Skimz skimmer club

So this may be a noob question, but I am not sure. When I turn off the skimmer, water shoots up from the venturi air tube and into the silencer. I don't remember my previous skimmer doing this. What is going on?
 
DamonG said:
Ah, got ya.. I have had that experience before.. Hmmnnn.. The center brace isn't pocket screwed? Usually the front brace is pocket in, just for this reason, but then, I've had some stands that weren't(one of the annoying reasons I started building my own stands).. Hopefully there are pockets in there, and that will make it easy..

And the two drains can be worked around, I had a busy that basically teed two drains to a larger single pipe going to the filter sock..

But yes, that 16" width is tough indeed..

From note 5
Click to expand...



I can't go 2 to one because my drains are siphon and the second is an emergency drain for overflow. It would mess up the siphon.

I'll take a look but I don't think they're pocket screws. It actually will require me to remove two extra 2x4 as there are two in the center on the front and rear that don't really do anything. But now that I think about it, I need to look again.

If it is pocket screws, would there be an issue with removing the support while the stand is under full load?


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c64b099be0ad897e506407511554ed57.jpg


This is after a day and a half of skimming on about 120 total water volume.


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itz frank said:
I can't go 2 to one because my drains are siphon and the second is an emergency drain for overflow. It would mess up the siphon.

I'll take a look but I don't think they're pocket screws. It actually will require me to remove two extra 2x4 as there are two in the center on the front and rear that don't really do anything. But now that I think about it, I need to look again.

If it is pocket screws, would there be an issue with removing the support while the stand is under full load?


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Click to expand...
Oh.. Ok got you.. Hmmnnn(on the siphon).. I don't know enough about the bean style personally to make modification recommendations.. So you would know better than more on that one..

And well, I will say this on the middle supports.. If the stand was built good, no.. It won't matter from the dimensions you gave.. Because when I first did it with my prefabricated stand, actually I was so afraid, that I cut 2*4 to basically make a temporary replacement.. I slid that in there, but off to the side, got one side in, and worked it from there.. But, with the diy stands I build now, those things are like tanks, so there isn't a concern at all if I need to remove the center brace..

And your skim looks good production wise! It's going to get darker(and stink much, much more) as it fully seats in.. But looks good dude!

From note 5
 
Again, amazing production from this thing. Didn't take a photo but the skin was 1/3 of the cup.


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I setup my 201 on Thursday night. If it wasn't too big to fit into a 5 gallon bucket I was going to run it with some water and vinegar. Instead I just primed it with a little neck slime from my old skimmer. Can't believe how quiet this thing is. I love the precise gate control for water level in the neck. It's sitting in 7 inches of water and I already have about a 1/2 inch tea colored skim. Looking forward to seeing what it can pull a week from now!
 
ReefChasing said:
I setup my 201 on Thursday night. If it wasn't too big to fit into a 5 gallon bucket I was going to run it with some water and vinegar. Instead I just primed it with a little neck slime from my old skimmer. Can't believe how quiet this thing is. I love the precise gate control for water level in the neck. It's sitting in 7 inches of water and I already have about a 1/2 inch tea colored skim. Looking forward to seeing what it can pull a week from now!
Click to expand...
Lol, it'll probably be full by then.. But awesome! Share a pic!

From note 5
 
Lol, you guys inspired me.. This is three days.. I took my pellets off, so am running a bit dryer than I normally do..
08fb6a41afa0942ccc762763013f3180.jpg


From note 5
 
DamonG said:
Looks awesome! Dark! How long did it take for it to start foaming for you with the skimmate neck trick?

From note 5
Click to expand...

The picture makes it look a lot darker than it really is. It's more like a green tea color. But I did open the air valve just a little more this morning and that helped it foam more in the neck. I'll take another picture when it looks like its starting to foam really good.
 
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to tune in this skimmer? I got the SM 161 to replace my SCA skimmer that dies and have tried getting this to pull skimmate for the last 2 weeks and can't get anything to pull. It's sitting in 8 inches of water. Can anyone with a similar model let me know where their gate and airline settings are? I have tried all different combos and nothing produces any good foam. My tanks nitrates have spiked and I need to get this worked out asap. I got this model since I am in the beginning phase of upgrading from my 75 gallon to a 180 or so. Can it be that it's too big for my current system?
 
There are some good postings on skimmer adjustment several hundred posts earlier. Myself, I have a monster sm 203 . I started with the gate and airline wide open, then slowly closed the air until I first heard a change in pitch in the skimmer. Its fairly low and you have to listen for it, and repeat the process several times. It works out that the airline is about 75% closed for my skimmer. Next adjust the gate valve to bring the small uniform bubble level up to where you want it. For me it worked out that the smallest bubbles were at the bottom third of the neck with the ever larger bubbles rising higher into the cup area . Hope this helps
 
dendrite said:
There are some good postings on skimmer adjustment several hundred posts earlier. Myself, I have a monster sm 203 . I started with the gate and airline wide open, then slowly closed the air until I first heard a change in pitch in the skimmer. Its fairly low and you have to listen for it, and repeat the process several times. It works out that the airline is about 75% closed for my skimmer. Next adjust the gate valve to bring the small uniform bubble level up to where you want it. For me it worked out that the smallest bubbles were at the bottom third of the neck with the ever larger bubbles rising higher into the cup area . Hope this helps
Click to expand...

Thanks. I appreciate the tip. I actually read through this thread prior to buying while I was doing research.

This is exactly what I tried when I first got it but it never goes past the small bubbles. No foam is ever produced and after a day or so of an adjustment i then adjust again. I originally had it going for several days and I fought the urge to tweak it and it just never produced skimmate. I get that there is a break in period but in the past I'd at least see the neck to start to get some crud in it and produce some foam. I just raised it in my sump so it's in 7inches of water. Maybe this will help. I am contemplating starting from scratch again and doing your said advicewhich is similar to the instructions. Could be that I am just being impatient haha but it seems that others starts working pretty quickly.
 
Is it possible that you have some residual contaminant in the skimmer or in the tank preventing skimmate formation. Have you tried a vinegar soak ? Can you slow down the pump to decrease transit time. Even if the skimmer is too big for the tank, with an established and now organically filled tank you should get foam production.
 
I'm running an sm203 on a 120. Had skim from first day and I'm in only 6" of water where recommended is at least 7. The reading on mine said to close the gate until the bubbles were just below the collection cup bottom and then fine tune with the air valve.


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Also, best skimmer I've ever owned. My phosphates have been slowly dropping on their own. Started at .21 and were at .11 on a Hanna today after feeding frozen. Me likey.


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I have a skimz kone sk184, looking for the collector cup drain cap. Tried BRS, but not a stocked item. any ideas how to get one, thanks.
 
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