new skimmer !!

[RAYRAY]

I just made my first skimmer purchase !! coralife 65 superskimmer, and thanks to yote, I have it operating correctly! the hardest thinkg to do now is "wait". i have tons of microbubble still loading up the tank. like yote said,"just wait it out for about a week or so" I HATE THE BUBBLES !!!!!! lol. Also , just a quick question .... There is nothinkg collecting in the cup yet. and the foam which hardly is none.. looks pretty clean, like white. not brown ??? is this normal during break in time ??? thanks

 

[yote]

Thats pretty much normal.
Just let it run like it is now untill tomorrow,then open the flow control valve(the one just above the pump) just a bit.Say about 3/4 open.Then using the red adjustment knob,adjust it so that the bubbles are just at the bottom of the cone.

 

[yote]

One thing I forgot last night.
Make sure the pump is no more than 4 inches below the water surface.
Any deeper and you wont get the air flow into the pump.

 

[RAYRAY]

i think the pump may be just a little more then 4 inches under, not sure how to raise it ?? sorry about being a pain in the ass

 

[RAYRAY]

here are some pics....

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the water in the cup is just from adjusting.

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the water level pf the pump. the bio-wheel is there just so that i dont lose to much bacteria,will remove that in a week or so..

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the chamber

 

[ccCapt]

The pump is way too deep. Shorten the flexible hose that connects the pump to the skimmer to bring the pump closer to the surface. That's skimming to wet too. You should lower the level a little so the water/bubble line is about 1/2 up the clear part of the neck. Skimming that wet will take sw out of your system. If you only top off with fw, you SG will start to drop.

 

[RAYRAY]

ccCapt... thank you !!! the cup filled up before i got to set it. there is no more water going into the cup now. the buddles are at the bottom of the cup about where you said to put them.... sorry if the pic was confusing. i just didnt empty the cup from when i 1st plugged it in. i was thinking the pump was to deep, the flex tube is only about 1.5 inches, should i still shorten it ????

 

[RAYRAY]

does this look any better ???????

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thanks

 

[reeffreak]

Congratulations,the skimmer should help out alot.The foam looks just about right.Give it a few days before it actually produce skimmate.

 

[hotimportknight]

You should maybe even keep it at the lowest level for about a week to be safe. Super skimmers are known for causing floods. It wont do much until its broken in anyway. I would lower the water level as low as it goes for a while then after a few days turn the bubbles up to where they are now. Otherwise as it breaks in it could just start pouring water. I think it describes it in the manual. Someone mentioned a flow control right above the pump? what is that about? I have the 125 model and I dont have anything to adjust but the water level knob (that I know of)...

 

[hotimportknight]

Oh yeah, about the pump level... I had mine too far under the surface of the water and it wouldnt skim very dry skimmate ever, finally I just shortened the tube up and its doing a lot better now. I think my tube connecting the pump was about 2" long. The closer to the surface the better I just found out after some research.

 

[RAYRAY]

ok , i will lower it to the bottom of the cup . thanks for the info..

 

[yote]

Cory,The 125 dont have that valve.
I have yet to have a flood with either one of my superskimmers(knock on wood)Both have worked perfectly since the break in period.

Ray,Just take your knife and cut off enough of the tube to raise the pump some.As long as you got enough tube to connect the pump to the skimmer,your good.

 

[RAYRAY]

thanks yote, thats what i did , they are pretty much touching now!!!

 

[RAYRAY]

Well Day 4 With The Skimmer, The Valve Is Open Fully , And I Adjusted The Water Level Valve. Still No Skimmate And The Microbubbles Are Slowly Starting To Settle Down. The Bubbles Are At The Base Of The Cup. I Will Post Pics Tonight When I Get Home.

 

[Piggy]

The 125 does not have it.

 

[RAYRAY]

So Last Night I Was Looking At My Skimmer And Was Thinking That The Pump Was Still Too Deep, So I Raised It Up Another 1 1/2 Inches. Now It Is About 3 Inches. Thew Skimmer Seems To Be Fine, Starting To Produce Skimmate And Is Running Fully.

 

[RAYRAY]

how does this look, besides gross !!

 

[reeffreak]

Looks tasty!You are getting skimmate.

 

[RAYRAY]

yummy right !!! lol