???????????DAS EX-2 HELP???????

[mikesayen]

We have an EX-2 and can not get it to skim. Anyone have suggestions? or an instruction manual or link to something online?

Thanks

 

[bimmerzs]

@mikesayen wrote:

Hi,

Try adjusting the air valves to the 1 oclock position then adjust the water input to get the level of foam up into the neck. If this is a new skimmer you may need to let it break in, this initial adjustment should produce skimmate then fine tune from there. What pump are you using for this?

Cheers,

 

[mikesayen]

the ones it came with, they are DAS 2000 L/Hr. The skimmer has 2 pumps

 

[daijari]

The pumps that came with it may be the re-circ pumps. Are you driving the intake to the EX-2 with a pump also? The intake to the skimmer is the one with the small ball valve on it (near the top of the skimmer on the side below the neck)

My EX-1 has one re-circ pump, and I will be driving it with a Quiet-One 3000 that is plumbed into the intake side of my fuge.

Hope this helps...

 

[Wes]

ah yes, that is probably it, you need a 3rd pump to feed water to it, it wont simply suck up water and skim without this, post pics if you can and then we can make sure

 

[daijari]

Sounds the same to me also. I've hear a few just tee off their drain straight to the DAS skimmer and just gravity feed it. But not sure how well it works.

 

[mikesayen]

We do have a 3rd pump pumping water to it, however it still won't skim. When the water level is correct and we turn the air valves, the bubbles are very large, when we turn it down they are tiny bubbles, but won't go but about 1" up the neck. It has been running for about 5 days now and has not skimmed anything!!!!! When the bubbles get up to the collection cup they are too large to create the foam that collapses to make the skimate.

 

[bimmerzs]

@mikesayen wrote:

Hi,

That mean's that your pump is either not strong enough or you need to open up the ball valve more. I have this same skimmer, set the air valves as suggested and then open up the ball valve enough to push the skimmate up, then fine tune the air valves for the smallest bubbles possible, make very small adjustment's. If you can open the ball valve fully and not overflow the cup then you need a stronger pump, what pump are you using on the intake???? HTH

Cheers,

 

[mikesayen]

Hey Ron, What is the suggested level, we purchased this from Petorama and it did not come with instructions. It was already put together. I tried to get them off the net, but the link was dead. DAS is here in Waxahachie, but don't open til tomorrow.

Its a RED SEA Skimmer pump, he put it on because he thought the Mag he bought for it was too strong. It kept overflowing the collection cup.

Thanks for the help, it is greatly apreciated.

Susan

 

[bimmerzs]

@mikesayen wrote:

Hi,
I don't think the RS pump is enough, you need something putting out 300GPH or more, then use the ball valve to regulate it. Not sure how he was overflowing the cup if he used the ball valve. :? The red sea skimmer pump cost like $17....... :?

Cheers,

 

[ChuckLawson]

This thread on Reef Central has a lot of good information on setting and using the DAS skimmers.

In general, you probably only want to pump 1 - 2 tank turnovers an hour through the skimmer -- so if you have a 100 gallon tank, you want to use a pump that will deliver 100 - 200 GPH through the skimmer. I've got an EX-1 on a 50 gallon or so tank, and I used a Maxijet 900 to feed it, and still had the ball valve around 1/3 closed (I've since re-plumbed it to feed directly from the overflow).

With the air valves closed, you want to adjust the water level (using the ball valve) to right at the point on the neck of the skimmer where the collection cup attaches (the bayonet fitting).

Once you've got the water level at that point, adjust the air valves to produce the maximum amount of tiny bubbles (you'll probably need to turn this down once it starts working).

The stock DAS air valves are rather odd -- they only have about three settings, no matter how many times you turn them; a lot of people end up replacing them with a John Guest style valve from Lowes or Home Depot to be able to get a little finer adjustment.

Like most new skimmers, it can take a few days for it to "break in" and start producing skimmate, as the oils on the plastic wear off. When I bought my EX-1 a few months ago, I washed it as thoroughly as I could with hot water, some diluted vinegar, and hot water again, and it started producing skimmate within a few hours. If you haven't already done this, and can do it without having to undo a lot of plumbing, you might want to give that a try.

Hope that helps!

- Chuck

PS -- until you get it skimming properly, keep a close eye on it; if you have it adjusted for "maximum air", once it starts going, it can overflow pretty easily until you get it dialed in...

@mikesayen wrote: