reef Octopus extreme 160 skimmer

[ads8525]

Just got my skimmer and placed it in my sump, got a few questions:

-First question, where do I set the water level in the skimmer itself?
-Second question, the outlet pipe, I read this should not be completely submerged because of back pressure it creates, is this correct or not?
-Third question, when I do my water changes and shut the power off how does it effect the skimmer? Does the skimmer have to do another breakin period?

 

[XxKnuckleheadxX]

i set my water level all the way up into the neck of the skimmer and adjust as need. you will have to tinker with it to get it right so its not skimming to wet or not skimming enough. f
for my skimmer outlet its not submerged
and last question is no it will not effect your skimmer at all.

 

[ads8525]

Okay so it has been almost two weeks now and my skimmer is finally producing foam...Now how do I adjust the skimmer to get the best filtering?

 

[Bifferwine]

You should decide if you want to skim wet or skim dry. I, personally, skim dry. This means the gunk produced is thick, black, and gross. It has very little water in it. If you skim wet, you'll pull more crap out of the tank, but you'll lose more water and have to empty it more often.

 

[Chris_150G]

I have that skimmer. I set mine at about 0.5" -1" above the bottom of the cup. It fills up about 0.5" of the wet kind per day or two.

In regards to backpressure, having the outlet pipe in or out of the water didn't make any difference in skimmate production on mine but maybe it will on yours.

The last thing I want to mention is that when I turn mine on after it has been shut off it will overflow if not turned down first.

 

[Reefrookie]

Water changes should not effect your skimmer. Cleaning the cup and letting the skimmer dry out will

 

[ads8525]

How often do you guys have to replenish the water...I am currently having to add water almost every day....I currently have it set where the foam is just to the top of the neck just below the collection cup

 

[Reefrookie]

Replenish water to where, in the skimmer section or the return section? Your water level in the skimmer section should remain constant. The return should be where you see evaporation and add water to the system.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you!

 

[ads8525]

The return....I am having to add water to the sump almost every day because of the evap/skimmer since I installed the skimmer

 

[Reefrookie]

I have an ATO on mine. If I were to guess, I would say I add about a gallon a day to my system. Maybe more on some days

 

[Bifferwine]

Topping off evaporated water every day is normal. I have to add about 5 gallons a day to my 90 gallon tank, and about a gallon a day to my 10 gallon tank.

 

[ads8525]

Oh....I assume what you add is premixed with salt or fresh...what is the best way to keep the salinity stable...the water evaporates but leaves behind the salt, but the skimmer also wastes water that contains salt....how do I balance the top offs?

 

[Hornet]

You replace evaporated water back into your tank with Fresh water because like you stated when the water evaporates the salt is left. I have my skimmer set to skim on the dry side so my salinity does not fluctuate with the removal of the gunk it pulls out.

 

[ads8525]

Well, I have read different things about how to set it....some say dry skimming takes out more waste while wet skimming does not....if wet takes out more gunk, I don't mind doing the topoff becuase overall my tank will be healthier, but if dry is better I will set it to skim dryer....which ever is more effcient.

 

[Reefrookie]

Wet or dry, you will still have to top off from evaporation

 

[ads8525]

Which method is the most efficient way to pull the junk out?

 

[Reefrookie]

Every system is going to be different. Try both and see which one is best for you

 

[Hornet]

+1 to what Reefrookies says.

When I first started my tank I did not really understand what skimming wet or dry actually meant. I just plugged the skimmer set and kept testing my water. I eventually ended up setting the bubble level to right around the bottom opening of the skimmer cup.

 

[ads8525]

So, with a skimmer do I need to still do my 10% water changes weekly or can I do 10% every other week?

 

[dcantucson]

You should continue to do your water changes every week.