Small water pump in skimmer chamber of sump?

Lavey29

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I notice my sump water in the last 2 chambers seems to get a film deposit on the surface. Oily gunky stuff. I'm using a Vectra M2 return pump so moving 800gph through the sump but still have this stagnant looking surface film.

Is it OK to put a small circulation pump in the skimmer chamber facing the surface to ripple the water? Won't the water movement also help oxygenated the sump and move detritus?

Any negatives?
 

Peace River

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Do you have an ATO optical sensor that could be affected by rippling surface water?
 

blaxsun

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I have a pair of reactors and another pump powering a UV that empties into my skimmer chamber, and yes - there's never really any oily film or anything that I can notice. I've heard quite a few people will place a small wavemaker to create more circulation and eliminate any "dead" spots. Note that this is on an external/stand-alone sump (not an AIO setup).
 
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Lavey29

Lavey29

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Do you have an ATO optical sensor that could be affected by rippling surface water?
I positioned the pump outside of the skimmer so it mainly ripples water in this chamber. The return pump chamber only has the slightest surface movement with no ripple. So far it has been a week and my ATO sensor in the return pump chamber seems unaffected.
 

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