ASM G3 Issue HELP

[drpaul84]

hey gang hows it going, ive been doing a pretty long build on a sump for my 75gl DT, used a 33gl LONG AGA tank, fuge on one side skimmer side on the other and return section in the middle, i have a problem, i put my asm g3 skimmer into the section and the thing constantly over flows! i have the mesh mod done on it i have the tube as low as it can go, it was fine for awhile, went to sleep woke up this morning an the collection cup was full of water and water was all over the place! what can be causing this and how can i stop it! it is in about 8.5 "s of water right now i have the skimmer off because i dont want water getting all over the place again, so im hoping someone here can assist me!

 

[tacoma38]

try moving the pump around where it gets less water.i had the same problem with mine when it was new.it took a couple days of playing with it to get it right.i still adjust daily.

 

[drpaul84]

cant really make it get less water, its submerged in water....

 

[al mc]

How deep is the sump that the asm is in? Are you getting good air intake on the inlet?
Did you have any other problems in the tank yesterday (ex...I has an anenome die once and my ASM skimmer cup overflowed)? Was it working fine before and after the mesh mod?

 

[wattsupdoc]

If its still spilling over, try to raise it up if you can with some kind of platform, maybe about an inch or two. It will create slightly more head pressure on it.

 

[drpaul84]

it is about 8.5 "s in water, doc i will try and make a platform for it to sit on, shouldnt be a problem ill use some of the pvc i got layin around, im gettin the gate valve so i can do that mod on it, gosh im pissed it isnt working right now lol, oh well, should have time to do it tomorow night or saturday.

 

[acrylic51]

I would try raising it a bit.....Is the water level steady (constant) where the skimmer sits, or does it flucuate?

 

[drpaul84]

the only fluctuation is from evaporation, which i will be fixing with an ATO, im gonna try to raise it today and also going to add a drain off the collection container and just put the tube back into the sump till its all broken in and square away so i can at least keep it running so it breaks in, anyone have tips on the gate valve mod?

 

[acrylic51]

How long has the skimmer been in operation?

 

[drpaul84]

since monday lol

 

[al mc]

I have several ASMs. It did take them 5-10 days to really start working well. Elevating it certainly won't hurt. Are you still getting an overflow in the collection cup?

 

[acrylic51]

I'm not trying to be smart, but did you read the instructions on setup of the skimmer? You should start the riser tube down low, during the break in period just for the reasons your describing.....might take some time as Al Mc stated for break in, then start trying to adjust the skimmer head height.

 

[drpaul84]

well the only directions that came with it was a sheet of paper lol, but it said to make sure the riser was in the position that it showed an that was at the top of the body (right below the neck) and thats how i had it for about 2 seconds an obviously that was way to high, anyway on to better news lol, i ran the skimmer over night with no riser tube on it, i also drilled a hole in the collection cup and attached a drain tube off of that so that if it did over flow with water again it wouldnt get all over but just back into the sump , after its all dialed in im going to put that to a container so i wont have to empty the cup every other day but more like jus empty the container once a week, so the good news, running it over night with no riser tube on, skimmer started pulling gunk, no more micro bubbles coming out and no crazy water gettin over flown, so i took the riser tube today and cut about 4 inchs off of it, an now have that in there with only about 2-3 inchs of it actually up, and the gunk is up and starting to make its way up into the collection cup! i think its a success! we shall see how it holds up the rest of the day, also i have a gate valve on the way so i can do that mod to it once it gets here, but yea right now its alright i would appreciate any other tips anyone has