HELP with Coralife Super Skimmer

[cowboyswife]

Its a pink tip Haitian anemone. My ocellaris do host it, and the female even feeds it. Its so fun to watch!! I dont have many recent pics, but here is one that I took yeterday.

These are from the first day I got it, but it was badly bleached. As soon as I got it into the tank, the clowns swam right into it! Thanks for the compliment, and youre more than welcome

 

[pbukow]

very nice

 

[mccarty30]

These t5's you got, did you order them online? If so do you mind sharing the site with us. They look like they are doing the job A+. Beautiful setup!

 

[mccarty30]

BTW I have the same skimmer. Watch it closely for it to fill up and maybe over flow but after about a week or so it gets alot better. And cowboyswife is right when you turn it off then back on WATCH OUT! Mine goes haywire on start up.

Also one more thing. When you take the cup off to empty it and put it back on watch it for a few minutes because if its not on there just right it will leak everywhere.

GOODLUCK!

 

[dodo99]

I've found that I can leave the water level in the skimmer to the lowest position. It skims dark and won't overflow if ever the air intake gets clogged.

 

[pbukow]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9414509#post9414509 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mccarty30
These t5's you got, did you order them online? If so do you mind sharing the site with us. They look like they are doing the job A+. Beautiful setup!

I've been looking around at sites for the NOVA setup and the cheapest i've found is at www.thatpetplace.com, it only has one parabolic reflector though instead of 4, one for each, not maximiing their true potential but cowboyswife's corals dont seem to mind though

 

[pbukow]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9414509#post9414509 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mccarty30
These t5's you got, did you order them online? If so do you mind sharing the site with us. They look like they are doing the job A+. Beautiful setup!

I've been lokking around at sites for the NOVA setup and the cheapest i've found is at www.thatpetplace.com, it only has one parabolic reflector though instead of 4, one for each, not maximiing their true potential but cowboyswife's corals dont seem to mind though

 

[pbukow]

sorry 4 double post

 

[mccarty30]

Thanks pbukow

 

[cplklegg]

I just got the same model yesterday and put it in my 20 as an HOB; Hope it doesn't overflow. By the way, HOW do you remove the skim cup off of the skimmer, it looked glued on to the rest of the body to me?

 

[cowboyswife]

To take the cup off, you have to unscrew the red ring until it comes loose.

 

[cowboyswife]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9414509#post9414509 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mccarty30
These t5's you got, did you order them online? If so do you mind sharing the site with us. They look like they are doing the job A+. Beautiful setup!

Thank you so much!! I got my lights from the lfs before finding out that we paid WAY too much for them. My husband got his from www.thatpetplace.com He spent a few days online looking for the best price, and they were the cheapest.

Thanks, dodo99, Ill have to give that a try!

 

[TonyOrlando]

I have the same model as well. It started of working great pulling some good stuff out of the tank then i turned it off to do some maintenence to the sump area and it doesnt work the same. I left it on for 3 days and it just keeps churning the water, no skimming or anything. Should i clean the needle wheel or should i have more patience and let it run for a longer period of time. Its a brand new skimmer by the way. If i need to clean it, how do i do that. Sorry to jump in your post, but i felt this would help everyone with this same skimmer.

 

[Joshua1023]

Check the hole where the hose pluggs into your pump. Chances are that the hole is completely or partially caked w/ salt. Poke it out w/ a toothpick and your golden. Also make sure your pump is as high up in the water as you can get it without making it suck down a whirlpool. That's usually an inch or so under the surface. If the pump is too low in the water it will not suck air. I have the 220 and that came w/ flexible hose. I don't know if the 60 is the same, but if it is you can always trim the flex hose to the level desired. As far as the skimmer going nuts when you change water or whatever, I think that will go away by itself after break in. The best bet is to keep the water level constant. If the pump is deeper in the water it will pump stronger because it is not pulling in as much air. Also they have found that putting an airline valve inline, opened fully will allow for a more constant performance. I chose to mesh-mod my pump and that took care of it for me.hth

One more thing, make sure that the output to the skimmer ends sort of suspended above the foam for the bubble diffuser. You want it about an inch or so above the white padding in the diffuser.

 

[stanlalee]

9 times out of 10 when it overflows its due to salt build up where the airline connects to the strainer (as stated above). Even when it looks clean the hole is deep enough where it may not be completely. I broke a plastic toothpick in it trying to clean it out and had to drill it out with a rotary dremel. That turned out to be the best thing I ever did. Bored it out a little (not on purpose) and hasn't clogged and is less sensetive than it used to be. I can actually top off a significant amount of water to my sump in the morning without worrying about it overflowing.
The 1rst time it overflowed I was sleep and it probably did $1000's worth of damage to my hardwood floor. I told my wife it must be the weight of the tank that pushed some of the wood up tehe. That worked until she got a second opinion from her step father :bum:

 

[jellis_38]

Mine is now in a pile in the corner. Erupted
like a volcano, almost got me killed. That God for GFI's

 

[Chris Clark]

I had a superskimmer 220 and I didnt like it, I would say the best hang-on skimmer for the money are the aquac skimmers, and in the same price range for the in sump skimmers Id go with an ASM or Octopus. I have an ASM G3 now and its great and my buddy runs the octopus 200 I think and it works well to.

 

[Joshua1023]

I have to agree w/ Chris as far as finding a better skimmer for in sump use at a reasonable price. If you are like me and have minimal space in sump for a skimmer the CSS is the way to go. You should just buy it w/ eyes wide open and know that you will have to be careful w/ adjustments until you get the hang of it.

 

[schristi69]

Do a gate valve mod and leave the big red knob on the skimmer wide open. Mine has become much less finecky since I added the valve. Much finer control.

 

[Kanicky]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9422513#post9422513 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by schristi69
Do a gate valve mod and leave the big red knob on the skimmer wide open. Mine has become much less finecky since I added the valve. Much finer control.

And how would I do a gate valve mod? Any point in the right direction would be oh-so-wonderful!