All of a sudden it doesn't work.

[nytrillium]

Ok, i just hooked up my berlin HO skimmer today. Its being run by a mag 9.5 with the kent venturi mod. I rinsed it good and it took a few hours for it to start producing normal skimmate and bubbles in the riser tube to the collection cup. (and a few overflows with water all over the floor ) Since i lost a bunch of water, about 3/4" from my 30 gal, i topped it off with some water ive had mixing for a water change. Within 5 minutes of topping it offf, and not changing any of the settings on the skimmer venturi or valves, the bubbles in the riser tube just disappeared, nothing. THey wont go any higher than the level of the water in the main chamber. There are bubbles in the chamber and the venturi is sucking air like mad but no skimmate and nothink in the riser tube.
could raising the water level do this? or is it just a cycle of breaking in? I had it running perfectly for about 4 hours this afternoon until this....

 

[usinkit]

is this the hang on back model? If it is I have the same one. I have it in my sump but when I had it as a HOB it really didnt work well at all. As soon as I switched over to a sump/refugium the skimmer started to work well. Its not a super skimmer but it gets the job done. I just purchased a euro-reef cs 6-1 to replace it. Also Iam running a mag 5 pump with it. They recommend mag 5 or 7. Maybe your pump is to much for it.

 

[unleashed]

im not sure which type you have.I have a venturi skimmer external type i find it is more effective if the skimmer is placed higher than the water level in the sump.you will get better skimming results creating a dry foam vs a wet skimming less tank water loss.its hard to tell in this pic but my skimmer is raised one 1/2 ft above the floor making it higher than my sump water level

 

[nytrillium]

Hmmm alright. Ill have to try something like raising it up a little. when i build the new stand and sump/fuge its going in there anyway. They recommended at least a 500 gph pump so i started using it with my quiet one 3000 but that didnt seem to do squat. so i got the mag 95 and it flowed much better maybe overkill i guess. The other problem is that i dont have it permenantly installed yet. Its still just a u tube hanging in the tank to about 4 feet of flexible hose through the pump and venturi through like 5 feet of hose up to the skimmer. So tha could be where my losses are i have alot of hose for the water to flow through.
As for the pump being too much, it has those little overflow holes on the outlets that are suppset to tell you when your putting too much water through it. How deep is it in your sump? Ive read that optimum height is like 6" of water. And did you extend the outlets in any way to keep the water from splashing too much? Have you found any pipe that fits the fittings on it. I think it may be metric sized?

 

[unleashed]

is your sump sectioned for filteration or just a tank.? in my 120 reef which i just upgraded so my sump set up is differnt for now till I have a new one built.I had the skimmer pump int the down side of the sump wheer my downdtubes went then through filter media which I placed the return hose for my skimmer into that area.my sump was 18 in high that area never dropped level because it was the down tube section
the return ortion of the sump however did fluxuate in water level making it nessesary to adjust my skimmer all the time when I ran internal skimmer.as long as your stays above the pump your ok and you wont be sucking up air.its when water level drops is when it becomes a pain the the butt.IMO its a pain lol.hope this helps

 

[nytrillium]

well the sump isnt built yet. but the whole project started out as a fuge witha separate algae scrubber. The fuge will be in a 20 long and will have lr and ls for pods. Im gonna section it on either end for my overflow from the tank and ther return to the tank. Am i right that it is best to use unskimmed water to supply the fuge? and then skim it just before it goes back to the tank?. Or should i not worry about it and just put it before the fuge inside the overflow chamber fromt the tank. i started a thread on it here: https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/195378/diy-algae-scrubber-and-sump-fuge I wanted it to be a second display too.

 

[unleashed]

I had my sump/fuge designed into 4 parts if you skim before you filter you have less waste build up in your filter media .I say skim from the overflow chamber to be more ideal.then to retun area.now my on mine the front half of this set up was the refuge I ran dual retun line from the pump one into the maintank and other t'd off into the refuge each with separate flow valve controls aslo added a 1 inch bulkhead from my refuge to the overflow the flow was circular and always filterd and skimmed before returning it to main and fuge.my refuge was also used to house a baby shark and sting ray this is how clean it was kept.

 

[unleashed]

heres a couple pics filled and empty

 

[nytrillium]

interesting... what size tank is that? I only have room for like a 20 long because its going under my 30. So a 20 long in half... 6 inches of fuge space isnt much.

 

[unleashed]

we had this one custom built for my 120.the sump dementions are 48x24x18 refuge was exactly half the size.Ijust sold that set up on sun.I miss it already

 

[nytrillium]

yeah that does look pretty sweet. i like that its a flow through design....
Well this morning i did a water change on my tank and when i added the water i left it a little lower than it was yesterday when the skimmer was working. Low and behold it works now.... :happyfish It decided to spew microbubbles for a while but they are clearing up now. Looks good again perfect height in the riser tube and nice thick foam.

 

[unleashed]

good deal glad its working again.once in a while your going to notice lack of foam you have have a small tank and it may not always remove tons at once but as long as its running it should be pully out what it finds.