Skimmer Q&A Thread

[Floyd-]

Got my first tank with a sump and huge skimmer.
Its a coral box skimmer. The directions are slim and very basic from what I can see.
Right now im just cycling the tank, do I need the skimmer going with no fish?
At the moment I dont have a clue what speed to set the motor to or what position the gate should be in.
The air muffler isnt quiet at all and it makes a loud sucking noise that can be heard from the other rooms of the house.
Where do I start and how do I set this thing up?

 

[reeftivo]

Got my first tank with a sump and huge skimmer.
Its a coral box skimmer. The directions are slim and very basic from what I can see.
Right now im just cycling the tank, do I need the skimmer going with no fish?
At the moment I dont have a clue what speed to set the motor to or what position the gate should be in.
The air muffler isnt quiet at all and it makes a loud sucking noise that can be heard from the other rooms of the house.
Where do I start and how do I set this thing up?

i would run skimmer if only for adding O2 while the tank cycles. if it runs a DC pump which it appears to have, then run it at 50% and leave the gate valve wide open. don't try and push any skim into the cup yet. Let the skimmer develop its slime coating and it should develop a nice thick foam head over a day or so. let it run like that for 48 hours and report back.

As far as the silencer is concerned, some are poorly engineered. I'm not familiar with coral box skimmers so please post a pic. i can probably help with an easy mod.

 

[Floyd-]

i would run skimmer if only for adding O2 while the tank cycles. if it runs a DC pump which it appears to have, then run it at 50% and leave the gate valve wide open. don't try and push any skim into the cup yet. Let the skimmer develop its slime coating and it should develop a nice thick foam head over a day or so. let it run like that for 48 hours and report back.

As far as the silencer is concerned, some are poorly engineered. I'm not familiar with coral box skimmers so please post a pic. i can probably help with an easy mod.

Ok Will do. I had it at 50% but it was fairly loud so I bumped it down two levels on the controller and it was quiet then.
Ill open the gate 100% and try it out. Attached is the silencer on the skimmer. The two little pipes are sucking quite a bit at 50% and you can hear it throughout the house at that level.

 

[reeftivo]

Ok Will do. I had it at 50% but it was fairly loud so I bumped it down two levels on the controller and it was quiet then.
Ill open the gate 100% and try it out. Attached is the silencer on the skimmer. The two little pipes are sucking quite a bit at 50% and you can hear it throughout the house at that level.

thanks

can the silencer be disassembled? I ask because if it can be disassembled, then you can put a little foam or floss into the canister and it will muffle the air quite a bit. from what i see in that pic it appears that since the center intake tube, being considerably larger than the two down tubes, may be amplifying the air draw noise. i would suggest capping one of the down tubes if they were the same diameter as the base tube, but they are smaller so that would only restrict the air a bit. May help though so you could always try that. another option would be a different silencer or a pill bottle mod. BRS has some AM silencers that would work well.
Replacement Air Silencer for CO-2, CO-3, CO-5 and CO-6 Protein Skimmers - Aquamaxx
SKU: 232648, IN STOCK: 11/ $16.99

the pill bottle mod isn't the cleanest option but actually works pretty well. and it doesn't cost anything if you have the right stuff laying around. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/simple-diy-protein-skimmer-silencer.374815/

Tivo

 

[Floyd-]

I could probably take the cap off with a well placed dremel wheel and then insert the floss and super glue it back together. I will try that first and see how it helps. Im also going to check but I believe the two small tubes equal the same cross section as the one input line on the bottom.

 

[reeftivo]

I could probably take the cap off with a well placed dremel wheel and then insert the floss and super glue it back together. I will try that first and see how it helps. Im also going to check but I believe the two small tubes equal the same cross section as the one input line on the bottom.

