skimmer help

litlepig11

Member
okay i'm a four year newbie here....
.... i have never figured out the skimmers, i have one but dont know how to use it "right" i have a euro reef skimmer (don't know the model) running on a sedra 3500 needle wheel pump. the skimmer has been out of the tank for about 8 months while i tried to get a new pump for it....so i've got it back in w/the new (used) pump...the water is just spitting out of the top...i cant even keep the lid on the skimmer....please see photos...thx




 

ilovemytank

Member
not familiar with these but will reply to move you to the top. There has to be a way to adjust the air input or water input to adjust the skimmer to the right level. Sorry to give you absolutely no help with my answer.
 

zman1

Active Member
Here is a link to my ASM - Is a euro-reef knock off. You need to have the pump completely submerged by an inch or so and your air line isn't shown in your picture connect to the Venturi on the pump face. Make sure the tube that the hose connects to is clean and clear. Your pump has a lot of calcium build up in the picture and may be restricted. The pipe the water comes out can be lowered for less (drier) skimmate or raised for wetter skimmate.
http://www.bzproserv.com/Reef/WebEquip/images/c.jpg
 

litlepig11

Member
thanks for the help...i cleaned the pump before i hooked it up so it should be better...i do have a tube (airline type) running from the pump to well the air....the pump is in my sump completely submersed in water...are you saying it should only be 1in under???...because it is more then that...i could build an eggcrate stand to raise it up a bit...the tube you want be to adjust is the big black puffy like thing? just push it down? by the way...the water filled up the cup in like 90sec....so now its just overflowing back into my tank...kinda defeats the purpose...huh?
 

dang

Member
My euro-reef, sits in 7-8" of water, in the sump. You probably need to adjust the water outlet to let out water quicker.
And yes, adjust the big puffy thing.
 

litlepig11

Member
okay so i moved the water outlet thing down as far as it would go...and that didnt help...see top down shot of that....so when i plugged the airline tube that helped so i put a value control on it....almost all the way tight...and dumped out the cup....we will see what happens next...i am unsure about how much water the skimmer should sit in...is there such thing as to much water?

 

zman1

Active Member
I have mine sitting with about an inch of water above the elbow from the pump to skimmer chamber. If it is sitting too low in the sump you can get a runaway like that... I actually can get it to runaway by using epoxy or additives in the system too.
 

bmkj02

Member
Usually the only time that happens to me is when I add some kind of additive. When it starts I usually have to wait a week for it to settle down again.
 
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