Skimmer help

C

chrisk

Skimmer question...

I purchased a skimmer that is very similiar to a precision marine bullet II (but with gate valve). I was told it could be run in line or in sump. I decided to run in sump (cause of a very small leak in the box). I basically took the skimmer and ploped it on the floor of the sump. That water level just barely covers the gate valve handle and the box when the sump is filled. The sump is being run off a submerged Dolphin 1200.

Currently the sump is a 20 gallon long. I lose ~ 2 gallons a day due to evaporation. The skimmer's output is effected by the sump's water level. So, I either get a a gallon of skim a day or I get nothing.

I've tried holding the air intake solid while adjusting the gate valve, and then holding the gate valve still while fiddling with the air intake. It seems, no matter the path, I get widly varying results.

I could do an autotop off to keep the sump's water level stable...

I could move the skimmer outside of the sump...

Hints, suggestions, comments? Help!
 
I think you answered your own questions.... :D (Personally I would go with the topoff because it will lower your maintenance time)

 
By far the easiest would be an autotopoff. It would solve that problem and make top off easier. The other option is to build a stand so it is out of the water. This can be as simple as a 4" PVC pipe. Yet another alternative would be to build a hartford loop off the output which basically means to have a pipe running up from the gate valve and loop back around to just above the water level. If you run it below water level then this option won't do much good. Probably the absolute best option would be to put a baffle in the sump seperating the reurn and skimer section where the tank could drain into the skimmer section and have it overflow into the return section. That way the skimmer section will always be a constant height. That can be done very cheaply usually!

The reason it varies is because of the output pressure. When the water is higher there is more pressure to keep the water in the skimmer.
 
Thanks for the suggestions!

I will put in a baffle and then add the auto top off once I move everything to the new tank.

Thanks again!
 
Chris that new tank is going to look amazing. How bad was the flood damage? Oh by the way, the starfish is fat and happy, he ate a bunch my anthelia the other day so he's on my A list.
 
hrmmm... flood damage...

Well, we got it all cleaned up, and it happened again.

At this point, we just decided the room looked better w/o furniture. :-(

Also, we moved the foot+ long pleco to another tank and he suicided a few days later. We had him 3-4 years. :-(
 
The outlet of your skimmer should not be fully submerged to the degree you've described. I've run my skimmer with it submerged 1" and it was fine. But you stated the handle of the gate valve is under water. That is too much water in the skimmer, so it needs a stand to elevate it to the correct level.
 
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