Skimmer Q&A Thread

[luke33]

Is your water level consistent in the skimmer section? Are you dosing anything? Adding aquamend or frag glue? Water conditioner?

 

[Troylee]

lots of things contribute to a skimmer overflowing like luke mentioned... i have had a couple episodes with prime-reef food, for some reason my skimmer goes nuts if i throw a couple cubes in the tank....for the most part pellets or oils from your hands etc. should have the reverse effect and kill the foam head for a little bit....what are you dosing? or feeding?octo's are pretty good skimmers imo. i doubt thats the problem unless the venturi or airline is clogged...

 

[fbodykiller]

i dose a few seachem products for alk, ca and mag. water level is constant i feed spectrum pellets only and no hands in the tank. it always happens when i am gone and i come home to it overflowing

 

[mojo]

might be running it too high. where is the water level in the skimmer?

 

[fbodykiller]

11 inches constant, never any variable...it will skim for weeks w/o overflowing and then for no apparent reason overflow
could it have anything to do w/ the sicce pump i hate that noisy *** thing....im thinking of getting a skimmer w/ aquieter pump

 

[Jeremy R.]

11 inches constant, never any variable...it will skim for weeks w/o overflowing and then for no apparent reason overflow
could it have anything to do w/ the sicce pump i hate that noisy *** thing....im thinking of getting a skimmer w/ aquieter pump

That seems to be your problem. Your water level is too high. This actually puts more strain on the sicce pump which causes it to pull more water and less air and leaves you with less adjust ability and control. Try to steer near 6.5-7 inches. Another reason is that with your water level at 11" you also have your output below water level which can also cause water fluctuations if and when air pockets build up causing a disturbance in the outward flow. Raise your skimmer and your overflow problem should be solved and may even quite down the pump. Also I would check the pinwheel and make sure it rotates freely on the magnet assembly.

 

[jimzin15754]

Hello Mojo;

Thank you for sharing your time and experience with us!!! The information provided in this thread is extreamly useful!!!

I saw in your original post to this thread that you tested some of the AquaC skimmers. What are your thoughts about these skimmers?

I am running the AquaC EV-400 on my 210 heavily stocked mixed reef. I have no experience with other skimmers, so I can't really say if it is good or not. I have it running with a GenX external pump.

Would greatly appreciate your thoughts on this skimmer. Don't worry, you won't hurt my feelings if you don't like it... LOL!!!

Would you recommend another skimmer instead?

One of the main issues I am having is that here in South Florida you can't really open your doors or windows to bring in fresh air. In addition, my wife and I both work from home. Because of this, we have a high CO2 gas rate in the house causing my PH to drop. I am currently trying some skimmer media to filter out some of the CO2 before the air enters the skimmer. The single chamber unit I am using is not able to filter enough air and is choaking my skimmer of air. I will be trying to connect a second skimmer media filter soon to see if that helps.

I look forward to your response!!!

Good Luck And Have Fun!!!;
:nerd:

I am by no means any kind of expert on skimmers(on my 2nd one) but I have done some research lately and just got a swc 160 cone today. But if CO2 is a problem for you why not run an airline from the basement or outside to your skiimer?

 

[Troylee]

A easy test would be take some tank water and stick a airstone in a bucket with it and let it get oxygeon rich and see if the ph rises... If it does than co2 is a problem but I know most people who complain of this find it to be something else like water chemistry that causes there low ph...

 

[ABOBO]

I'm currently designing a system for a friend of mine that should neighborhood in the 1,200 gallon range with a 670 display. I have had both the the Super reef octopus xp 8000 external cone skimmer with a 16 inch base, an 8 inch neck, and an air draw of 165 scfh at 260 watts and the Super reef octopus 8000 external with 3 bubble blaster hy5000 pumps with a 16 inch diameter recommended to me. I have been unable to find much info on either of these and thought you might be able to say if either of these would be in the right direction. Thanks in advance.[FONT=Arial, Helvetica][SIZE=-1][/SIZE][/FONT]

 

[ksed]

I'm currently designing a system for a friend of mine that should neighborhood in the 1,200 gallon range with a 670 display. I have had both the the Super reef octopus xp 8000 external cone skimmer with a 16 inch base, an 8 inch neck, and an air draw of 165 scfh at 260 watts and the Super reef octopus 8000 external with 3 bubble blaster hy5000 pumps with a 16 inch diameter recommended to me. I have been unable to find much info on either of these and thought you might be able to say if either of these would be in the right direction. Thanks in advance.

