? on New Coralife Super Skimmer

[fish1031]

I just got one of my new 180 today...
All set-up and running...
2 questions
1. I am looking through the book on it and it says something about "wet" and "dry" skimming... i don't get it ...whats the difference?
2. I know there will be no waste yet but there is no microbubbles in the skimmer
On the troubleshooting page says some reasons can be and this is the only possible one:
*Air-inlet silencer is not attached to venturi chamber inlet---- I plugged the tube to the chamber, but the cyclinder thing just sits in a holder near the middle of the skimmer
If this helps... there are two holes on a small cyclinder at the end of the tubing... if i blow on the one that the tube is not plugged into... it fills the skimmer with bubbles and then they go away
Any help is much appreciated!! :help:

 

[fish1031]

Plz Answer

 

[pallan]

wet skimming is just that really wet dirty liquid. dry is more a chunky frothy mess.
as to the bubbles for some reason it is not getting air. you might have the pump to low/ or to high? hard to say from here. the air slilencer tube might be plugged not likley this early but it eventually will get salt creep in there and plug FYI. but it also might be full of water and not getting any air. ESU has a good forum with lots of questions and answers to fix problems with their merchandise. ussually a tech responds in a day or you can call their customer support number as well.
reread the direstions and make sure the pump is in the right position. take off the airline and make sure their is no water in the silencer or tube. and give it a try again. Good luck
be very carefull playing with that red knob on there it will blow the collection cup lid right off if turned up to high. trust me ive done it lol makes quite a mess. lol

 

[fish1031]

thanks ill try that

 

[fish1031]

I am trying to figure it out... is the tube supossed to be blowing air into the pump... if i blow in the other hole the skimmer fills with bubbles and goes away... it is not filled with water... How do I adjust the pump... I am guessing you mean the one of the skimmer not the pump that takes the water in the sump back into the tank?

 

[fish1031]

anyone know?
Still not making bubbles in the skimmer?
What does that airline do???

 

[chipmaker]

Make sure your pump is no more than 3" below the water surface.
Make sure the front of thepump which includes the screen / strainer and venturi assembly is in place and seated fully on pumps front.
Make sure air line tube is on the

[hr]
on the venturi assembly onthe front of the pump and it extend up and out of the water.
Make sure the air silencer has the end of that airline tube from the venturi attached to it. Position air silencer higher than the tanks water level
Do not put any additional tube on the silencer or pump or any other part of the skimmer
Turn the red adj know allthe way down to decrease overall flow
Turn on power to pump on skimmer, and let it go for a minute or two, and then slowly...repeat slowly adjust red adjustment know until you get a column of bubbles in the main body up above the retaining ring that attaches the cup to body or just under the funnel of the ocllection cup.
Your outlet tube needs to be "AT" or slightly above max tank water level, and the diffuser box needs to be above the tube ends as well or approx 1/4" above water level.
Thats all there is too it. Thew air line is there to allow air to be pulled into the needle wheel asembly of the pump by way of venturi action. Blowing air into it will do nothing to make it work.
Those instructions pretty well explain the differences in wet and dry skim and the pros and cons of both.

 

[fish1031]

Originally Posted by chipmaker
Make sure your pump is no more than 3" below the water surface.
Make sure the front of thepump which includes the screen / strainer and venturi assembly is in place and seated fully on pumps front.
IT IS
Make sure air line tube is on the

[hr]
on the venturi assembly onthe front of the pump and it extend up and out of the water.
IT IS
Make sure the air silencer has the end of that airline tube from the venturi attached to it.
IT IS
Position air silencer higher than the tanks water level
IT IS USED IN SUMP
Do not put any additional tube on the silencer or pump or any other part of the skimmer
DID NOT
Turn the red adj know allthe way down to decrease overall flow
Turn on power to pump on skimmer, and let it go for a minute or two, and then slowly...repeat slowly adjust red adjustment know until you get a column of bubbles in the main body up above the retaining ring that attaches the cup to body or just under the funnel of the ocllection cup.
NO BUBBLES - RUNNING FOR 24 HRS
Your outlet tube needs to be "AT" or slightly above max tank water level,
WHAT IS THE OUTLET TUBE?
and the diffuser box needs to be above the tube ends as well or approx 1/4" above water level.
IT IS
Thats all there is too it. Thew air line is there to allow air to be pulled into the needle wheel asembly of the pump by way of venturi action. Blowing air into it will do nothing to make it work.
I WAS JUST CHECKING TO SEE IF I HAD IT ON THE WRONG HOLE ON THE CYCLINDER THING... IT WAS ALREADY ON ONE
Those instructions pretty well explain the differences in wet and dry skim and the pros and cons of both.

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP

 

[chipmaker]

It does not matter what

[hr]
the air line tube is place on the silencer, as its merely a plastic tube, and either attach point will work. I take it the pump is pumping and your getting water out of your outflow tube back into the tank.

