ETSS Skimmer Club!

[jose7878]

Is it sitting in your sump? And, if so, how deep is the water level in that compartment? With the valve fully open the water level shouldn't even be up to the neck unless the water level is a bit too high in the sump. Mine was and I raised the skimmer up a little and it gave me a lot more control using the gate valve.

Yes the skimmer is sitting in the sump. It sits 8 inchs in water but the gate vavle and outlet water is out of the water. Thats how it's been since I've owned it . It has worked perfect until now that I took the bio-balls out and clean them.

 

[PGUY1]

My sump is at that same level and I raised the skimmer up an inch so that I have to use the gate valve more to raise the level in the skimmer. I also dump straight out of the gate valve underwater. IDK... just trying to help. Have you checked the 90 degree air intake for partial salt blockage... I had that cause problems before.

 

[TomToro]

I think I'm having the same issue. When you say too much is there turbulence in the riser? I get big air bubbles that "throw the crap over" but it is throwing too much.



Not too much turbulence, but too much foam. It creates foam from 1" below the top of the mixing box all the way and into the collection cup. I have to restrict the air intakes to lower it into the first tower.

 

[finfan4]

Hello all, Iwas just wondering if a sump buddy 40 could handle a 120 gal softy dominated reef. Couple lps, couple monti caps, medium/heavy fish load? I have an opprotunity to get one real cheap, and I have a Mag 9.5 layin around I can use. AETech web site claims good to 250 gal. Looking for some real world users opinions. Thanks, Chuck.

 

[jose7878]

My sump is at that same level and I raised the skimmer up an inch so that I have to use the gate valve more to raise the level in the skimmer. I also dump straight out of the gate valve underwater. IDK... just trying to help. Have you checked the 90 degree air intake for partial salt blockage... I had that cause problems before.

Thanks PGUY1 I just built a stand for the skimmer it stands 3" higher than it did . Will post something if it worked or if it didn't... thanks for suggestion.....

 

[jose7878]

No PGUY1 it didn't work even with the 3 inch stand I built . Had to throttle back the pump. It's almost closed . So that it produces the light tea color waste.

with me throttling the motor back that much can it affect the pump it's a iwaki 20rlt

 

[salty316]

Hello all, Iwas just wondering if a sump buddy 40 could handle a 120 gal softy dominated reef. Couple lps, couple monti caps, medium/heavy fish load? I have an opprotunity to get one real cheap, and I have a Mag 9.5 layin around I can use. AETech web site claims good to 250 gal. Looking for some real world users opinions. Thanks, Chuck.

I have the same skimmer on a 110 SPS dominated reef. I am running an Eheim 1262 and it does really well. I have a light bio-load, but if you just want to keep softies, I think you're fine.

 

[PGUY1]

I'm sorry but I wasn't paying attention. I am not familiar with the Iwaki pumps so I looked up the 20rlt and it said it was rated at 420 gph. On superskimmer.com, the ETSS site they recommend a pump with at least a 700 gph rate for the Reef Devil. That might be the problem.

 

[PGUY1]

Well I'm wrong again. I went on superskimmer.com and the Iwaki 20rlt is one of the pumps they list for the Reef Devil. Maybe those pumps are rated differently. I guess I'll just be quiet.

 

[jose7878]

PGUY1 no problem You just trying to help . I'm not made at you .

 

[diverdick]

ETSS system question: Looking into upgrading from an 800. I am looking for opinions on which skimmer is better? 1000 or 1400?

C'mon, lets hear some voices

 

[reefcolors]

I don't know about the 1000 but I have have the 1400 and it really works good. Really pulls the gunk out of the water. Very pleased with it.

 

[jkeeton]

I don't know about the 1000 but I have have the 1400 and it really works good. Really pulls the gunk out of the water. Very pleased with it.

Reefcolors - do you have to keep adjusting it or check on it often? I have a 1400 on the way and have heard mixed reviews about it. Any tips or tricks you can offer me?

 

[jjk_reef00]

Go with the 1400. The dual downdraft tubes is a very nice feature.

