new skimmer break in question

[JMorris271]

I setup my RO 150 today and have it going and making white sparse bubbles right away. I can see they seem to be wet. There is not nearly as much discharge as I was expecting and surprisingly it is very quiet.
My question is what does the gate valve do?. At the rate the skimmerit is producing foam now, it won't be long before it is overflowing outside the cup.
There is a little black rubber cap that is on one of the holes on top of muffler. What is that thing for?



The foam is taking off.

 

[laga77]

The gate valve controls how much and how fast the water goes through the skimmer. You use this to tune the skimmer to control the height of the water in the neck. It will take a little of trial and error to get it right. The black cap on the silencer allows you to run a 1/4 inch tubing to the outside of your house to get fresh air. Without it the silencer will suck air right where the skimmer is. Getting air from the outside will help you control the PH because the air in a typical house has high CO2. Next time wash the skimmer first, there is oil on it from the manufacturing process. It only effects the creation of the bubbles for a couple of days.

 

[Sk8r]

Keep the water level at the bottom of the neck. That will dry out the output and give you darker skimmate and fewer cup emptyings---too wet an output can get to affecting your salinity as a runaway wet skimmer takes water out and your ATO puts fresh water in. Slow and dry is not only a work-saver, it's just better. On rare occasions when you want to skim something nasty like cyano dieoff, you tune it wet. Otherwise dry.

 

[PatW]

Also when I adjust the gate valve on my reef octopus skimmer, it takes some time, about an hour, for the skimmer to reach the new level. If I adjust it and expect an instant response, I tend to way over shoot where I want it.

 

[JMorris271]

Last time I checked on it.
It looks drier to me but I don't know about the larger bubbles burping. Should I close the valve down more? Also, Where is the dividing line between the whiter froth and the darker foam

 

[JMorris271]

This is where I am now. It bubbles up some then drops down over and over. Eventually some crappola will fall into the cup. So I am experimenting with the valve some
I'm not 100% sure where the neck is. I know where I think it is though

 

[TangingOut]

I notice two things. First, your skimmer looks to be in only 5-6" of water. I don't know the operating water dept for your particle skimmer, but most operate in a 9-11" range. I could be wrong or the angle of the picture is just deceiving.

Second, the water level in your skimmer is way low. The entire body above the bubble plate should be filled with micro bubbles and there shouldn't be build up in there.

You need to close the valve until the micro bubble line is in the lower part of the neck(the cylinder between the body and collection cup), but first make sure the skimmer is at the correct water level if that isn't already the case.

 

[JMorris271]

I notice two things. First, your skimmer looks to be in only 5-6" of water. I don't know the operating water dept for your particle skimmer, but most operate in a 9-11" range. I could be wrong or the angle of the picture is just deceiving.



Second, the water level in your skimmer is way low. The entire body above the bubble plate should be filled with micro bubbles and there shouldn't be build up in there.
You need to close the valve until the micro bubble line is in the lower part of the neck(the cylinder between the body and collection cup), but first make sure the skimmer is at the correct water level if that isn't already the case.

*By micro bubbles, you are talking about the white frothy area in the bottom ? Someone told me to keep the 'water level' just under the neck. I cant keep both the water level and the micro bubbles just at the neck.This is confusing for me. Help!
RO suggests sitting it in 6 to 10 inches for best operation.

 

[TangingOut]

Yes, if you look closely the white froth is a bunch of micro bubbles. The water level is where those micro bubbles stop and bigger bubbles start to form.

 

[gottalikesharks]

While your skimmer is breaking in I believe you should just run the valve open all the way, once it is broken in then tune it.

 

[JMorris271]

Yes, if you look closely the white froth is a bunch of micro bubbles. The water level is where those micro bubbles stop and bigger bubbles start to form.

Thanks for that info.

 

[JMorris271]

While your skimmer is breaking in I believe you should just run the valve open all the way, once it is broken in then tune it.

Thanks for your help.

 

[JMorris271]

Here is a wonderful thread about this subject


http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1997049