ASM skimmer help

K

Kay

I put my new skimmer together. The pipe that goes into the body of it leading from the pump won't fit in tight. There's water leaking out of it. If you put your fingers down there, you can feel it. Also the bubbles aren't coming up to the top of the collection cup, so it's not getting any skimmate at all in the cup. There was no good picture to show me and no directions, just list of parts. There's a rubber ring around it but it won't stay in. Any ideas what I might be doing wrong? Also I tried to adjust the pipe up and down to get the bubbles to rise.

Kay
 
@janakaybravo wrote:
I put my new skimmer together. The pipe that goes into the body of it leading from the pump won't fit in tight. There's water leaking out of it. If you put your fingers down there said:
This is assuming you're talking about a G series skimmer...
If it's practical, I'd remove the skimmer from the sump and place the pump/skimmer on a level surface. Then check the fit on all the pieces.
That should give you a good idea of what goes where when it gets placed in the sump. You've got to be careful not to let the pump get "tweaked" out of position when you place it in the sump. Moving the tube up will raise the water in the skimmer.
See here for other suggestions.
Click to expand...
 
Kay, take the skimmer out of the sump, and try to install the skimmer's pump to the body securely. It has happened in the past where the skimmer was drilled incorrectly so that the plumbing fittings don't align properly.

Also, the pipe that is inserted in the rubber ring needs to go through it and stick out inside the skimmer body a little. You have to be careful, as it is possible to crack the acrylic doing this. Rubbing vegetable oil on the PVC will help it slide in more easily, and won't affect your livestock.

Pictures may help if you can't seem to make it work.
 
I have a G3 ASM skimmer and the pipe that you are describing doesn't really have a snug fit, it just sits on the pump and is easily removed for cleaning. Check to see if something is hindering the venturi (air from entering the skimmer inlet). I put mine in a bathtub filled with white vinegar and ran it for an hour to flush it out. I also rinsed it REALLY WELL in fresh water afterwards. If you had this delivered from ASM I know they put allot of peanuts in there to ensure that it doesn't break. Make sure there are none in the riser tube or anything blocking the water from entering. Not sure about the O ring though. Mine leaks a little and I've read this is normal. It started to skim maybe 3 or 4 days later for the break in period. Hope this helps. Good luck.
 
Correction to the above post. I filled the bathtub with WATER and poured about 2 cups of white vinegar and let it run for an hour. Forgot to mention I didn't use pure vinegar. It was deluted. :oops:
 
Thank y'all for the quick replies. It is a ASM G3. It does leak a little, but not a lot, but enough to cause some bubbles at the connection. I did put it together outside the sump and seemed loose then, but thought I would try it inside to see what happened. When I read that it's normal to be a little loose, that might be what's happening. Also I raised the pipe and the bubbles are coming up. I didn't realize threre was a time period for it to run to break in.

Also, there is no place for a tube to run down to a jar to catch extra skimmate like my old skimmer. Is that normal? Could it flood?

Thanks!!!

Kay
 
Just a further note. The leak I am speaking of happens at the top where the collection cup is. The elbow that is at the base and is inserted into the skimmer has a tight fit, but is not a tight fit to the pump. Be careful when you raise the pipe up too high as this will cause the cup to fill with water. They say to leave it running at a high setting for the break in period but I could never do that for this very reason. I started at about half and just kept an eye on it and lowered it to my liking. Hope this helps.
 
Thanks for all the help. I didn't have the pipe sticking into the skimmer right. Kept fooling with it and took it out of the sump and finally figured it out. Now the skimmer is running great!

Kay
 
Just in case you didn't know about this site.

http://www.asmskimmer.com has some info on it, including info about a collection cup. But it's a DIY type deal.

I hated that mine only came with minimal directions. I really like my skimmer. Now, if I only really liked emptying/cleaning that stinky cup.

Larry
 
Larry, type up some good instructions, and forward them to ASM. Heck, forward them to me and I'll put them on my site for others to link to.
 
This could be a MAS project, where club members create some decent instructions based on their own experience using the skimmer. Just write what you know, and ask one person to put it all together in one document, editing it for continuity/consistency.

When completed, we'll make it a sticky here, perhaps in the DIY forum. Also, we could send a copy to ASM to see if they would like to use it or enhance it a bit with their own thoughts. Your efforts could help many others out there in the future. Since I just bought a used G-3, I know I'd like to read it.
 
That's a great idea. Can someone draw a picture of the gate valve mod for the proposed sticky? I bought one and have no idea how to put it together, and there is no pictures or instructions. I did call ASM and they helped me over the phone with the skimmer, but if they had some detailed pictures/instructions it wouldn't be so hard for non DIY's like me.

Kay
 
Pictures of installing the gate valve mod should be on asmskimmer.com.

Can anyone tell my why there needs to be a gate valve on it instead of just straight PVC back into the sump? I just run the skimmer stock and all the water pops out of the top of the outlet pipe. why would I not want all the water to come out of the gate valve? If I choke off the output with the gate valve, does the sedra pump just work harder or push the water further into the neck of the skimmer?
 
@lmcnutt wrote:
Pictures of installing the gate valve mod should be on asmskimmer.com. Can anyone tell my why there needs to be a gate valve on it instead of just straight PVC back into the sump? I just run the skimmer stock and all the water pops out of the top of the outlet pipe. why would I not want all the water to come out of the gate valve? If I choke off the output with the gate valve said:
You got it in the last sentence.. the gate valve forces water higher in the neck, affecting the 'wetness' of the skimmate. It also makes it less dependant on the water level in the sump.
Click to expand...
 
And it allows you to dial it in precisely, rather than whatever it happens to be at. I can twist the gate valve 1/8th of a turn, to raise the water up anothe 1/4" in the skimmer, getting the bubbles exactly where they need to be.
 
The mod is really easy. As Larry said, the pics are on ASMskimmer.com

http://www.asmskimmer.com/mod1.htm

The hardest part for me was locating the gate valve, which I ended up getting at Ace Hardware in Arlington. The valve was around $14 plus a couple bucks for a tee, elbow and pipe - much cheaper than buying a mod kit online.
 
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