Skimmer Q&A Thread

Looking for a new external skimmer for a medium stocked 120.Need to replace my H&S,,just getting tired of dealing with the aquabee pumps and not one bit of customer service in the states anymore.
 
New Skimmer

New Skimmer

Due to limited space in a 10 gal sump I was using a Cad Lights PLS-100. I cannot get this thing to stop overflowing. It can work for weeks and then overflow. Makes a mess or dumps the gunk back in the tank, both unacceptable.

I recently upgraded to a 33 gal long sump and want to also upgrade the skimmer. I was thinking about a Reef Octopus NWB150. Is this a good choice or are there better ones in the $225 price range that will eliminate the overflow problem? Total water volume is about 55 gallons.
 
Due to limited space in a 10 gal sump I was using a Cad Lights PLS-100. I cannot get this thing to stop overflowing. It can work for weeks and then overflow. Makes a mess or dumps the gunk back in the tank, both unacceptable.

I recently upgraded to a 33 gal long sump and want to also upgrade the skimmer. I was thinking about a Reef Octopus NWB150. Is this a good choice or are there better ones in the $225 price range that will eliminate the overflow problem? Total water volume is about 55 gallons.

For $250 You could get the sea side aquatics es5 with a sicce pump. The extra $25 is worth it for the italian pump over the cheaper pump the nwb comes with. The nwb is a decent skimmer though and would work for you also. Food for thought.
 
I have just purcahsed a Seaside Aquatics CS5.5 skimmer. It ran without any issues for about a week. Now its Bubbling up like CRAZY!!!. i just added some live rock but i dont think thats it.

skimmer is stting in 9" of water, i tried moving it higher and its no better. vinger bath tried that as well, currently the skimer is turned off.

HELP please!!
 
I have just purcahsed a Seaside Aquatics CS5.5 skimmer. It ran without any issues for about a week. Now its Bubbling up like CRAZY!!!. i just added some live rock but i dont think thats it.

skimmer is stting in 9" of water, i tried moving it higher and its no better. vinger bath tried that as well, currently the skimer is turned off.

HELP please!!


most likely the live rock.

skimmer is just pulling out the decay/die off. every time I've added LR my skimmers pull hard.
 
most likely the live rock.

skimmer is just pulling out the decay/die off. every time I've added LR my skimmers pull hard.

I understand that, and i hope thats it. but it keep pulling clear skim into the top(when the bubbles turn back into liquid). the return pipe is pushing millions of bubbles into the sump. luckly its not being return pumped into my DT its just a bubbly foamy mess inside my stand. driving me crazy!!

is this normal? should i turn the skimmer back on and let it do its thing?
 
Just because the skim mate is clear doesn'tean it's free of organics. You can lower the level in the skimmer to keep from losing too much tank water
 
I understand that, and i hope thats it. but it keep pulling clear skim into the top(when the bubbles turn back into liquid). the return pipe is pushing millions of bubbles into the sump. luckly its not being return pumped into my DT its just a bubbly foamy mess inside my stand. driving me crazy!!

is this normal? should i turn the skimmer back on and let it do its thing?

you didnt by chance glue some of the rock, frags or put in a new filter sock did you?
 
I didnt use rock glue, as i was unsure if it could be used in the water or if i had to do it out of the tank.

i rasied the skimmer 3 inches and its still foaming like B****. this is seriously driving me crazy!

i pulled the drain hose cap off so the clear liquid is draining back into the sump. im sure this is not the best way to do this but i didnt like the idea of turning the skimmer off.

im questioning why i even have a dang skimmer. i hope this thing clears up soon. what bothers me is i didnt have any of these problems until i unplugged it to rerun my wires and also put the live rock in.
 
