Hi,
I was recently given a LR skimmer, and I've never used a skimmer before and am having difficulty setting it up correctly.
Its a 24" model. Actually, its a 36" model, but I built a new shorter base to bolt the top on to as I didn't have enough room for the 36". But, function is the same.
I'd like to only run the skimmer part time, as my tank is only 55g, and the skimmer is running of a mag7, which is a bit noisy and sucks down the electricity.
I have the hose for the outflow set a bit above the level of the outflow in the skimmer, and have put a small hole in the plumbing to prevent it from siphoning. I did this because I want to keep as much water in the skimmer when not in use as possible in order to minimize water level changes in my sump when the skimmer is on/off.
When I turn the skimmer ON, with the "in" valve at 1/2 open, it immediately bubbles up and is very wet and will actually fill the cup completely with water if left unchecked. I wind up having to close the "in" valve almost completely down, and then can open it back up to about 1/2 and it will skim correctly. my outflow valve is running full open (3/4" plumbing). Simply running 24/7 isn't an effective solution, as I will still have issues after a power failure, etc. Ideally, I'd like to run the skimmer only at night when the additional noise won't be noticeable.
Thanks!
I was recently given a LR skimmer, and I've never used a skimmer before and am having difficulty setting it up correctly.
Its a 24" model. Actually, its a 36" model, but I built a new shorter base to bolt the top on to as I didn't have enough room for the 36". But, function is the same.
I'd like to only run the skimmer part time, as my tank is only 55g, and the skimmer is running of a mag7, which is a bit noisy and sucks down the electricity.
I have the hose for the outflow set a bit above the level of the outflow in the skimmer, and have put a small hole in the plumbing to prevent it from siphoning. I did this because I want to keep as much water in the skimmer when not in use as possible in order to minimize water level changes in my sump when the skimmer is on/off.
When I turn the skimmer ON, with the "in" valve at 1/2 open, it immediately bubbles up and is very wet and will actually fill the cup completely with water if left unchecked. I wind up having to close the "in" valve almost completely down, and then can open it back up to about 1/2 and it will skim correctly. my outflow valve is running full open (3/4" plumbing). Simply running 24/7 isn't an effective solution, as I will still have issues after a power failure, etc. Ideally, I'd like to run the skimmer only at night when the additional noise won't be noticeable.
Thanks!
