skimmer question

J

jcgigler

okay guys, here is another plumbing question since hubby is still out of the country. Our protein skimmer does not seem to be working. It is a custom built one that we bought. the problem is the water level only seems to get high enoupgh to go into the second chamber. There are bubbles but I din't see how they would get high enoupgh to get into the 3rd chamber to be expelled. I don't know if we just need to invest in a new skimmer all together or what but at this point I don't think it is doing anything!
 
Can you close a valve so that more water collects inside the skimmer to fill all three chambers? I think I saw this skimmer in the past. It is made of PVC with three chambers because you don't have room for one tall one, right?

If so, close the valve a little bit (1/4 to 1/2 turn) and watch the skimmer closely to see what effect that has. Don't over do it in a hurry, or your skimmer will overflow the cup.
 
http://homepage.mac.com/mistygigler/
click on this to see some pictures. we bought the whole system used from DNA. It doesn't look like there are any valves on the skimmer itself although there does seem to be a lot of salt creep. That means there is a leak right?
 
The 2 skinny tall tubes to the right used to have bio balls in them. we took those out when we converted from fresh to salt water. Is that the issue?
 
Yes, those bioballs must be in there to create the tiny bubbles you want. And the outlet of the black box going into your sump is supposed to have a gate valve (something with a red handle or knob. As you close that valve, water will rise up in the clear (larger) acrylic tube. You want enough water in there to push up the foam near the collection cup, but not too high or it could suddenly overflow at some random time.

Have you seen the skimmer operate differently in the past, based on how much water is in the sump (to the left of the skimmer)? I would imagine so, because that would change the water height in the skimmer as well -- water always seeks its own level.
 
the only valves that are there are the ones connected to the tall skinny tubes that the bio balls used to be in. Should I just put them back in or try to adjust the valves? When I top off the water in the sump the level only reaches just over the second chamber. It does create bubbles but they never get to the 3rd chamber. I played with the valves a little and they seem like just an on off valve because tey are really tight. should I turn off the pump first to try and adjust? I can't really add any more water to the refuge than I already do.
 
by the way, the only time we saw the skimmer work properly is when my husband changed the pvc pipe coming out of the skimmer into the sump creating an elbow. Then all of the sudden it didn't work any more.
 
okay just played with the valves a little. apparently they are wide open. when I closed them the water level went way down and it wasn't even making bubbles. when I turned it all the way open again a ton of white junk came out in the sump. Could it be that it is just clogged up and needs to be cleaned? What kind of effect does a broken skimmer have on water quality?
 
A broken skimmer does nothing, and won't help your water quality at all. You really need it working. Please do reinsert the bioballs as I indicated yesterday. And there needs to be a valve on the output of the skimmer to adjust the water volume in the skimmer's reaction chamber (the main section). Normally, you'd see a ballvalve on the outlet of a skimmer like this one:

sump_model_d2.jpg
alt="">

Or this one:

55sump2.jpg
alt="">
 
y skimmer never had a side valve. I just put the bio balls back in and it did seem to make more tiny bubbles but not enouph to even get into the 2nd chamber. Looks like we need a new skimmer huh? I think this one must have been custom made or something. Do you know of any one who lives in my area who could just come look at it and tell me what needs to be done?
 
I don't recognize your area. Are any of these LFS near you?

http://www.dfwmas.org/lfs.html

If so, which number is closest to your location? Maybe someone in the club can stop by and see what can be done.

One idea I have is that you could put a ball valve on the inside of the sump connected to that bulkhead, so you'd have the ability to close it slightly to increase the water level in the skimmer.

You probably need to do a water change in the near future, just in case. Have you ever done that before?
 
I did a 90 gallon water change the other day. I agree that there needs to be a valve to not let out as much water into the sump. I am in sachse which is about 10 minutes from plano. I guess I will wait for hubby to get back from germany to do major replumbing of the skimmer. At least we know what the issue is now. We used to have cichlids so we didn't have to worry about the skimmer. Should I just turn it off until we fix it or hope that it is doing something?
 
If you need some one to look at the problem sooner, I live in Lucas not far from you and I am available most days. I can certainly let you know what the exact problem is, if not fix it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top