Skimmer Help!

[MurphysLaw]

I am cycling my tank and I just hit 14 days. My ammonia has dropped to zero and my nitrites just spiked and are starting to drop, while my Nitrates are up to around 60 PPM! So I started running my skimmer for a couple days.

I believe it is a EuroReef RS-80. It runs good. Owners manual online recommends 7-9" depth. I have it right at 7". The foamate sits right around 1" above the base of the collection cup with froth occasionally reaching the top of the neck. It seems most of the dry thicker accumulation of skimmate is in the neck.

My standpipe is adjusted all the way up as high as it will go. It began kinda surging with flow out the standpipe that was enough to cause the water to mushroom out of the pipe. I cleaned the neck of the skimmer thinking it may have something to do with it. About 12 hours after cleaning it did the same thing only it created such a large mushroom of water it was pouring out over the rim of my sump... Lost a couple gallons onto the floor before realizing. Thank goodness I was home and it didnt burn up my return pump.

So salinity and water level are all back to where they were before this mishap but I am afraid to leave the skimmer running when I am not home...

I can easily adjust the depth of the skimmer because I have it sitting on a simple riser, not sure what difference this will make but could be the problem...

Please help!

Thanks,
Wade

 

[MurphysLaw]

Fts

Fts

if you were curious...
I am very excited about this

 

[scubabum1983]

Skimmers have a break in period, even if it is used but very clean it can still break in. A couple things can be happening. It could be your bio load. You may not have enough gunk to really get a fully developed head of skim yet. Keep in mind as you adjust it, give it time to get the new water level and build a head on top of it. It takes time. Another thing that could be happening is I'd the skimmer went nuts it could be from any epoxy you used in your rock work. 2 part epoxy like aqua mend can cause skimmers to go crazy. On the reverse side of that is oil like the type found on your skin can collapse the head. It will recover, but if you had your hand in the tank, then adjusted it will give you a false sense of where your skim head actually is. You can also play with the depth of your skimmer too. Some skimmers have a sweet spot in terms of depth, it can play with your air water ratio going into the skimmer body. I just went through this with my new vertex alpha. It can be a pain but when it's properly adjusted it will make life easier. Lastly is that the skimmer will only take out about 30 percent of your disolved organics in your water. Bacterial action and water changes will take care of the rest. Considder a refugium in your sump to help things along and help down the road. I use chaeto and other macro algae to absorb nitrate and phosphate. It also helps get pods going. Good luck with the new tank it looks great.

 

[brettinteriors]

Keep in mind Skimmers do not directly take nitrates out of the water. A properly sized and adjusted skimmer should not produce skimate 24/7. If it always is producing it is either too small or turned up to high. It will go crazy often if its up to high. Skimmers can also be too big and not have enough bioload to produce a head.

You want it to produce when food is added primarily. I always recommend asking the manufacturer how high the internal water level should be above the external.
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[CT Grim]

I would let your tank cycle without skimming. I let my tank run for 3 months before I started my skimmer. By skimming you are removing the gunk that keeps the cycle..well...cycling. Your tank will still cycle, it will just take longer.

 

[brettinteriors]

+1

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[MurphysLaw]

Awesome info. Thanks everyone for the help. I will not worry about running the skimmer for a while, at least until after I get some livestock in there. I probably wont worry about the depth it is running at for now either and I will definitely run it at a much lower internal level for a couple days and very slowly adjust it up. I will on the other hand be looking into getting a handful of Chaeto to put into the middle chamber of my sump to help remove Nitrates. Thanks again.

 

[Dangerwill]

I like your rocks Wade good looking setup

 

[aquaph8]

Wade, check these out. They are great for that unexpected skimmer overflows and can save you that puddle on the floor. http://www.avastmarine.com/ssc/do/product/proteinskimmers/Davy-Jones-Skimmate-Locker

 

[phenom5]

Wade, it looks like you are missing part of your standpipe...I can't tell if it's just the pictures or not. Is there a "T" on the standpipe for the water to flow out of? Or does it always flow out of the top of the standpipe?

 

[MurphysLaw]

I like your rocks Wade good looking setup

Thanks Will

Wade, check these out. They are great for that unexpected skimmer overflows and can save you that puddle on the floor. http://www.avastmarine.com/ssc/do/product/proteinskimmers/Davy-Jones-Skimmate-Locker

Those look pretty handy but it is the standpipe that was getting crazy on me, not the collection cup/skimmer body.

Wade, it looks like you are missing part of your standpipe...I can't tell if it's just the pictures or not. Is there a "T" on the standpipe for the water to flow out of? Or does it always flow out of the top of the standpipe?

It is not just the picture. The water Allways just flows out the top of the standpipe. That is where it would sparatically increase the output pressure so much that it was flowing out over the edge of my sump. I looked on ReefDynamics site and they all have the T you are talking about... I just assumed mine was a much older version that didn't have that. I think my skimmer was a model from EuroReef(Pre-ReefDynamics).

 

[phenom5]

It is not just the picture. The water Allways just flows out the top of the standpipe. That is where it would sparatically increase the output pressure so much that it was flowing out over the edge of my sump. I looked on ReefDynamics site and they all have the T you are talking about... I just assumed mine was a much older version that didn't have that. I think my skimmer was a model from EuroReef(Pre-ReefDynamics).

Mine was pre-ReefDynamics also, here's what it looked like (excuse the dog...she felt the need to get in that picture ;D)

I think you're going to run into issue with back pressure building up which will cause inconsistent skimming. I would look into adding the missing parts. You want to make sure the outlet is above the waterline of your sump, and the top of the standpipe does not have water flowing out of it.

 

[MurphysLaw]

Cool, thx for the pic. I will see if I can make those with PVC or contact ReefDynamics about parts maybe. How do you adjust the internal water level with that setup standpipe?

 

[phenom5]

The upper part of the standpipe is called a wedge pipe, so the piece that fits into the "T" is cut at a 45 degree angle. You turn that pipe and it opens or close, restricting more or less water to flow out, causing the water level in the skimmer to drop or raise in the skimmer body.

Here's a picture I found that shows the standpipe in the half open (or half closed...depending on your perspective).

 

[Sonicboom]

I don't think you are missing any parts, that looks like my old euro reef I used to have, water just flows out the top of the stand pipe, the only thing you are missing is the filter sponge that catches the water on the way down.

 

[scubabum1983]

I have sponge if you need it

 

[MurphysLaw]

The upper part of the standpipe is called a wedge pipe, so the piece that fits into the "T" is cut at a 45 degree angle. You turn that pipe and it opens or close, restricting more or less water to flow out, causing the water level in the skimmer to drop or raise in the skimmer body.

Awesome info. Thanks!

I don't think you are missing any parts, that looks like my old euro reef I used to have, water just flows out the top of the stand pipe, the only thing you are missing is the filter sponge that catches the water on the way down.

After looking for this older style EuroReef on YouTube and google it does seem to be normal for the water to flow out the top of the standpipe. Thanks. Don't need to fix what isn't broke.

I have sponge if you need it

I lowered the skimmer to 1" deeper in my sump and lowered the standpipe all the way down and it seems to run a lot more consistently. I also think the "break in period" had a lot to do with my problems as I had cleaned the skimmer completely spotless. However the water flowing over the top of the standpipe is louder than my drain lines for my overflows, I bet one of those sponges would quiet it down quite a bit. I would very much appreciate the sponge filter if you have an extra laying around.