 

[reefcolors]

Reefcolors - do you have to keep adjusting it or check on it often? I have a 1400 on the way and have heard mixed reviews about it. Any tips or tricks you can offer me?

I'm currently using a Coralife high pressure pump rated at 1750 gph. This pump works good with the 1400 skimmer although IMO the skimmer can handle a little bigger pump such as the Iwaki 100. When I 1st set it up I used a Quiet One 9000 rated at IIRC 2250 gph. Although the QO 9000 has more gph rating it is not a HP pump and it didn't perform very good.
I have the return app. 5-6 inches under water in the sump with a tee on the end. The bottom of the skimmer sits about even with the top of the sump. The water in the sump is about 3" from the top of the sump. If you keep the water level in the sump within a couple inches of fluctuating it is ok other wise it affects the height of foam in the skimmer.
When you 1st start the skimmer (new) only allow a couple of inches of foam
in the 1st riser. It will get a head as it breaks in. It can take a couple of days or more to break in depending on your bio load. The 1st day I ran mine I was getting gunk at the top of the foam but it wasn't rising to the top and over flowing into the collector. So I adjusted it to make the foam go higher. When the skimmer really kicked in (sometime that night) I woke up to a small flood Once the skimmer gets broken in it is pretty much set it and let it go. I use a sponge to wipe out the inside of the riser whenever needed. My drain tube goes into a 5 gallon empty salt bucket. Hope this helps. If I can help in any other way feel free to ask. Good luck.

 

[jkeeton]

thanks for the tips, I am looking forward to getting it up and running..

 

[Madjack]

Test - Mag 12 vs Iwaki WMD40RLT on ESS 600

Test - Mag 12 vs Iwaki WMD40RLT on ESS 600

For several years now I've been running my 600 with a Mag 12. The Mag 12 pumps approx. 1100 gph at 4' while my WMD40RLT pumps 750 gph @ 4'. So I figured more gph is better, right? Wrong!!!

No comparison. For the first time my skimmer is full of bubbles. I had to place a gate valve on the supply line to throttle it back with the outlet wide open. I would empty a 1 gal. milk jug maybe, maybe once a year, but every 3-4 days I would take a paper towel and remove all the gunk from the cup, neck and riser. Since I've changed pumps, I'm emptying the jug once a week, the tank is noticably cleaner and I'm getting better test readings.

At one point I had the tower filled with 8 or 9 - 1" bio balls. Now I have 5 and I believe I'm getting better response. Tip - tie some fishing line to the 1st ball in (thank you to someone on this forum who dropped the tip! first). This helps in collecting the balls for maintenance.

Question - are the smaller bio balls better than the large ones?

 

[frankpayne32]

Hi everyone, I recently picked up a reef devil skimmer for practically nothing at my LFS. I am planning on using it on my new 160 gallon total volume system. Do we think that this will be enough to skim that size system? It will be moderately stocked with fish and predominantly SPS corals. Thanks!

Frank

 

[dg3147]

New to downdrafting (and my first saltwater tank)

New to downdrafting (and my first saltwater tank)

A friend set me up with an AE tech skimmer; though, I don't know which model it is and cannot find a picture of it on their website. I will post a picture below.

I had several questions:
1) Any ideawhat model ETSS skimmer this is (24" tall x 8" diameter)? It is being powered by a pretty loud Catalina 2200 underwater pump. Who makes a quieter one that I can buy with enough gph?

2) It just started skimming today, 7 days into the break in period, on my newly set up tank. The skimmate is pretty wet and I imaging that, without adjustment, it will overflow the collection cup in a few hours. It's yellow colored, but not brown. Rocks are pre-cured with no fish yet.

3) It has also occured to me that the outlet valve is too far underwater and subject to 2-3 inches of water depth variation. Is it too deep? Should I raise the whole thing above the water level?

4) The bioball tower (with 10-15 balls in it) intermittantly has a water level an inch or so below the air intake valve. This creates quite a bit of noise.

I think that's enough questions for now. Great thread guys, and thanks in advance for all your help! :rollface:

 

[ostrow]

No idea what model that is, but take that elbow off of the skimmer outlet. That can't be helping.