The Super reef octopus 8000 has 7200l/h or air intake vs the cone which has 5000l/h intake. I believe the SRO 8000 due to its size and volume may be suited for a larger aquarium or larger bioload than the cone.
I hope Mojo will correct me if I am wrong.

 

[mojo]

The Super reef octopus 8000 has 7200l/h or air intake vs the cone which has 5000l/h intake. I believe the SRO 8000 due to its size and volume may be suited for a larger aquarium or larger bioload than the cone.
I hope Mojo will correct me if I am wrong.

nope you are correct. if a smaller footprint is needed I would start looking at a becket style skimmer. Just for water turnover. but I think you are on the right track.

 

[akabryanhall]

Hey mojo, tried to look through as much of your thread as possible but watching the toddler ATM. I have a 92g corner with sump underneath. Right now I have a eurousa skimmer rated for 135g I think. It is producing lots of fine bubbles that are getting up to the cup just getting no skimmate.  I'm not sure what the issue is. Adjusted the water level in sump and in skimmer ran in vinigar solution for 10-15. Venturi tube still sucking air. There are no geek squads for skimmers. I'm done with it I think. 
My bioload is
Fish: 
Purple Tang
Tomini Tang
McCoskers Wrasse
Bangaii
Pajama
Black Oscillaris
False Perc

feed once a day
I am thinking about getting a new skimmer. Not sure what to get. Can't figure out what's wrong with the other one 
What do you recommend for my bioload and tank size?  I am looking to spend $150-$250 preferably lower in that range than higher. 
Sorry for the weird tone of this post. iPhone keypads suck

 

[mojo]

well can you take a pic of what you have. Maybe we can get that one going first. No need to spend $$ if you dont have too.

If you do end up having to get a new one in that price range I would probably look at the Bubble magnus NAC 6 $159 or the CS 200E cone $249.

 

[akabryanhall]

Thanks for the response mojo! What do you think of the octopus skimmers?
Here are some pics of the skimmer I have now

 

[mojo]

well it looks like a euroreef 5 or 6-2 ? maybe a + is the pump a sedra 3500 or 5000 ? Well i would imagine its the smaller. looks like you could run the water level in the skimmer just a little higher. And if you got an octo you could get the SRO 2000.

 

[akabryanhall]

Cool thanks, not sure what model either are, they came with the tank and are a little north of 4 years old. I have the water level in the skimmer as high as it will go. I will check out the 3 skimmers you recommended to me. Thank you!

 

[akabryanhall]

Looks like the sro 2000 is a little less than twice what I want to spend. What do you think of the NWB-150?

 

[mojo]

Looks like the sro 2000 is a little less than twice what I want to spend. What do you think of the NWB-150?

The cs200E at $249 would be a good one for sure, the nwb 150 would be ok but not much better than what you have now. I think the Bubble magus NAC 6 would be a good choice too. Better than the oct nwb 150 IMO.

cs200e
Royal Reef Aquariums

NAC 6
CRE Loaded Ecommerce

 

[hairy_frogfish]

Hello skimmer experts and non experts,
I would like to compile your experience regarding the factors which would influence a skimmer's performance in a positive or negative way, and maybe symptoms for detecting it. I start the list, but not being a skimmer expert, please feel free to correct / and new factors:

• Skimmer settings:
  • Water level too low in skimmer
  • Water level too high in skimmer
  • Pump not injecting enough airb
• Sump settings:
  • Water level too high in sump
  • Water level too low in sump
• Water quality / surface tension:
  • Hands recently introduced
  • Food recently introduced
  • Any experience with cat's hair?
  • Oversized skimmer?
  • Undersized skimmer
  • Skimmer just cleaned
  • Skimmer reactor with finger traces during cleaning

Thanks all for participating :)

 

[mojo]

Sounds like you want to write an article.