Okay, so it doesn't come apart :-(

so then i would not cut it and glue back together because if you seal the floss or foam inside, over time it will collect dust and some salt creep and the floss or foam would need to either be periodically cleaned or replaced. If it's glued, then you wouldn't be able to access it without cutting it again. Personally i would try the pill bottle mod since it's cheap, to cost free and you can easily access any floss or foam if you wanted to place that in there as well.

a pill bottle may not look pretty but you could paint the out side of it to make it better looking ;-). A good, quiet performing skimmer is more important than a pretty one LOL. i've mounted pill bottles before with self adhesive velcro tabs to either the cup or body of the skimmer and they look fine.

 

[Floyd-]

I can take a look at what I have on hand tonight. I know I have pill bottles and floss. Just need some tubing.

 

[reeftivo]

I can take a look at what I have on hand tonight. I know I have pill bottles and floss. Just need some tubing.

just try to find some hard tubing with a similar i.d. of the hose going to the silencer.

some thin pens would work. The thin ones are around 5/16.

all you would really need to do is drill an off center hole in the bottom that's the same o.d of the air line and drill an off center hole in the cap. then push the airline through the bottom hole of the bottle so it almost reaches the cap, then slide the 5/16 tube down through the hole in the cap and push it down to just above the bottom of the bottle. Then put a little floss in there and whalla!

 

[The_Shrimper]

Hi! Had the skimmer in the video (bubble magus NAC 3) for about 6 months, and suddenly it's producing micro bubbles nonstop for the last day. (Added a video ).
The skimmer water level is about 9 inch and the air valve is set to max.
No chemicals have been added.
Any idea why it's doing that ?
Thanks !

 

[edavey29]

Are there any reviews on the Deltec 400i in sump protein skimmer? is anyone using the skimmer?

 

[Littlesquishy]

Hello! Looking for recommendations for skimmer or how to compare skimmers. I plan on using a 75 gallon tank with a 29 gallon sump. I have the tank and stand waiting for overflow so I can drill. Livestock I think is gonna be a medium to heavy bioload I think. From glance at overviews of some brand skimmers they all seem to say the same thing: effective, quiet (how quiet, please use decibels but they never have it), pretty, and some seem durable. Its mind boggling with so many different kinds of skimmer one brand has on top of other brands.

Whats important to me is silence and durability. I figured if its not amazing i'll just run the skimmer for longer.
What has caught my eye so far:
1. RSK 300 Reefer Internal Protein Skimmer - Red Sea
2.eSsence S-130 Internal Protein Skimmer - Reef Octopus
3.Curve 5 Elite Protein Skimmer - Bubble Magus
4.Quantum 120 Protein Skimmer - Nyos

 

[reeftivo]

Hi! Had the skimmer in the video (bubble magus NAC 3) for about 6 months, and suddenly it's producing micro bubbles nonstop for the last day. (Added a video ).
The skimmer water level is about 9 inch and the air valve is set to max.
No chemicals have been added.
Any idea why it's doing that ?
Thanks !

could be that the intake nipple where the hose attaches down on the intake venturi has clogged a bit. the skimmer will push more water through it faster if that nipple has enough build up. i would suggest pulling the line and use a micro bottle brush or even a splintered chop stick (that's what i use) to ream out the nipple. if that doesn't do it then clean the pump if you haven't already.

 

[reeftivo]

Are there any reviews on the Deltec 400i in sump protein skimmer? is anyone using the skimmer?

some unboxing reviews but really nothing available from what i can see. you could probably use some of the 600i for reference. others may chime in

 

[reeftivo]

Hello! Looking for recommendations for skimmer or how to compare skimmers. I plan on using a 75 gallon tank with a 29 gallon sump. I have the tank and stand waiting for overflow so I can drill. Livestock I think is gonna be a medium to heavy bioload I think. From glance at overviews of some brand skimmers they all seem to say the same thing: effective, quiet (how quiet, please use decibels but they never have it), pretty, and some seem durable. Its mind boggling with so many different kinds of skimmer one brand has on top of other brands.

