I need help w/using a protein skimmer
- Thread starter A. Nonymous
- Start date
That PDF is the same one that came with the skimmer. It's fairly useless. The first thing they suggest is "Reduce water level in skimmer." Wonderful idea. But they include no instructions or hints on how to do that exactly. So I'm left to scratch my head. The entire document is like that.
I removed the tray thing the output sits in for troubleshooting purposes. Made no difference whatsoever. It was a worthwhile troubleshooting step though.
This is the current setup from behind the tank.
And from inside the tank
Water actually pours into the cup faster than it can drain out of the plug no matter what I do.
I removed the tray thing the output sits in for troubleshooting purposes. Made no difference whatsoever. It was a worthwhile troubleshooting step though.
This is the current setup from behind the tank.
And from inside the tank
Water actually pours into the cup faster than it can drain out of the plug no matter what I do.
For the break in period 1-2 days, try closing the air hole on the water outlet. It will lower the back pressure. Another suggestion is to run it in a bucket and let it overflow. Just put the whole thing in there.
I have the same skimmer and had the same problem. Another problem you might encounter later is random overflowing. I run a tube from the cup into the air hole on the water outlet. If a cup gets full, back pressure is lower causing the skimmer to slow down. The down side is the dirt is back in the aquarium, but it beats flooding for me.
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I have the same skimmer and had the same problem. Another problem you might encounter later is random overflowing. I run a tube from the cup into the air hole on the water outlet. If a cup gets full, back pressure is lower causing the skimmer to slow down. The down side is the dirt is back in the aquarium, but it beats flooding for me.
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I see you have a newer model. Do you have a hole on top of the exit tube?
I am attaching my setup. Excuse the salt creep.
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I am attaching my setup. Excuse the salt creep.
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Not sure the problem you are having with the instructions. The way to adjust the water level is right there in the Operation section.
From the picture I can see that the water flow valve on the pump is open about half way. Close that down and your water level in the skimmer will go down.
From the picture I can see that the water flow valve on the pump is open about half way. Close that down and your water level in the skimmer will go down.
The drain tube on mine is on the bottom, not the top. And I've turned that knob all the way around and it made no difference.
I think I may have figured it out, but don't trust it. I moved it further up in the tank so the pump is like an inch or so below the surface. This seems to have fixed it, but I don't trust it because there's nothing to hold it where it is in the collar and if it falls for some reason, the cup is going to overflow.
I think I may have figured it out, but don't trust it. I moved it further up in the tank so the pump is like an inch or so below the surface. This seems to have fixed it, but I don't trust it because there's nothing to hold it where it is in the collar and if it falls for some reason, the cup is going to overflow.
I was talking about the hole in the tube that goes into the bubble trap. Try closing it with your finger.
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I tried that. Didn't seem to make any difference. I have been able to test it with the depth of the pump. If I move the pump deeper in the tank, it fills up quickly. If I move the pump higher in the tank, it doesn't even get any foam in the column in the cup. So it's definitely the depth of the pump in the tank. I just need to find a way to ensure that it doesn't fall down while I'm at work. If it does, it'll overflow for sure.
