Hello. Just got my first tank set up. How high should the bubbles in the skimmer be? Should they be up to the bottom, middle or top of the inner tube in the skimmer cup? How do you know how much air to let into the skimmer? How do you skim dryer or wetter (Let less air in....more air in?). If there's a general tutorial on adjusting skimmers, I'd love to read it. I've been searching but haven't found one yet.
Wow, thanks for asking this Pam. I have been wondering the exact same thing
__________________ Samuel
"If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.... There is magic in it. Let the most absent-minded men be plunged in his deepest reveries--stand that man on his legs, set his feet a-going, and he will infallibly lead you to water, if water there be in all that region."
Hello. Just got my first tank set up. How high should the bubbles in the skimmer be? Should they be up to the bottom, middle or top of the inner tube in the skimmer cup? How do you know how much air to let into the skimmer? How do you skim dryer or wetter (Let less air in....more air in?). If there's a general tutorial on adjusting skimmers, I'd love to read it. I've been searching but haven't found one yet.
OK most skimmers work best when the water line is at the bottom of the tube with the bubbles inside of the tube. The more bubbles you push in the faster the process will be thus making it wet skimming. If the process is slow then the foam will not be as chaotic and it will dry into a nasty thick liquid.
The best way you can adjust a skimmer is open it all the way and let it work for awhile. New Skimmers usually don't start working until the second or third day. you should just be able to open it, let it run and then adjust as needed.
OK most skimmers work best when the water line is at the bottom of the tube with the bubbles inside of the tube. The more bubbles you push in the faster the process will be thus making it wet skimming. If the process is slow then the foam will not be as chaotic and it will dry into a nasty thick liquid.
The best way you can adjust a skimmer is open it all the way and let it work for awhile. New Skimmers usually don't start working until the second or third day. you should just be able to open it, let it run and then adjust as needed.
No problem, Wet Vs Dry skimming i believe is a topic that will be around for a long time. lol Most of it depends on the type of skimmer and how its designed and works. Just try for whatever works for you
When you say "adjust" what exactly do you adjust. Is this the gate valve?
Also, where should this valve be placed if it is not already part of the skimmer design? Should i place it restricting flow into the pump, or the flow out of the skimmer? The former seems right but i don't want to risk breaking what to me is a several hundred dollar column of plastic! (I still don't get why they are so expensive )
__________________ Samuel
"If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings towards the ocean with me.... There is magic in it. Let the most absent-minded men be plunged in his deepest reveries--stand that man on his legs, set his feet a-going, and he will infallibly lead you to water, if water there be in all that region."
Most skimmers are adjusted on the outtake. Reducing the outward flow bring the water higher in the skimmer. This is where you adjust the foam at the bottom of the collection cup. Also some skimmers have a slide tube on the outward flow. Simply move it up or down to adjust. The inward flow shouldn't be messed with to much unless you are for some reason using a pump that is over the recommended GPH for that skimmer.
yes, this IS an age-old argument. Renee and i agree on lots of things, but skimmate isn't one of them.
i prefer a dry skimmate, as i feel that a dry skimmate consists of mostly impurities, as opposed to wet skimmate which consists of impurities plus tank water.
what skimmer do you have, and/or what kind of adjustments are on it?
the level some skimmers are simply adjusted by the amount of air injected by the venturi. others are adjusted by the amount of air as well as the outflow while others are adjusted by the depth of the skimmer in the water itself.
no matter what kind of skimmer you have, i agree with the water level being at the bottom of the throat and letting the skimmate build up and eventually flow over into the cup. if you run it for dry skimmate, this often happens unnoticed, but the cup will fill. IME, if you empty/clean your cup once a week or slightly more often, you're going about right. on our big ER RC-type skimmer, i actually open the cup lid and view the skimmate production a few times a week to check its consistency.
after awhile, you'll get a "feel" for the skimmer, and will be able to dial it in to your liking.
Thanks WWest and Saxman. Your explanations definitely helped.
I have an Elos NS500 skimmer.
Ok...so if the outtake, controls the level of the bubbles, do you use less water on the outtake, or more water, to bring the level of the bubbles up or down?
What does the air intake control ?
Does the water outtake, or the air intake make the skinmate dryer or wetter?
Silly question, but when you say the bubbles should be at the bottom of the collection cup, the bubbles are constantly rising and falling...so am I looking for where the bubbles stop spinning and start rising....or just where the majority of the bubbles end? On my skimmer, I can see the bubbles sitting at the bottom of the collection cup, but the bubbles that are actually spinning like crazy, aren't as high.
One last question....iss it always going to smell in my sump because of the skimmer? Tank is in my den. Tank doesn't smell at all, but when I open the cabinet, it smells. Not extremely horrible...but there is an odor. Of course my tank has only been up and running for 5 days with live rock.
actually the WATER should be at the throat. think of blowing bubbles thru a straw into a glass of milk. you have the surface of the milk with froth on top. the surface is what you're after for the bottom of the throat.
yes, the outflow level will MOSTLY control the "surface" level, but if you add too much air, it will "boil over" into the cup. i go for having the froth inside the cup, just below the spill rim. that way only dry skimmate makes it into the cup. if the cup fills too rapidly, the skimmer is running too "hot" and you need to back down the bubbles (assuming the level is right).
the smells will subside as the tank cycles. personally, i don't skim a cycling tank, as the stuff you're pulling out is food for the bacteria, but again, that's another debatable issue.
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