Two noob questions, skimmer and sump

[dR3ws3r]

Hi,

Still pretty new to the hobby, and have a few questions.

First, and hopefully simplest, my skimmer seems to "leak" some bubbles. If I look at the water around the skimmer there are bubbles that appear to be coming out of "somewhere". is this normal/inevitable, or should I take it out and make sure all the connections are tight or tighter?

Second, and a little more complicated. I have sump issues with level. Every time I have a power blip, ( happens a lot in the summer with thunderstorms), or I do a water change, the return pump stops, the sump fills up, and when I start it back up, it never goes to the proper sump level again. It is so frustrating. I always find myself tweaking the herbie drain valve, getting the level (typically back down), and opening the valve until everything is settled to a good level. It is like the sump has 100 different heights, and levels that it can be "happy" at, and I have to fiddle around with it, till I get it back to the state where the ATO annoying alarm will stop. When I do a water change, I typically run a hose from the main tank to the kitchen drain while the return pump is off. Then I turn the return pump back on and fill from the sump with fresh salt water. Even this usually results in water going high in the display tank and starting down the emergency overflow. Then I need to open the drain valve to get the level of the tank a little below or just at the emergency drain valve, then open it up again until the ATO is happy. PLEASE TELL ME there has to be a better way!

 

[mboley]

Is your skimmer broken in? There will be excess bubbles if not. Otherwise I would make sure the fit between parts is good, but a few bubbles isn't a problem as long as you're getting good skimming.

I can't help you in the overflow, I had issues in the past with Herbie overflows. I went to a slim profile free-flowing unit from Blackholes. It doesn't have leveling problems at all. However I'm not sure they are still in business.

 

[trainbob]

You can add a check valve to your return. Some will chime in and say don’t add a check valve because they will fail however if you google check valve one made of rubber should last 35 to 50 years. The check valve will stop your sump over filling

 

[Glowurm]

Hi,

Still pretty new to the hobby, and have a few questions.

First, and hopefully simplest, my skimmer seems to "leak" some bubbles. If I look at the water around the skimmer there are bubbles that appear to be coming out of "somewhere". is this normal/inevitable, or should I take it out and make sure all the connections are tight or tighter?

Second, and a little more complicated. I have sump issues with level. Every time I have a power blip, ( happens a lot in the summer with thunderstorms), or I do a water change, the return pump stops, the sump fills up, and when I start it back up, it never goes to the proper sump level again. It is so frustrating. I always find myself tweaking the herbie drain valve, getting the level (typically back down), and opening the valve until everything is settled to a good level. It is like the sump has 100 different heights, and levels that it can be "happy" at, and I have to fiddle around with it, till I get it back to the state where the ATO annoying alarm will stop. When I do a water change, I typically run a hose from the main tank to the kitchen drain while the return pump is off. Then I turn the return pump back on and fill from the sump with fresh salt water. Even this usually results in water going high in the display tank and starting down the emergency overflow. Then I need to open the drain valve to get the level of the tank a little below or just at the emergency drain valve, then open it up again until the ATO is happy. PLEASE TELL ME there has to be a better way!

Do you have an ATO fitted? How long you leaving the sump until you decide to tinker?