Background:
Plain and simple: not enough foam (or skimmate)
I have tried the needle wheel mesh mod with 6 lb fishing line and bypassed the valve between the pump and inlet to skimmer. While the bubbles were great, this skimmer has two inherent problems: Low volume flow (water and air mixture) and too short contact time.
Here is what the CSS 65 looks like. Note short inlet tube. Bubbles start already half way up!
The mod: (obviously this requires you to have a sump)
You will need to cut the valve piece in half, keeping the portion on the pump side. It is 3/4" dia so it was easy to make this hole.
Without the 90 degree pvc, bubbles were coming out into the sump. Like all the other commercial skimmers, i need one in there
ready for first run, note I cut off that ugly and useless middle tube and blocked the opening
success! Some bubbles were escaping because it hasnt settled. The bubbles coming has been reduced greatly after a few hours of starting back up. My bubble traps takes care of the rest, if any.
Plain and simple: not enough foam (or skimmate)
I have tried the needle wheel mesh mod with 6 lb fishing line and bypassed the valve between the pump and inlet to skimmer. While the bubbles were great, this skimmer has two inherent problems: Low volume flow (water and air mixture) and too short contact time.
Here is what the CSS 65 looks like. Note short inlet tube. Bubbles start already half way up!
The mod: (obviously this requires you to have a sump)
You will need to cut the valve piece in half, keeping the portion on the pump side. It is 3/4" dia so it was easy to make this hole.
Without the 90 degree pvc, bubbles were coming out into the sump. Like all the other commercial skimmers, i need one in there
ready for first run, note I cut off that ugly and useless middle tube and blocked the opening
success! Some bubbles were escaping because it hasnt settled. The bubbles coming has been reduced greatly after a few hours of starting back up. My bubble traps takes care of the rest, if any.
