ETSS Skimmer Club!
- Thread starter reef_only
- Start date
Pigmonster
New member
gotcha. Trying to make less heat in the refugium. Mag pumps seem to make lots of heat.
CryptoFusion
New member
Bought a used ETSS 800, haven't got my system setup yet but I'm wondering if I should replace the bioballs with new ones or just give them a vinegar bath to clean them up? I don't think this skimmer has been used for a couple of years so the bioballs have been stored completely dry if that makes a difference at all. Thoughts?
rigleautomotive
Premium Member
new ball always help it run to peak performance but you can see how it works with the old ones.i change mine about every 6 months or so and when i do my skimmers really kick a$$ until they get old again
diverdick
New member
I run the specified Iwaki 55rlt on my 800 & it is hands down the most impressive skimmer I have ever run &/or seen. Before that 55rlt, I tried to cheap out with a smaller pump. It worked OK, after the upgrade - not any comparison. Go with the specified pump - IMHO. BTW, I have a total of ~ 320 gallons of water.
--Rich
--Rich
rigleautomotive
Premium Member
the larger ETSS skimmers do not work well with mag pumps.If you ever tried a iwalki or blue line pressure rated pump on one of these skimmers you would see why people really love them.when i ran mag pumps on the several downdrafts i have i was disappointed for sure.no where near what they were capable of.
cnaegler
New member
Well guys, after reading jdieck and rigleautomotives post i figured i'd replace my bio-balls in my ETSS 1000 as well, because they'd been in there about a year and a half and have all kinds of gunk stuck in them. It turns out i had 65 balls instead of the recommended 55 so i only put 55 in it. Well, i don't know what happened but this thing doesn't skim..it just overflows now. originally i had the ball valve open approx. 3/4 of the way but, now it's fully open and i have to gate my panworld 200 pump's output down about a 1/4 of the way just so it doesn't overflow continuously. The water level is extremely inconsistent now so i can't get a set level...it jumps up and down. Just as a side note i did not "clean' the riser tubes...only wiped them down to remove the buildup so it shouldn't be breaking in again. I feel like something's wrong because it's rated to use as strong a pump9 Iwaki 70) or stronger( Iwaki 100) so i feel like i shouldn't have to gate the pump back. Any feedback on what could be going on?
rigleautomotive
Premium Member
well it sounds like the output is restricted in some way or you need more balls in the reaction chamber.are they the same type and size balls as before?
cnaegler
New member
OK guys, After giving it a little time with the gate valve on the pump output closed about a quarter of the way, it started skimming. However, i guess i got used to the way the bubbles used to look as they entered the first riser tube. They used to be small, fine bubbles. Now they are large and they seem to "jump" around a bit much. But i get a foam head so... I guess maybe it needs to break in again? Maybe i should give it a day or two? At least it's not overflowing anymore. Just seems like a waste of electricity, using 300 watts of power but not getting the pump's total output.
It has me seriously considering selling the pump and skimmer and getting a new Vertex Alpha 300 cone skimmer. Hmmmm...
It has me seriously considering selling the pump and skimmer and getting a new Vertex Alpha 300 cone skimmer. Hmmmm...
rigleautomotive
Premium Member
i have been told that when you throttle these pumps back they consume less electricity but if you want an low energy skimmer these are not.
ostrow
It's Dr. Goodluck Himself
There is no way any needlewheel/meshwheel skimmer can come anywhere, and I mean anywhere, close to what an ETSS 1000 will do. It is like comparing a Hot Wheels to a genuine Porsche 911.
Either the bio-balls had residue on them, or you didn't get the right ones (are you sure you got the 1.25" balls?) or something is restricting skimmer output. Something isn't right.
I believe I have 60 of the balls in there, by the way. You can do some fine-tuning on the skimmer by adding a few -- Jose will be able to chime in more on how to do that, I'm not sure I have that down pat.
Also it is perfectly normal and even good to throttle the pump output back a bit. Consumes less power, and will result in a steadier water input. So that might also account in part for the changes you see.
cnaegler
New member
Ostrow,
Thanks for your input! I'm sure it's something i've done. I was very pleased with it's performance before i changed out the balls because the ones i had in there were absolutely gunked up! I think i might try another 5 balls just to see. The bubbles were definitely finer when i had more balls in there. Now the bubbles are way larger than they were. I wiil try that and report back. Thanks again everyone for their input!
Thanks for your input! I'm sure it's something i've done. I was very pleased with it's performance before i changed out the balls because the ones i had in there were absolutely gunked up! I think i might try another 5 balls just to see. The bubbles were definitely finer when i had more balls in there. Now the bubbles are way larger than they were. I wiil try that and report back. Thanks again everyone for their input!
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