 

[darknes]

I take it you aren't getting any bubbles inside the skimmer? But when you blow through the air silencer (grey cylinder), you get bubbles?
How far is the top of the pump from the water level? Try lowering the pump, and see if that works.

 

[fish1031]

Originally Posted by chipmaker
It does not matter what

[hr]
the air line tube is place on the silencer, as its merely a plastic tube, and either attach point will work. I take it the pump is pumping and your getting water out of your outflow tube back into the tank.
YES
IT IS ALL RUNNING THE WATER IS JUST CRYSTAL CLEAR INSIDE THE CHAMBER
(NO BUBBLES)

 

[fish1031]

Originally Posted by Darknes
I take it you aren't getting any bubbles inside the skimmer? But when you blow through the air silencer (grey cylinder), you get bubbles?
EXACTLY
How far is the top of the pump from the water level? Try lowering the pump, and see if that works.
ABOUT 2IN... CAN I RAISE THE WATER LEVEL IN MY SUMP?
IT IS AT THE BOTTOM

 

[fish1031]

Wow.
Thanks So Much
Pallan Chipmaker And Darknes
I Got It...
The Only Problem Is That Now I Have Bubbles Blowing Back Out From The Return Into The Tank... But I Think It Was From Messing Around... Hopefully It Will Settle

 

[chipmaker]

Tell you what. If that pump is located within 3 inches (thats the front of the pumps strainer screen is where to measure it from) and the air intake and silencer is located outside high and dry and above the water level. What you need to do is pull the pump out. Pull off that strainer assembly with the venturi . Physically blow through the air silencer one more time, and the air line to the venturi assembly (thats the part behind the strainer where the air line attaches too that runs to the silencer. Blow through it all one more itme. Then unscrew the front cover on the pump, and remove retaining ring (part yu turned loose, turn it CCW to loosen) and then wiggle off easily the front cover. Go slow and easy with that cover as the end of the motor shaft the impeller spins on is mounted on the end of that cover, and the shaft is made of ceramic. Its relatively strong but does not like to be bent sideways much. It also has a rubber mount it fits into .don;t worry its not hard to do this......then use a tweezers or your fingers if yu can grip the needle wheel assembly and pull it out. It will feel like its stuck but its only magnetism holding it in place, just pull it our off that white ceramic shaft. Make sure there is not any crud or junbk on the needle wheel, and replace it back in to the pumps housing and line up rubber mount with shaft and wiggle it back on and install retainer ring and venturi and strainer. If that needle wheel is cleanand is working which it must since pump is filling body with water it has to be making bubbles n the reaction chamber. If not, then call coralife and talk to Roland. I am most interested inwhat he would have to say if its still not working. I assume you do have the red adjustment know opened up and water is flowing out of the outflow tube end back into the tank. The key is the pump has to be within 3" (higher is actually better when it comes to making air and bubbles) and the air line to silencer from venturi has to be free of water and higher than the tanks water level.
I dunno without pulling a pump out and checking myself if its physically possible to install that venturi backwards....I seemto doubt that it is since its mounted with steps or recess on the ends and its steps coincide with the pump cover etc, but its a thought....however useless as it may be.

 

[chipmaker]

Originally Posted by fish1031
Wow.
Thanks So Much
Pallan Chipmaker And Darknes
I Got It...
The Only Problem Is That Now I Have Bubbles Blowing Back Out From The Return Into The Tank... But I Think It Was From Messing Around... Hopefully It Will Settle

Well what did you do to fix it. YOu must have posted this as I was posting the last post I just made. Clue us in as to what you did so its now maing bubbles. Since its new, it may take a couple of day to a week to break in. (Breakin in regards to actually washing off thouroughly all manufacturing mold release agents etc thats on the skimmer internals, and then it will settle down to doing what its supposed to do. The bubble diffuser box should eliminate most if not all of those bubbles., Just make sure its setup and andadjusted as per instructions with the outlet tube at or above the water level and the box about 1/4" above the water level. Sometimes adding an extra layer of marine land filter bat to the bottom of the diffuser box helps reduce any bubbles, but they should dissapate soon once its broken in and adjusted properly as to bubble column height etc.
Have fun

 

[fish1031]

thanks....
so nice of you to explain in such detail
What I did is bring the pump closer to the surface of the water
I cannot get the bubble diffusing box any lower... the hanger they give you is not long enough
It sits about half in and half out of the water...

 

[chipmaker]

Closer tothe surface fro9m what I have found the better.
There is a few things yu can do to rectify the diffuser box. Drill two holes of approx 1/4 or 7/32 diameter in it and install two suction cups, and stick it to the side of the fuge / tank or just extend outflow tube down further with common PVC plumbing parts. YOu can substitute a foam filter sleeve over the outlet tube in place of the diffuser box as well. Just make sure outlet tube is above water level as per instructions. I use the foam filter sleeves on all my super skimmers n stead of the diffuser boxes. I use the foam prefilter sleeves form maxi jet powerheads or Mag drive 3 or 5 pumps.