Hello!
I am rather new at this myself, and got the same skimmer. Nice directions, huh? Do a forum search on 'turboflotor' to see previous q&a on this same subject.
After getting alot of advice, I set up the skimmer inside of my sump, and I did not plumb it into my overflow line. Apparently you can use a small pump or powerhead to feed sump water into the water inlet port (hole) on the skimmer (where they diagram the overflow to enter). So, yes, this does mean two pumps attached to the skimmer.
Unsure as to my best approach, I e-mailed the nationwide distributer. Here is what happened:
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Original Message
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From: Christine Becerra
To:
bt@qfc.co.nz
Sent: Monday, November 18, 2002 11:26 AM
Subject: Turboflotor 1000
Dear Aquamedic Representative,
I recently purchased a Turboflotor 1000 for use with a 125 gallon marine aquarium that I am setting up. I am installing it into a sump tank in the cabinet. I need to know what size (gallon/ min) pump you recommend to feed water to the skimmer. I have the included Rio 2100 set up for the air venturi, but am unclear what size pump to purchase for the water inlet. I see that you recommend feeding the skimmer water with the tank overflow, but in my case that will not work. The local fish store that sold me the skimmer, sold me a Dolphin DP 110 pump, but it seems really, really small. The Dolphin pumps 1.9 gallons / min at 0 ft head. Will this really work? What pump/ pump size to do recommend? Any tips on installing it? My local support for marine aquariums is very inconsistent. I want to do the best I can to set the tank up now, before I add any livestock
I really appreciate your assistance.
Thank you.
Sincerely
Christine
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Response:
Christine,
You can use a pump up to 400/GPH, although you will need to fit a ball valve onto it to regulate the flow of water through the skimmer. The water level in the skimmer is a better guage than the GPH when hooking it up. When you hook it up you are going to want to get the water flowing through so the outlets are 3/4 full to full. You want to keep the water level just under where the foam cup mets the skimmer, otherwise you'll have issues with overflow. This is made possible with the valve you'll put onthe supply pump.
Thanks and good luck
Bree
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My next question:
Dear Bree,
I am setting up my Turboflotor 1000 in my sump and am still having questions about the set-up. When set it up with my original water pump (dolphin DP 115), water filled up one of the return pipes and only half of the other. I figured that this meant that I needed a larger water pump, so I switched the Dolphin for a Maxi-Jet 1200. My results were the same, I just needed to cut the water back with the ball valve to adjust the water level in the skimmer body. Is this normal? Can I get water to flow through both returns? There appears to be no visible obstruction and I sealed all of the connections with 100% silicone. The stand, skimmer and sump are level and results do not change by moving the skimmer to another place in the sump. This will be a 125 Gallon Reef tank with a 20 gallon sump.
I appreciate your help.
Thank you,
Christine
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That was November 23rd. I received no response to that question.
I currently am cycling my tank with grocery store shrimp and am not running the skimmer yet. I figure trial and error will do the trick, along with a little help from everybody here.
I do believe that this is a good skimmer though.
I originally siliconed the fittings in place, but I was messing with the set-up so much that I kept detaching everything. I used a combo of vinyl tubing and cpvc to plumb in the water pump. I had a very stiff ball valve inline that gave me much grief. I pulled the whole thing out of my sump, I replaced the valve with a better one and glued all of my fitting with Lock-tite (medium strength). I then coated the joints with a litle silicone caulk (aquarium safe). It is now sitting on a shelf in my kitchen until my tank finishes cycling. I have no idea if the locktite will work well, I just didn't want to use a permanent glue. I suppose that silicone would work, if I knew how I was really going to set things up. I do hope that I have it finished though. I haven't decided which powerhead to use yet.
I hope this helps. Do try a forum serach though, you will find some good stuff, fast.
Good Luck,
-Christine
