Tunze nano filter and surface skimming

[Husky_1]

Do you guys have any suggestions for setting up the nano filter so that it provides good surface skimming.
From marinedepot:
the Nano filter is a perfect solution to remove the surface film

I have found that it does not surface skim very well, even if I take all of the filter wadding out. I have the water level about 1/2 way up the "teeth" and the flow turned up to max. Here are a couple of pics to get an idea.:

Thanks for your help,
Dale

 

[Husky_1]

BTW, the HOB is not on the system anymore if that would make a difference in your answer.

 

[rvitko]

All of the water the filter uses has to come in through the surface skimmer. I have found that if there is a strong surface current sometimes it partitions debris so it cannot cross the current to be taken in. For example I ran a 58 with a hang on overflow and several Hagen 801's (first reef set up many years ago), the 801's created a dam of current that left one side clear (near the overflow) and one side with surface film. I don't see any powerhead in the picture but maybe this is a possible culprit. You might try aiming any powerheads toward the filter.

 

[smatter]

My Nano Cleaner skims the surface pretty well. It works best if the water level inside the filter is about 1.5" below the tank's water level.

 

[Husky_1]

Thank Roger, it is the only source of slow in the tank and the pattern at the top does work into a good skimming environment. I took you first statement and thought about that some. I made sure that the bottom plastic piece was on tightly.

What I decided to try was moving the mesh bag from covering the grate completely to one side, then putting the filter material on the other. BTW, I do not use all the filter material supplied at one time. I was thinking that maybe the intake was somehow restricted. This still did not work well.

So then I just started messing with the little teeth, I ended up putting the cleaner at a slight angle this seemed to drop the water level a little in the cleaner, then it cleaned the surface within a matter of minutes.

That leads into what Smatter said.

Smatter, how do you control the level inside? My method was not scientific and I fear it will not be reproducible in the future.

 

[rvitko]

The bag of floss should be at least a dozen fills, it should be packed very loosely. The ideal is to set the level and then use an auto top off system to maintain it.

 

[smatter]

The level will drop as your water evaporates. It will require daily manual top off if you don't have an ATO.