thread

[SCHAULJ]

what level are you running it at?

I just saw the water level indicator on the stem. Im well above it... this is likely causing problems. This is my first skimmer. Ill get a skimmer stand to bring it up to the water level needed. I just assumed the red sea reefer sump would work well w/ the red sea skimmer ... w/out any adjustments or at least better instructions on how to install.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[reeftivo]

you should be fine. just get it to the mid recommended range and that will allow you to fine tune it more later on.

 

[rob2010]

I put a Coralife 65g super skimmer, and it is a hang on, the problem I am have is the difusser box has way to much water flowing over the sides how do u calm it down?

 

[OutsideBrian]

Any tips or tricks to dealing with small bubbles coming from the skimmer output. Mine make it over to my refugium and annoy me.

 

[reeftivo]

Any tips or tricks to dealing with small bubbles coming from the skimmer output. Mine make it over to my refugium and annoy me.

how long has the skimmer been running and is it an insump or HOB?

 

[OutsideBrian]

It’s been running for a month or more, It’s a bubble magnus c5.5
I kind of want to put something on the end of the discharge like a filter sock

 

[reeftivo]

It’s been running for a month or more, It’s a bubble magnus c5.5
I kind of want to put something on the end of the discharge like a filter sock

how deep are you running it?

if your run it at the lower end of the recommended range then you run the risk of more micros exiting. that's because there is less head pressure. you may want to raise the water level just a half inch or so depending on where you're at now.

a filter sock will work, but it's more maintenance and you would need to monitor it. If nothing else works and you decide to stick a filter sock at the effluent, then go with a 4" mesh sock no lower than 200 micron. You don't want any back pressure on the effluent or the skimmer won't perform well.

 

[OutsideBrian]

Here is what I have. Think maybe a longer discharge pipe would help?

 

[SinkyShippy]

Anyone have this skimmer? How is it? Bought it for a 10 gallon sump and a 20 gallon tank.

 

[reeftivo]

Here is what I have. Think maybe a longer discharge pipe would help?

possibly.

not sure if that's schedule 80 or 40 pcv. you may want to take the piece to a hadware store and match it up. then you can cut a few lengths (shorter and longer) to try out. You are at the high end of the recommended level.

another thing you can try is to raise the skimmer so it sits in 8.5 to 9 inches of water and close down the wedge pipe to raise the internal level in the skimmer more.

 

[Aeb1419]

Hi,

I am looking for the best quietest skimmer for a 22 gal that is able to fit these dimensions in the back of my tank. 2.75 inches X 7.5 inches

Anyone have recommendations?

 

[Nathan Milender]

This is the official R2R Skimmer Q&A Thread where the answers to your questions are as concentrated as skimmate!

We will do our best as a community to answer questions you have concerning protein skimmers so ask away!

Thank you!

I have been running a 125 with a 40 gallon sump for about one year. I bought it used after not having a tank for 20 years and I am new to skimmers. It came with the tank, a reef octopus 125 regal with a DC pump. I cycled the tank with ammonia and never detected nitrate. I had phosphate early on. Recently had a programming error in the apex and the tank temp rose 5 degrees followed shortly by a dino breakout (sesame seed looking ones, easy to spot on 40x magnification).

I suspect the temp helped, but I have known I have been running low on nitrate and phos. I turned the skimmer down from max setting (5 dots) to 3 dots.

Question: Do people run these on for a period of the day and then off? Or is turning it down the way to go? I am thinking instead of adding supplements I should really just not strip everything out but I am not sure how much of a change to make. Looking for tips. A link to an article or another discussion would be fine as well.

 

[Aeb1419]

Hi,

I am looking for the best quietest skimmer for a 22 gal that is able to fit these dimensions in the back of my tank. 2.75 inches X 7.5 inches

 

[pizzaguy]

470 gallon system. Very heavy bio load. Is a super reef octopus 8000ext skimmer gonna be way overkill for a skimmer? Any advice would be appreciated

 

[osvaldogarza21]

Hi any one with that is running this skimmer ??
does it work better then eshopps nano skimmer??
I currently have the eshopps nano skimmer any I'm always having to adjust the level never seems to work fine and yes I have a constant water level on my sump along with the ATO.
any suggestions thanks.

 

[reeftivo]

Hi,

I am looking for the best quietest skimmer for a 22 gal that is able to fit these dimensions in the back of my tank. 2.75 inches X 7.5 inches

Anyone have recommendations?

maybe something like the nuvo desk top. decent reviews and tiny
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/desktop-nuvoskim-dc-protein-skimmer-innovative-marine.html

 

[reeftivo]

470 gallon system. Very heavy bio load. Is a super reef octopus 8000ext skimmer gonna be way overkill for a skimmer? Any advice would be appreciated

possibly. that's a commercial big boy

2 times the volume is kind of the rule of thumb but heavily stocked and well fed, it may be fine. tough call though! 7000 may be a better fit. Maybe someone else with a large system can chime in.

 

[reeftivo]

I have been running a 125 with a 40 gallon sump for about one year. I bought it used after not having a tank for 20 years and I am new to skimmers. It came with the tank, a reef octopus 125 regal with a DC pump. I cycled the tank with ammonia and never detected nitrate. I had phosphate early on. Recently had a programming error in the apex and the tank temp rose 5 degrees followed shortly by a dino breakout (sesame seed looking ones, easy to spot on 40x magnification).

I suspect the temp helped, but I have known I have been running low on nitrate and phos. I turned the skimmer down from max setting (5 dots) to 3 dots.

Question: Do people run these on for a period of the day and then off? Or is turning it down the way to go? I am thinking instead of adding supplements I should really just not strip everything out but I am not sure how much of a change to make. Looking for tips. A link to an article or another discussion would be fine as well.

It won't run as efficient, but there are a few that run theirs on a timer at night for the same low nutrient level you describe. Problem may be that I would suspect the neck above the water level would dry out and the skimmer would be slow to get neck up to normal skimming. The added benefit though if you ran it on a timer at night would be it would help with pH swings

 

[Nathan Milender]

It won't run as efficient, but there are a few that run theirs on a timer at night for the same low nutrient level you describe. Problem may be that I would suspect the neck above the water level would dry out and the skimmer would be slow to get neck up to normal skimming. The added benefit though if you ran it on a timer at night would be it would help with pH swings

Thanks for the reply. Loss of efficiency would be acceptable when the entire point is to turn it down. If drying was an issue I could even run it on for an hour off an hour etc. Also, that neck never seems to de-scum even when I wipe it. I have just been wrestling these new trends of all this added technology to remove something and putting it back in as an additive. For me, a simple tank is a happy tank. I will do the maintenance, but it is not the point of the tank. In the end I will probably just have to try it and see how it works.

 

[SaleenCB]

Looking for some advice. I want to upgrade to a newer model Deltec skimmer. I'm just torn about which one to get. Currently, I have a 65 gallon system with trigger Systems Ruby 30 sump. Have already been using Deltec skimmers and have been very impressed with them.

My question is what size to get...Looking at the 600 and the 1000 series. I always like to go bigger than what I need and hopefully within the next 12 months, I want to upgrade to a larger system...possibly around the 130 gallon area.

Obviously, the 1000 series would go with the larger tank but if I pull the trigger on that one now, will it be too big for current system?