ETSS Skimmer Club!

[jjk_reef00]

If it isn't producing enough skimmate it could be skimming too dry as well. To make it skimm more wet turn the gate valve to put more water in the box just a little every day until you get the desired amount of skimmate. How dirty does your riser get? I notice mine doesn't skim as well when mine is really dark. I clean it and skims great again.

 

[iamwrasseman]

i have an ETTS evolution skimmer that really has not been working well in the past year or so as it used to pull out skim mate like mad and now its really almost useless . i just acquired some bioballs and it looks like i should use as many as possible with a six inch gap at the top . am i correct with what i got from what ALEX T was stating . thanks for the info .

 

[Alex T.]

I had an Evolution Skimmer on my 150 SPS, but just wanted something with more power. This is the skimmer that caused me to call Gary about the surging. If you follow his instructions and put the recommended amount of bioballs in...you're screwed, and he admits it. These skimmers (Evolution) need much less bioballs than recommended in the instructions.

This skimmer is much different than most ETSS skimmers in that the countercurrent tower goes right through the collection cup. Water is always backing up into that skimmer tower and causing problems. It's a great skimmer, but it really works best with the least amount of bioballs that will produce foam. I also found that the sweetspot in mine was 3/4 to 1 inch water line below the top half of the skimmer....about 3/4 inch above where the ETSS sticker is. Give it a shot. It worked really well for me, but when a deal came along for a stronger ETSS, I simply couldn't pass it up. By the way, which pump are you using? These skimmers are horrible gunk producers with anything but pressurized external Iwaki or Blueline pressure rated pumps. I had my Evolution 500 on an Iwaki 20RLT and it really pulled out some nasty stuff. Not to rant, but I've also found that loosely throwing the bioballs into the tower causes problems. Sometimes the high speed water pounding them can jar one into a loose and alternate position than where it was when it was skimming. Being that the Evolution has a clear and easily accessible tower, I'd pull them out and actually connect them in a scattered pattern that will stay put. It worked very well for me and stayed consistent unless I stuck my hand in the tank or sump.

Hope this helps.

 

[iamwrasseman]

yes that helps as i have owned it for eight years and it always worked fine and then slowly started producing less to the point of no skimmate but i have adjusted it and do understand how to do so . 1" below the neck is what i shoot for as you stated .i have heard that the bioballs get worn out in a way that they need to be replaced and i will do that and pull the pump out and clean it as its been years and it may be gummed up and not flowing 100% but it still is pumping like crazy ,just may be out of whack for whats needed to work properly .its a mag 900 or 1200 if im not mistaken but it used to work great as i have already said . i will give it an overhaul and see what happens .your also saying to try less bioballs and try that too,right ? thanks alot for your input Alex .

 

[Alex T.]

I would start with the same amount of bioballs you have now (but new) and eventually look into an Iwaki 20RLT or similar Blueline pump. Youu won't believe the difference in skimmate production. Gary needs to stop telling people that they can use mag pumps with ETSS skimmers. A pressure rated Iwaki will blow the doors off the mag you're using. You can probably pick one up cheap in the seller's forum.This skimmer can easily pull a quarter gallon of skimmate per day. It pulled at least that on my 150 SPS tank. As stated, replace the bioballs, slowly remove one per day if necessary, and slowly tweak the gate valve. Oncve that's done...leave it alone.

 

[angelfish7]

I have a reef devil delux that im running on my 210 fowlr. The skimmer is running in sump with a mag 7. Started great but now has slowed considerably since last Sunday when i did a water change. I also dosed some food with zoe by kent. could the skimmers performance have been affected by the zoe since it seems to have a lot of oil? if so, what can i do to bring the skimmer back if anything at all? the foam column has completely collapsed.

 

[iamwrasseman]

thanks alex and i will look into a new pump .the Iwaki 20rlt is the correct one ? if it is i will look into getting one and also replacing the bioballs . again thanks man

 

[fishoutawater]

Here is the tank.

