Octopus skimmer break in

[Reef Ruler]

Hey

Excuse the newbie-ness but ive never used a protein skimmer before. I tried googling it but i couldnt really find any directions...how do you usually break in a skimmmer? I did read something about water level...skimming dry/wet? I will be running it in-sump and its a DNW 110. Im tottally clueless...any advice will help.

Thanks
Brian

 

[noboddi]

Running it in a sump is just fine. Most people just hook up a skimmer in their tank to break it in. Some people break skimmers in by setting them up in a tote (or something similar) and letting them run in a water and distilled vinegar solution to remove the production oils.

I assume the dry/wet refers to foam production. Skimmer foam is either considered dry with stable bubbles, or wet, with more water and bubbles that pop easier. Its never a good idea to run a pump that is supposed to be submerged dry

 

[azcummins]

Most skimmers like 8-10" of water. Some Euro-reefs like less. Run your skimmer with the bubbles reaching right above the bottom of the collection cup until it breaks in, then you can dial in.

They usually break in in about 3 days.

 

[Reef Ruler]

Thanks for the advice. You guys mentioned something about dialing it in...how do you do that? By raising or lowering the collection cup? Is that the same way you would change the wetness of the bubbles being produced? And what's the performance differance between wet/ dry skimmate?

Thanks for the help...I ran into some issues getting the sump to fit so I either have to cut a little out of the back of the a stand or get a different sump but the skimmer barely fits in this one so going smaller isnt reall an option. there's always the possibility of running it externally but I really don't want to.

Thanks
Brian