Skimmer Q&A Thread

[tamanning]

Your skimmer is designed to operate within a level of water. change the level of the skimmer change the level of the water.it should work fine.

 

[reeftivo]

Diffuser panel is cheap compared to a site bought skimmer stand. You can also make several at different heights which gives you more bang for your buck

 

[Hetts]

So I recently got a biocube 32 and im looking for options to put in my 3 chambers, im chamber 1 which is the intake chamber i was thinking a protein skimmer. The only one that seems to work for biocube 32 without mods to the hood is the coralife biocube 32 skimmer, which i heard is a horrible skimmer. Are there anyother options for a skimmer to fit in chamber 1 without any mods? For chamber 2 im putting a intake media basket with the intake fuge basket beside that, and for chamber 3 I was to just put my heater with the pump for the filter. Im open to all opinions and anyother ideas on a better setup, thank you!! Saltwater newbie here lol

 

[mattrez80]

I have a Reef Octopus Elite 200 on my 180gal mixed reef (medium to heavy stock). According to BRS, this skimmer is rated at 125gal for a heavily stocked tank, but according to Reef Octopus this skimmer is for a 300-400gal tank.

My question here is, with my pump running at 100% (#5) and the air valve almost completely shut (1 or Min), I still only get enough skim mate for me to dump every 2-3 weeks. If I adjust the air valve higher than 1 no skim mate will be produced.

Is this skimmer too large for my tank or is there something else?

 

[Reeferdude1888]

Hi guys we run our tanks in different ways I.e with skimmer without skimmer algae scrubbers cheato refugium skimmers on timers my question is does any one run there skimmer on for one week of for a week on for week of for a week ,if so could I get some feedback from anyone who dose cause I'm thinking about trying it to see if there are any benefits rather than running it 24/7....

 

[tamanning]

I tried to run mine on a timer but when it came back on it never balanced where i had set it. once it would be close but the next it would overflow my catch jar and make a mess. I found a lower setting to achieve the results I needed. I hope this helps.

 

[Reeferdude1888]

Hi thanks for the feedback after thinking about it and reading your feedback I've decided just to turn the skimmer of 2 days a week and see how it goes.

 

[Trylobyte]

So I have a Reef Octopus 100 HOB on my tank and during the day I've got the foam to sit around 3/4 of the way up the neck and very rarely does it raise (usually after feeding it produces a little skim mate). But at lights out the thing just goes crazy and the entire cup fills up over night? Is this common and should I actually be setting the foam level after lights out or what?

 

[tamanning]

So I have a Reef Octopus 100 HOB on my tank and during the day I've got the foam to sit around 3/4 of the way up the neck and very rarely does it raise (usually after feeding it produces a little skim mate). But at lights out the thing just goes crazy and the entire cup fills up over night? Is this common and should I actually be setting the foam level after lights out or what?

I get much more skim over night than I get during the day. So I don't know if it's the norm but it works that way for me.

 

[Trylobyte]

I get much more skim over night than I get during the day. So I don't know if it's the norm but it works that way for me.

I wouldn't mind if it was just skim, but its pulling out the actual saltwater then making my ATO dump in. In this lil 20 gallon tank after 2 nights of this my salinity has actually dropped to 1.025, and I am afraid it will keep dropping if I let it continue and have to do unscheduled WC's just to keep salinity from swinging and messing with the corals.

EDIT: I also have an HOB refugium but my nutrients are not high enough to support chaeto (the skimmer is doing quite the job being rated for a much bigger tank) so I have a fuge light that I could run opposite of the DT but without the macro I am afraid I would just make other algaes flourish.

 

[tamanning]

Lower your level in the neck of the skimmer . your skimmate should be dark.

 

[Trylobyte]

Lower your level in the neck of the skimmer . your skimmate should be dark.

It should be 3/4 of the way up the neck right? That's what it sits at during the day but goes crazy at night. So I tonight I will just sit up and watch the level and adjust to it while the lights are off.

 

[tamanning]

You will need to play with the level until you get the result you need for your tank . Skimmers work in different ways where i set mine works well for me yours will be different depending on the manufacturer and the pump installed. I don't think there is a magic setting.

 

[Reeferdude1888]

Hi just reading your post I'm not familiar with octopus skimmers as I use deltec but I do no some skimmers need to sit at a fixed level in the sump as the water level can affect the way they work.

 

[Trylobyte]

Hi just reading your post I'm not familiar with octopus skimmers as I use deltec but I do no some skimmers need to sit at a fixed level in the sump as the water level can affect the way they work.

This is a HOB skimmer, this one here specifically. The only way to adjust anything is the collection cup which you loosen a screw and move the collection cup up or down and it has a band around it so you know where your level was when removing and cleaning/emptying. I had it sit so the foam would sit around 3/4 of the way up the neck and when it produced skim it was that nice dark brown color. However when the lights go out the thing just goes crazy and fill the cup up and it more of a yellow color then brown so it's still pulling out stuff but more water than anything by the looks of it. I am just going to stay up tonight and watch it and adjust so it sits 3/4 of the way at night, though I wonder how low the foam will be during the days?

 

[Reeferdude1888]

why not try running it on a timer when the lights are on and when there off the skimmer is of ,but before doing so I would shoot a quick message to the makers of the skimmer and get there feed back on it they may even give you a solution for your problem with it over skimming when the lights are out just an idea .

 

[reeftivo]

I have a Reef Octopus Elite 200 on my 180gal mixed reef (medium to heavy stock). According to BRS, this skimmer is rated at 125gal for a heavily stocked tank, but according to Reef Octopus this skimmer is for a 300-400gal tank.

My question here is, with my pump running at 100% (#5) and the air valve almost completely shut (1 or Min), I still only get enough skim mate for me to dump every 2-3 weeks. If I adjust the air valve higher than 1 no skim mate will be produced.

Is this skimmer too large for my tank or is there something else?

that skimmer should be fine for a 180. the 300 rating is lightly stocked. I think that skimmer has a 3.75 or 4" inch neck so it should be pushing skimmate. If you're running the skimmer pump at 100% you're running too much water through it and the dwell time isn't enough. What sump water level are you running it at?

 

[mattrez80]

that skimmer should be fine for a 180. the 300 rating is lightly stocked. I think that skimmer has a 3.75 or 4" inch neck so it should be pushing skimmate. If you're running the skimmer pump at 100% you're running too much water through it and the dwell time isn't enough. What sump water level are you running it at?

I appreciate the response. I am at 8”. The spec says 7.5 -9” I believe.

 

[Oroborous]

I am currently using eschops Auxium series and i really hate this protetin skimmer. Each time i do a water change i need to adjust it and it such a pain to do it. Any suggestions for a 90g tank? I mean each time i do a water change this thing goes nuts overflowing and i just don't like the fact i have to spend so mcuh time adjusting it.

 

[Reeferdude1888]

Hi when you do a water change rather than leave your skimmer on turn it of and then turn it back on the next day some skimmers do this w hen you do a water change or leave the skimmer of during the water change and turn it back on a few hours after the water change just an idea .