skimmer

[bandman]

I just got a Jebo PS 75 skimmer for my 29 gal. tank. How far should I let the foam rise up in the collection cup? How much water should be getting into the cup?

 

[sly]

You want as little water as possible. Ideally you want a dark green stinky mess to collect in your cup. If you are getting just water, then you need to reduce the height of your water in the skimmer until you just get a dry bubbles overflowing into your cup. The drier the better. It could take several days for you to notice any accumulation in the cup depending on how efficient your skimmer is and how dirty your tank is. Just keep reducing your water height until you no longer get wet soupy foam in the overflow cup...

 

[bandman]

Thanks a lot. Another question I have is that my pwerhead is a good 3 to 4 inches below the surface. Should I shorten the intake tube so that it is actually getting the top water?

 

[sly]

It probably wouldn't make much of a difference. It sounds like what you are wanting is to skim the very surface of the water which is a good idea but... as your tank evaporates, your pump will eventually start sucking air if you set the intake too high. You might try to take another powerhead and aim it so that it blows near the top of your water. That way the top will mix back in and will probably be sucked up into your skimmer. Basically if you add more powerheads to keep the water stirred, you will run less of a chance of skimming the same water over and over. More powerheads will keep the whole tank equally mixed and will keep your oxygen evenly distributed and will minimise warm and cool spots in the tank.
If you need to buy more powerheads, I could only recommend maxijet powerheads.

 

[mikeyjer]

Originally Posted by Sly
You want as little water as possible. Ideally you want a dark green stinky mess to collect in your cup. If you are getting just water, then you need to reduce the height of your water in the skimmer until you just get a dry bubbles overflowing into your cup. The drier the better. It could take several days for you to notice any accumulation in the cup depending on how efficient your skimmer is and how dirty your tank is. Just keep reducing your water height until you no longer get wet soupy foam in the overflow cup...
IMO that's a individual preference, some people prefer dryer foam and some people prefer wet foam like me. I don't have a problem with it... :happyfish