Is my skimmer working properly?

[jbennicoff]

I am wondering if my EV120 is working as well as it could be. I have a 75 gallon mixed reef with 2 mocha clowns, a yellow tang, orchid dottyback, 2 reef chromis, 1 mandarin dragonet, assorted crabs/snails/cleanup crew; green bubble tip anemone; assorted zoos; pulsing xenia, duncans, etc.

I Dose Kalkwasser daily to replace evap; feed frozen/flake/or pellet 1x per day, reef chili every other day.

I have a Magdrive 5 attached via ¾" tubing through a gate valve, as I have to restrict the flow of the pump to achieve the required water levels in the EV120 (there is no valve, subsequently, on the output). The pump is placed on the bottom of the sump and the EV120 is raised about 4 inches off the bottom of the sump (water level is about 12" in the sump).

Performance seems pretty inconsistent. I am getting maybe 1/2" of black liquid per week. Sometimes there are bubbles overflowing into collection cup, sometimes there are not. My nitrates/phosphates are zero, but I am currently experiencing a hair algae outbreak.

Any thoughts? Should I place the pump higher to take in water closer to the surface? How much waste should I be expecting to collect with my bioload?

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Timber77]

i think you need a stronger pump, not a fan of those skimmers at all, but i do know they will work, you just really need alot more than a mag 5.