EuroReef Club

[phishlet]

Ok, so my 8-2 has been running for 12 hours. But the water level in the skimmer will not stay stable. It rises and falls a total of about an inch every 3-4 seconds. What is wrong?

 

[Lunchbucket]

do you have the gate valve mod on there? if so HOW...have a pic?

the level in your sump fluctuate at all in the skimmer chamber? provide a description of where the skimmer is at

could be something in the pump...did you take that apart and clean it out....also the venturi?

Lunchbucket

 

[phishlet]

No gate valve.

The level of my sump is nearly rock solid. It is monitored with a Ultra Life float switch. The skimmer is directly in the sump in about 12 inches of water.

There is nothing in the pump.

No foam has accumulated to this point.

 

[jnb]

so 12 inches is correct for a 8 series? I thought they were all 6-8

No gate valve.

The level of my sump is nearly rock solid. It is monitored with a Ultra Life float switch. The skimmer is directly in the sump in about 12 inches of water.

There is nothing in the pump.

No foam has accumulated to this point.

 

[phishlet]

I have not idea. But I did try lowering the water in the sump to 8 inches and it did not solve the rising/lowering of water.

 

[jnb]

does your outflow have a run free to drain or does water build up to a point and then let loose over and over again - make sure and also try to have the drain not be completely under water I guess this is moot if you are using the outflow as provided by ER

remocve your sponge and observe

show us a picture of your whole skimmer setup

did you call Euroreef

I have not idea. But I did try lowering the water in the sump to 8 inches and it did not solve the rising/lowering of water.

 

[phishlet]

I'm using the Euro-reef drain. About 3/4 of the sponge is underwater but 1/3 is not. Water seems to be consistently pouring out. In other words, it doesn't seem to be as inconsistent as the water level in the skimmer.

It is so strange. It's like the pump is surging. Think revving engine. It's like it revs up and then backs off. Then 3-4 seconds later it revs up and backs off. This is enough to consistently raise and lower the water level by an inch or more. It's like a wave... up and down.

And I still have no froth. Just a bunch of small bubbles and it's been about 24 hours.

 

[Lunchbucket]

no idea call ER

could it be in your house electricity?? or the pump i guess

Lunchbucket

 

[Jim_S]

Something is wrong with the pump. You have the RS model right? Take it back to your LFS, or call ER. 24 hours isn't enough time for skimmate. My RS took over 1 week to break in and my CS is just now starting to skim (about 5 days). Be patient after you get your pump fixed. It will skim, trust me.

 

[jnb]

i wouldn't assume its the pumps fault - my thoughts - because these are not the kind of pump that has that kind of problem. did you check out that nothing is clogged in the pump - remove the venturi, impellor, etc and check out disconnect from skimmer and maybe hook a hose to it and watch to see if it does this, do you see that when its making bubbles that the bubbles are varying like this or is the only symptom that the level changes a lot - did your drill it - and wheres the pics

Something is wrong with the pump. You have the RS model right? Take it back to your LFS, or call ER. 24 hours isn't enough time for skimmate. My RS took over 1 week to break in and my CS is just now starting to skim (about 5 days). Be patient after you get your pump fixed. It will skim, trust me.

 

[phishlet]

There is nothing in the pump. I have removed the impeller and the ceramic shaft.

Bubbles pretty much stay consistent. It's just the overall water level in the skimmer that fluctuates.

 

[crab0000]

Have you cut off the air supply to see if the pump still does it with no air being introduced?

 

[jnb]

have you modified the top to make an auto shut off have you - are the air holes clear on the top - something is building up - again push the sponge down so the water passage is clear - it may be creeping up the sponge to get out and hitting a point where it dumps - play with it -

Have you cut off the air supply to see if the pump still does it with no air being introduced?

 

[phishlet]

Well I woke up this AM and checked it and it is producing a small amount of foam now. The foam layer is about 1 inch high so I'm going to leave it alone and see if it continues to foam to a greater degree. I didn't change anything so maybe it is all just an odd break in period. I'll post back with the outcome.

 

[Jim_S]

i wouldn't assume its the pumps fault - my thoughts - because these are not the kind of pump that has that kind of problem. did you check out that nothing is clogged in the pump - remove the venturi, impellor, etc and check out disconnect from skimmer and maybe hook a hose to it and watch to see if it does this, do you see that when its making bubbles that the bubbles are varying like this or is the only symptom that the level changes a lot - did your drill it - and wheres the pics

If its not the pump (the mechanism that controls the water flow inside the skimmer), then what else would be causing the water level surge?

 

[jnb]

I believe and of course I could be wrong - but have asked for pics etc for naught - that there is pressure building up and releasing whereas it should be constant either something to do with the way the outflow was put togeather or something - I have asked questions but not getting complete enough answers to help so I'll stop and he can call ER - even though it seems to be producing all of a sudden (or starting to) no mention of surges this time - I give up

If its not the pump (the mechanism that controls the water flow inside the skimmer), then what else would be causing the water level surge?

 

[Jim_S]

That makes sense. If there is something impeding the return, then pressure could build up. I thought it was the pump because he mentioned something about reving and surging. Jim

 

[phishlet]

I believe and of course I could be wrong - but have asked for pics etc for naught - that there is pressure building up and releasing whereas it should be constant either something to do with the way the outflow was put togeather or something - I have asked questions but not getting complete enough answers to help so I'll stop and he can call ER - even though it seems to be producing all of a sudden (or starting to) no mention of surges this time - I give up

What have I not answered for you? And what specifically do you want pictures of?

 

[phishlet]

Also, I've called ER twice and received an answering machine both times. I pressed "0" (though that was not a promoted option) and was transferred to somebody's voice mail in accounts receivable. I have also emailed ER with no response yet and its been almost 48 hours.

 

[phishlet]

That makes sense. If there is something impeding the return, then pressure could build up. I thought it was the pump because he mentioned something about reving and surging. Jim

There is nothing in the return pipe. I have taken the pipes out (except for the angle that is molded to the skimmer body) and there is nothing in the way. I'm thinking it has to be the pump. Or maybe more specifically, the impeller not spinning consistently or at the correct speed. I've not added anything to the tank other than frozen food. But I'll probably try a water change tonight and see if that does anything.

Thanks for the help everyone. I wish Euroreef would respond to my email.