Open up the skimmer return as much as you can. Than let the skimmer run, if you put the drain tube going back to the sump the water will never get cleaned up. I know it can be frustrating I have been through the same thing with new filter socks
 
Open up the skimmer return as much as you can. Than let the skimmer run, if you put the drain tube going back to the sump the water will never get cleaned up. I know it can be frustrating I have been through the same thing with new filter socks

open up the skimmer return? i do not believe i have the option to adjust the intake or the discharge. its creating bubbles so fast that it starts pushing them back out the return.

http://www.seasideaquatics.com/?p=180

thats the skimmer i am running. im going to take it back apart tonight a vinger clean it.
 
the white vertical pipe should twist to adjust the water level. If that doesn't help maybe you can lift the pipe out of the T at the bottom until the skimmer settles down.
 
Due to limited space in a 10 gal sump I was using a Cad Lights PLS-100. I cannot get this thing to stop overflowing. It can work for weeks and then overflow. Makes a mess or dumps the gunk back in the tank, both unacceptable.

I recently upgraded to a 33 gal long sump and want to also upgrade the skimmer. I was thinking about a Reef Octopus NWB150. Is this a good choice or are there better ones in the $225 price range that will eliminate the overflow problem? Total water volume is about 55 gallons.


I'm in the exact same situation. Have a 35 cube, with a 10 gallon sump and a 10 gallon nano waiting to be hooked up. I bought the CAD because it was space saving and looked to be a high performing skimmer for the price. Nothing but problems. Everything that could go wrong with the skimmer has.
I'm currently researching a replacement. Thinking of the Aqua Excel AE Mini2. It's the same as the SWC apparently, just not as expensive.
Be interested to see what you choose.
 
the white vertical pipe should twist to adjust the water level. If that doesn't help maybe you can lift the pipe out of the T at the bottom until the skimmer settles down.

ok so adjusting that vertical pipe only changes the return from the skimmer. if i close it off the water level raises and overflows even more. it is set to wide open.

there doesnt seem to be adjustments that can be made to the pump feeding the skimmer, it seems to be sucking too hard/much.

so here is what i did, i raised the pump to sit in about 5-1/2" of water. i know thats not that much but it has kept it from overflowing. this morning i had a about 1" of dirty skim sitting in my catch cup.

here how it looks now. do you think this will hurt the skimmer sitting in this depth of water?

<a href="http://s1189.photobucket.com/user/roblee121/media/skimmer.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z426/roblee121/skimmer.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo skimmer.jpg"/></a>
 
skimmer

skimmer

sorry but black friday coming up. need to upgraded.
$400 to $500 range skimmer.
120g heavey load tank.
looking at dnw200 or sro-2000 ext.
I am looking at the ext skimmers.
I don't have the room in my sub.
Or is it cheaper to go with a bigger sub.
thanks larry
 
sorry but black friday coming up. need to upgraded.
$400 to $500 range skimmer.
120g heavey load tank.
looking at dnw200 or sro-2000 ext.
I am looking at the ext skimmers.
I don't have the room in my sub.
Or is it cheaper to go with a bigger sub.
thanks larry

I like the sro ext skimmers better than their in sump skimmers. A sro 2000 ext would be a great skimmer for a 120.
 
Kannon50: I dont think that depth will hurt it. as long as the pump is submerged and not sucking air should be fine. raising it up should help with the overflowing. skimmer break in could take up to a couple weeks. Also after cleaning it can go through a break in again. This is a common break in period and also after cleaning it really well with vinegar etc it can go through a break in period again, although usually shorter. just let it keep running, might have to dump the cup a couple times a day down the drain but it should slow down. remember to replace the water the skimmer takes out with saltwater.

Its odd the skimmate looks black on the edges there. Are you running carbon? Did you rinse it off? It could just be from the new rock. You might check the pump as well. make sure it hasnt sucked anything into it. check that nothing is stuck in the impeller.
 
Looking to buy a new skimmer I have a heavily stocked 90 gallon with a 30 gallon sump wil be upgrading later to 120 it is a sps tank looking to see what skimmer would be a good one
Thanks
 
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