Whats important to me is silence and durability. I figured if its not amazing i'll just run the skimmer for longer.
What has caught my eye so far:
1. RSK 300 Reefer Internal Protein Skimmer - Red Sea
2.eSsence S-130 Internal Protein Skimmer - Reef Octopus
3.Curve 5 Elite Protein Skimmer - Bubble Magus
4.Quantum 120 Protein Skimmer - Nyos

From your list i would give nod to the curve 5 elite (sicce pump). From reviews, the essence performs very well but the pumps overall longevity hasn't been determined, the Nyos has mixed reviews and the red sea as well.

you should also take a look at the DC controlled ATB Nano one (rated to 150) or the elegance 150 from ATB USA

Store Temporarily Closed for Maintenance

Store Temporarily Closed for Maintenance

i've had an 840 and currently run the Nano One on my 60 cube w/ 22 gal sump. the Nano One is silent and the Jecod modded air star pump has been perfect for the last couple years. I alternate between my Nano One and my Akula 160 and usually swap them between cleanings, but the Nano One works so well that i've kept it online with no plans to swap yet. the Akula is a dream too but it's BIG and TALL which makes it more difficult to work around in the sump. the Nano one is a shorty at under 16 inches tall. I also have a bubble king double cone 130 but the ATB Nano and Akula out perform it. I may swap DC pumps on the BK in the future.

pic of 5 day skim from the ATB.

 

[Cwentz758]

Currently having issues with my Somatic 60s skimmer. It’s recently stopped producing micro bubbles in the body.
I’ve taken the skimmer apart cleaned it and ran in citric acid.
The sicce pump in it works fine and pushes water however no micro bubbles are being produced.

I clean again and got it to skim for about a week and now I’m back to no micro bubbles.

any idea what could be the issue? Everything is on correctly and setup how it should be.

 

[reeftivo]

Currently having issues with my Somatic 60s skimmer. It’s recently stopped producing micro bubbles in the body.
I’ve taken the skimmer apart cleaned it and ran in citric acid.
The sicce pump in it works fine and pushes water however no micro bubbles are being produced.

I clean again and got it to skim for about a week and now I’m back to no micro bubbles.

any idea what could be the issue? Everything is on correctly and setup how it should be.

did you make sure the nipple where the airline attaches to the intake venturi is clear of salt/carbonate build up? Those will literally close up over time. Also check the airline for any splits that could be pulling in water.

lastly, check you silencer for any build up in the intake tubes. they will collect dust and salt over time.

 

[reeftivo]

double check the intake venturi and use a piece of splintered wood or a tiny bottle brush to make sure this is clear. you don't want to use something that will scratch the tube too much like a drill bit or anything course because if it's scratched a lot then it will clog more frequently. this is because the scratches provide more edges for the junk to grab onto.

 

[Cwentz758]

double check the intake venturi and use a piece of splintered wood or a tiny bottle brush to make sure this is clear. you don't want to use something that will scratch the tube too much like a drill bit or anything course because if it's scratched a lot then it will clog more frequently. this is because the scratches provide more edges for the junk to grab onto.

Good call. I cleaned this piece before just never looked down the air hose hole. It was closed almost completely of salt or calcium buildup.

she’s back to skimming! Thanks

 

[reeftivo]

Good call. I cleaned this piece before just never looked down the air hose hole. It was closed almost completely of salt or calcium buildup.

she’s back to skimming! Thanks

fantastic!!!

happy reefing!!!

 

[cwerner]

Hello everyone, I'm looking for a skimmer recommendation. I just ordered a 50 gallon IM AIO lagoon tank and am going to try setting up a biopellet reactor and depend on a skimmer for a lot of my nutrient export. The IM skimmer has received horrible reviews from everywhere except their site due to the frequent pump failures. Does anyone have a skimmer that will properly skim this tank that fits in the actual baffles? Or am I pretty much stuck with an external? I've looked at the Icecap KS-1 and the Eshopps, but those don't appear to be rated for a tank nearly this size, and with my configuration I'll be pretty dependent on the skimmer from what I can tell.