protein skimmer problem

[bng.fixious]

hi guys, i got a 2nd weipro 2011 protien skimmer and i bought a new powerhead pump catalina 2200. the problem im facing is the water level inside my skimmer is falling and rising so on and so on. what's causing this? i do get some waste in my cup but i know this is not normal. and i want to get a 100% performance of my skimmer if this keeps up it's getting longer and harder to skim because of the water level dropping and increasing so the dirt foam also coming down then up so on and so on. please help...

 

[SkullV]

Is the water level in the area of your sump where your skimmer is situated constant? If not it will be very hard or impossible to keep a constant foam head on the skimmer.

Whatever it is you should probably get it fixed ASAP to deal with that outrageous stocking you have and the chemicals that your concrete hole in the ground is leaching into your tank.

 

[bng.fixious]

give me 10 minutes please wait for the video. ill upload it.

 

[bng.fixious]

i can't upload the video. its taking too long.

 

[SkullV]

A video won't help. You never answered my first question.

Is the water level in the section of the sump where you skimmer sits constant at all times? If the water level is not always exactly the same it will be difficult to tune the skimmer to produce a constant foam head.

 

[bng.fixious]

im uploading my video to youtube then ill post the link. to answer your question, yes my skimmer powerhead is in my POND which has constant water level because it is 2-3feet deep. i have a 85g DT, water drops to my SUMP, water drops to my 55g POND then circles back to my DT. now the skimmer powerhead is in my POND. if its confusing for you wait for my video to better understand my setup.

 

[SkullV]

im uploading my video to youtube then ill post the link. to answer your question, yes my skimmer powerhead is in my POND which has constant water level because it is 2-3feet deep. i have a 85g DT, water drops to my SUMP, water drops to my 55g POND then circles back to my DT. now the skimmer powerhead is in my POND. if its confusing for you wait for my video to better understand my setup.

If the hole in the ground is the lowest point in your system (it is) then it does NOT have a constant water level and that is your issue right there. The sump that drains into the cement hole in the ground DOES have a constant level so run your skimmer there if possible.

That is your issue. The cement hole experiences 100% of the systems evap volume and is making the water level in that area fluctuate. No need for the video.

 

[bng.fixious]

the water level from my pond is lowering due to evaporation however the powerhead is in the very deep end/bottom of my pond isn't it at constant level?

 

[bng.fixious]

at last, it's finish. here's the link http://youtu.be/pcDn-0iwBU4

 

[bng.fixious]

guys, please watch the video and kindly advise. here's the link http://youtu.be/pcDn-0iwBU4

 

[fishgate]

wierd. It is like the pump is slowing down. Also for future reference, right click your youtube video and click "copy embed html" and then just past it as-is in here. Then it puts the vode in the post.

<object style="height: 390px; width: 640px"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/pcDn-0iwBU4?version=3&feature=player_detailpage"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/pcDn-0iwBU4?version=3&feature=player_detailpage" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="360"></object>

 

[bng.fixious]

Hehehe thanks for the steps i didnt know that. It is really weird why its happening because the skimmer is skimming but it stops after a few minutes then skims again. It is a very good and powerful pump it is still a huge question why its occurring. Ive also exchange my pump to a new pump and its still happening definitely the pump is not the problem here.

 

[fishgate]

Maybe the pump is too powerful and it is cavitating?

 

[bng.fixious]

ill try a weaker pump and see what happens. thank you fishgate.

 

[SkullV]

That is certainly not an evap problem, but what I said about your concrete sump experiencing all of the evap for the whole system is true. I would consider that either your electrical system has problems or the pump itself is bad. That pump is approximately double the necessary size for that size skimmer but is likely closer to correct after the apparent 2+ feet of head pressure and 90 angle on it.

You have two of these skimmers running on the system? What pump are you running on the other one? Is it working well? If this is your only skimmer on that system it is grossly undersized.

 

[moondoggy4]

This happened to a I-Tech skiimer which is a in sump cone skimmer The problem was that the exhaust had a elbow on it forcing the water to go to deep, and that that was causing back pressure causing the skimmer to do exactly what yours is doing.

 

[bng.fixious]

moondoggy, what did you do to resolve the back pressure? did you change skimmer or pump?

 

[bng.fixious]

why is my skimmer still malfunctioning???

 

[moondoggy4]

It was caused by the exhaust (where the water leaves the skimmer) try chaining the tubing, make it really short and see if that makes a difference. The person who had this skimmer I-tech 100( I have the 200) tried to make his skimmer very quite so he added a elbow and a piece of pipe so the water leaving the skimmer went to the bottom of the sump causing the skimmer to do exactly what yours is doing. The skimmer was deigned so the water leaves the skimmer at 7 1/2'' or the same depth where the skimmer sits in the sump this caused the noise. You could also call owner of the I-Tech skimmers they are in Florida and ask him about that skimmer there is a huge thread on their skimmers on RC just do a search. Sorry I got back so late

 

[moondoggy4]

mailto:ichthyman@ichthythings.com that is there E-mail