Let me start from the beginning. I bought my 65 gal. Used from somebody and the guy had a ETSS sump setup witha ETSS reef devil skimmer. He originally had a mag 18 driving both. There was a tee on the return so half of the return water drove the skimmer and half went back to the tank. I did want this setup and put the mag 18 just for my return and put a rio 1700 in just to drive my skimmer. At the ETSS website they would normally supply the skimmer with a mag7. So the comparable rio would be a 1700. The problem I am having the skimmer takes forever to create any gunk. I also saw on there site it can take up to two weeks to "adjust" is that crazy? In my 55 gal oceanic with a "oceanic" skimmer is starts up right away. It is a oceanic model 75 plus. The skimmer has a seperate pump with a air pump. Is this just the nature of the beast with this style skimmer. If I even add water to my sump for evap top off it sends the skimmer all whacky and takes a couple of days to readjust. And lately here in Chicago I have been adding water every day. Can anyone give some ideas.
ETSS Reef devil skimmer problem
- Thread starter buddah001
- Start date
reef devil
reef devil
My opinion is not to run the rio 1700.
I would get a mag7.
these skimmers work off pressure,you can't compare those pumps with flow.
I had three of those skimmers and they do work great.
With the right pump you should be running the water level flush or just below the bottom of the clear tube(neck).
The higher the water level,the less air that it sucks in.that is why a pressure pump is needed.
If you add top off water it should only take a hour or so to adjust.
And it shouldn't take a week to kick in if it is a used skimmer.
It more than likely is the pump.
reef devil
My opinion is not to run the rio 1700.
I would get a mag7.
these skimmers work off pressure,you can't compare those pumps with flow.
I had three of those skimmers and they do work great.
With the right pump you should be running the water level flush or just below the bottom of the clear tube(neck).
The higher the water level,the less air that it sucks in.that is why a pressure pump is needed.
If you add top off water it should only take a hour or so to adjust.
And it shouldn't take a week to kick in if it is a used skimmer.
It more than likely is the pump.
lowrider24
New member
Pump. The Mags handle pressue a little better. I had an ETSS with a Mag 5 and then a 7. That skimmer is also easy to mod into a Beckett. I ran mine for about 5 years but got tired of taking it apart to clean the Beckett valve. The Mag 7 will also throw a bit of heat into the tank so I opted for a new needlewheel that uses a bit less power........I'm going to use the old ETSS on a FO tank sometime in the future.