Here is the skimmer. The water line was set to where the tube starts to change color. The pump(iwaki70) was valved back to only about 60%.
I opened it to around 90% and lowered the water level to the top of the bottom cylinder, even with the first flange.

This is two weeks of skimmate. I hope that's a good starting point? Couldn't wait around too long to see how it would respond.

 

[jjk_reef00]

I prefer to skim a little more wet. IMO you should get at least 1 of those waste collectors every week.

 

[Alex T.]

iamwrasseman,

The Iwaki 20rlt is an excellent choice for the Evolution 500 and the 40 rlt is great for the Evolution 750. You will see a world of difference. Gary has to rewrite his direections for these skimmers. Too many people are using Mags for these and the performance is IMO terrible. Almost a waste of a skimmer unless a pressure rated external pump is used.

 

[Alex T.]

fishoutawater,

The optimal application is opening the pump to full throttle and having the water line 1 inch below the black box.....not up in the riser. Take a peek at AETech's website (superskimmer.com) and click on the ETSS 1000. Gary has a clear version showing the optimal water level down in the box. Throttling the pump back should really be a last resort. Is the proper drain size returning to the sump? If it's restricted/reduced to a smaller pipe than recommended then you'll have issues. Also, if the drain line returning to the the sump has an elbow, doesn't slightly decline or is longer than four feet...you'll have issues.

 

[fishoutawater]

Thanks again. I will be there again tomorrow to check it. The drain is 1 1/2" with a gate valve,... and 2 90 degree elbows to get through the cabinetry and into the sump. What kind of issues should I expect?

 

[jjk_reef00]

Thanks for the info AlexT. I've been on that site a lot but never thought to go to the 1000 for information.

 

[Alex T.]

Thanks again. I will be there again tomorrow to check it. The drain is 1 1/2" with a gate valve,... and 2 90 degree elbows to get through the cabinetry and into the sump. What kind of issues should I expect?

I believe the drain is the right size, but now I think we're getting to the crux of your problem. A drain with bends and elbows, etc. is backing up, then allowing flow, however subtle it may be. If you're going to have that long of a run and can't redesign it to empty on a straighter line back into the sump, then you're best bet is to tee off about 6 inches in front of the gate valve (which should be as close to the skimmer box as possible) and install an air vent pipe facing upwards. This doesn't have to be anything fancy. A piece of pvc about 10 inches long facing up from the T will suffice. Basically, this "vent" will allow water to flow more easily without putting back pressure into the black box. This back pressure can cause the water level to rise, fall and repeat with every rising foam head. It's an annoying problem, but easily corrected once you understand how these skimmers work. Air must be coming into the skimmer via the injector at the top of the tower, and have an exit point which is the vacuum created by the waste line to the remote collection cup. These two holes act to create suction that pulls foam up through the skimmer. If water cannot freely leave the black box at the gate valve setting you've chosen, this will no doubt cause surging and poor skimmate production because the water level will in the skimmer will never stay constant. With this added vent pipe, the water can freely flow back to the sump with the elbows creating minimal friction due excess air having an exit point out the vent.

I've probably encountered almost every problem there is to have with ETSS. My 5 rules are:

1. Replace bioballs yearly
2. Once the skimmer kicks in, set the gate valve and never touch it again.
3. Clean the skimmer cup and neck only when you can't see through it anymore. This is usually once every two weeks for me.
4. No elbows if possible on drain lines.
5. Always run pump on full throttle and make adjustments from the gate valve back to the injector. Running the pump at full throttle is the way the skimmer was designed to work. Throttling it back to achieve the correct setting is the wrong way to adjust them.

These skimmers are beasts once you understand a few things that can make them temperamental. Correct those and they truly are to be left alone until they need cleaning. Hope this helps. I really believe we've found your problem this time.

