Help setting up my coralife Skimmer please

woody189

woody189

Member
i broke in my coralife super skimmer 65 but i'm not quite sure how to adjust it.
i guess i understand out it woks... the bubbles are in the little chamber and above the bubbles are foam. any debris or whatever that is picked up in the floats to the top of the chamber, than into the foam and flows over into the collection cup.
I'm not sure if that's correct but that's how i see it.
If that's the case, don't get where the level should be. If i have the foam to the top, then the collection cup over fills. If i don't have the foam to the top, then I don't see how any bad stuff can get over the little funnel and into the collection cup.
A pic of how the level should be in terms of bubbles and foam would be useful..
thanks
And i know this is completely off topic, but when cycling a new tank w/ pre-cured LR shipped from online, how much and how often should i do water changes??
 
sharkbait9

sharkbait9

Active Member
you want the foam to be a the bottom of the collection right were the center chute is going up. As the bubbles accumulate proteins and DOC's you will see little rings of foam shoot up chute and build at the rim of the inside pipe and the foam will eventually build and fall over into the cup.
If your tank is new or low levels it will not produce a lot of foam. Keep the red knob turned just about off .
The green lines are where you want the foam to be, the yellow line is ok and red line is bad.
The yellow and red lines are real wet skimming if you want to skim wet, coralife SS do a good job at dry skimming, and that’s not real dry either but you get better results.
 
stumpyfish

stumpyfish

Member
The pic sharkbait posted is perfect. You might want to modify your collection cup with an overflow tube. Every once in a while it seems like this skimmer has a mind of its own and likes to adjust its flow by itself.
regarding your water changes and rock............... I'd be doing at least 30% water changes twice a week until your water tests come back good.
 
sharkbait9

sharkbait9

Active Member
Yeah i should have posted that info too. CSS do skim wet hence the reason why i said about leaving the red knob turned just about off. You can drill a hole 1.5 inches from the bottom of the cup and put a half inch hose barb and run a line down to a soda bottle to collect the skimate. Then take the cup off every two weeks and rinse the cup and chute out.
Once the skimmer really breaks in it will get gunky.
i ran the CSS for a long time with no regrets.
 
chellie4u2

chellie4u2

Member
Man am I glad I found this Post.. I bought the same Coralife skimmer on thursday and was wondering the same.. I did notice when i remove the collection cup lid that there was a nasty layer of greeness on its underside.. I don't like how I have mine placed but its the only place it can go in my tank.. mine seems to be lower than the 3 inches that reccomended but there is no way to shorten it.. Is it just me??
 
tjone752000

tjone752000

Member
Originally Posted by caseysimp7
http:///forum/post/2486920
i was thinking about getting one of those. when it is up and running tell me how it works
I have the 125 in a 30 gal sump, that sits under my 48 gal tank. Skims great. I keep mine right where sharkbait said, foam will work it`s way up.
 
sharkbait9

sharkbait9

Active Member
Originally Posted by Chellie4u2
http:///forum/post/2486880
Man am I glad I found this Post.. I bought the same Coralife skimmer on thursday and was wondering the same.. I did notice when i remove the collection cup lid that there was a nasty layer of greeness on its underside.. I don't like how I have mine placed but its the only place it can go in my tank.. mine seems to be lower than the 3 inches that reccomended but there is no way to shorten it.. Is it just me??
are you talking the pump depth? If so you may have to cut the rubber connecting tube. When I was using the CSS as a hang on system I pretty much had the pump and skimmer pipe touching each other. the rubber tube was acting as a cup link more then a passageway.
Once its broken in you will find that you don’t have to use the bubble basket either.
 
new-guy

new-guy

Member
i have the coralife 125 and one of the niddles are broken off but it still skims does this affect it in any way ive moded mine and still getting micro bubbles
 
stumpyfish

stumpyfish

Member
Originally Posted by new-guy
http:///forum/post/2487822
i have the coralife 125 and one of the niddles are broken off but it still skims does this affect it in any way ive moded mine and still getting micro bubbles
If you take the return basket out and seal the fins in the bottom with some aquarium safe silicone, and then fill it with sponge filter media, I found that works the best.
 
sharkbait9

sharkbait9

Active Member
Originally Posted by new-guy
http:///forum/post/2487822
i have the coralife 125 and one of the niddles are broken off but it still skims does this affect it in any way ive moded mine and still getting micro bubbles
Moded how? One needle may throw the impeller off balance. If your not hearing a clicking noise then you should be fine.
The best mod i found was a bigger replacement pump and putting the mesh over the needle wheel and boring out the air intake and then closing the pump off a little and putting a barb in the cup and letting the cup drain as it gets full.
 
sharkbait9

sharkbait9

Active Member
Originally Posted by stumpyfish
http:///forum/post/2487839
If you take the return basket out and seal the fins in the bottom with some aquarium safe silicone, and then fill it with sponge filter media, I found that works the best.
The basket really was a joke anyway to begin with but if you still need to use it then thats a trick for people to use too
 
reefmaster08

reefmaster08

Member
Im having the same micro bubble problem i have my skimmer in my sump and it is sending bubbles into the pump ext, i have also noticed that the water that comes down from the tank into the over flow box is makeing a bubble problem there as well the only thing i have in my box is active carbon in a bag.
It drives me nuts when i see those bubbles in the tank.
I have a coralife ss 125 and a rio 1100 pump and a hang on refugium its a 20 gallon long tank.
Any help >?
Brian.
 
reefmaster08

reefmaster08

Member
Originally Posted by stumpyfish
http:///forum/post/2487839
If you take the return basket out and seal the fins in the bottom with some aquarium safe silicone, and then fill it with sponge filter media, I found that works the best.
I just did this mod so i only did the bottom fins, there are three different sets of fins i did the 2 big ones i hope this helps.
Brian.
 
new-guy

new-guy

Member
the mod i did was at tyler merrick resource portal i did the last mod with 2 90 deg elbows and the prefilter
 
new-guy

new-guy

Member
im putting my 125 in a sump how deep do you have it in the water and do you have it on a stand to sit on?
 
reefmaster08

reefmaster08

Member
I have mine sitting in the bottom of the tank i cut the tube on the pump so it sits off the floor of the tank its like 50/50 in the water
Between my over flow box and the return pump in the sump with the skimmer i feel that there is noway to stop the bubbles.
Brian.
 
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