 

[MarineGirl411]

How do you all think these skimmers compare to H&S? I really love my H&S, but I do not know if my water is as pure and clean as it could be. I am either going to set up the 180 and will need a different skimmer or my 90. Please let me know! =) Why did they discontinue the ETSS 700?

 

[angelfish7]

so has anyone had any issues with their etss skimmer from adding vitamins such as selcon or zoe-con from Kent ? I spoke to Gary and he said to clean out the bioballs and may even need to clean the skimmer as it may have oil residue from the zoe-con. oh, and of cousre a big water change.

 

[fishoutawater]

Checked skimmer today, skimmate was double what was in there before. As much in 2 days as in two weeks prior, big improvement. Opened valve from all the way and lowered water line a couple inches below flange. I can't imagine foam getting all the way up lowering it to the bottom box with this pump. Maybe with the iwaki 100. If you look at the picture above you can see the 2 90's needed to get it through the cabinet. I discovered that the gate valve is leaking through the top and will need to be replaced. I don't know if I want to cut their cabinet up any more to eliminate them(90's) As you can see, space is really limited in this setup.

 

[SATAN FISH]

Thought I would post my experience with my ETSS Sump Buddy 60.

I was having problems with skimmers not producing enough. So I bought a sump buddy 60 for my 125g. At first it was producing a thick foam head. But that ended after about 3 days. Then it only produced a small bit of watery skimmate from time to time. After a while I figured its just cause I didn't have a heavy bioload on the tank (see sig below). Well, after reading and seeing other peoples skimmers working I noticed that all the down draft skimmers have the entire down draft column FULL of thick dense tiny bubbles. Mine did not do that. It had that only until it hit the water in the skimmer. Then they would not go down very deep. I read that these skimmers require a high pressure powerhead in order to operate properly. I only have a Rio 2500+ powering it. Plenty for most skimmers, but I guess not this one.

Anyways... Decided to play with what I have a little bit. Changing the gate valve didn't seem to do much. So the other day I decided to pull out all but three of the bio balls (only three left in the skimmer). Doing this resulted in a very tall bubble column. Just as tall as all the others I have seen, but still not as deep. Now my skimmer is producing a much thicker foam head constantly. Every time I look at it, it is producing foam. This has only been for about two days though so... But so far it seems to be working good regardless of water level and with a Rio 2500+ power head.

I am thinking that if you do not have a powerful enough power head for these skimmers, that you should try to remove some of the bio balls and see if that works for you. So far (two days) it is working for me.

 

[Alex T.]

I am thinking that if you do not have a powerful enough power head for these skimmers, that you should try to remove some of the bio balls and see if that works for you. So far (two days) it is working for me.

Satanfish, your concept resembles the evolution of the downdraft skimmer that has become the modern day beckett. Powerhead pumps are notoriously less productive than a dedicated external pressure rated pump. I believe the correct one for your Sump Buddy 60 is the Iwaki 40 RLT. The bioballs help not only in breaking up the water into fine bubbles, but in aiding water to "sit" in the downdraft column as long as possible. This is proof that your powerhead Rio is simply not enough pump...hence your use of less bioballs. You most likely had to close the gate valve considerably to allow foam to form because your current pump isn't giving the skimmer enough water to process quickly into a thick foam head. With the proper pump, you could easily process twice the amount of water and foam production would probably more than double. I run a modified ETSS 600 with a 12" tower extension powered by an Iwaki 40RLT. This skimmer is running my 150 SPS tank with a total water volume of just under 200 gallons. I consistently pull almost 1/2 gallon of dark sludge every single day. You have an excellent skimmer. If you really want to see what this skimmer was designed to do, the external pump will turbocharge your skimmate production way past your expectations. If you do upgrade to the properly rated pump, you won't regret it.

 

[angelfish7]

Alex t.
what would you say is the best pump for a reef devil deluxe if used in sump. My sump is not drilled. I'm currently using a mag 7.