ASM G3 Skimmer Help

[AquaDan]

I just turned on the skimmer about 45 minutes ago. Seems to be running ok but I'm not sure. Its sitting in 11 inches of water. I've read a lot of posts where people had trouble running it in as little as 8" of water. The skimmer cup seems to filling up at a quick pace considering its only been on for less than an hour. I was wondering if you could take a lot at my pics and give me some feedback. At this pace it would seem that I'd have to empty the cup by the end of the day instead of once a week as I had expected.

Thanks a lot.

 

[leeit2me]

I say you need to raise it more and how about adusting the output pipe by raise and lowering it? Or if you want fine tune it more, you can put a gated valve at the output pipe.

 

[AquaDan]

I say you need to raise it more and how about adusting the output pipe by raise and lowering it? Or if you want fine tune it more, you can put a gated valve at the output pipe.

Thanks for the reply. I've messed around with the adjuster tube but I have no idea if I'm making positive adjustments or not. I made some platforms out of eggcrate if I need to raise it a few inches but for now i'm just running it as is to see how things go.

 

[duke62]

its not skimming the tank from what i see in the pics. Water is clear in the skimmer cup. Find out water the height is supposed to be and make a sturdy platform out of eggcrate and PVC

 

[AquaDan]

its not skimming the tank from what i see in the pics. Water is clear in the skimmer cup. Find out water the height is supposed to be and make a sturdy platform out of eggcrate and PVC

Thanks for the feedback Duke. I guess I'm gonna have to raise it a few inches.

 

[rickytr23]

Here is a helpfull site http://skimmerfootprints.com/

 

[AquaDan]

Here is a helpfull site http://skimmerfootprints.com/

Thanks Ricky!

 

[rickytr23]

no problem man

 

[NYreefNoob]

no more then 8.5 depth. and push the pipe all the way down and leave it alone, constantly messing with it makes it hard to dial in, and a gate valve mod does wonders for that skimmer and makes dialing it alot easier

 

[AquaDan]

no more then 8.5 depth. and push the pipe all the way down and leave it alone, constantly messing with it makes it hard to dial in, and a gate valve mod does wonders for that skimmer and makes dialing it alot easier

Thanks man. I'm curious about that gate valve mod. I found a guide on RC that tells you to run it with the pipe down for half a day and then gradually raise it until the bubbles are about 1/2 inch from the top of the cup so thats what i'm trying at the moment.

 

[dbriceno]

I have the same skimmer with it's output pipe about where yours is. If you are getting too much clear water lower the pipe. I've noticed sometimesa contiminate in the tank will cause clean water to bubble up extra high. (ie using epoxy clay on a coral frag in the tank or using a brand new filter sock that has not been thoroughly rinsed). It should self correct within a day. Then adjust the output pipe accordingly. I keep the bubbles a couple inches below the top of the cup. You need to experiment.

 

[NYreefNoob]

smaller bubbles should start to break just below where the cup attaches

 

[RFADCT]

Unplug. Lift valve all the way up and plug in skimmer. Immediately put valve down and you should be good. Lift a little at a time to get desired bubbles

 

[AquaDan]

Update on the skimmer... Looks like its starting to pull some gunk but I'm wondering if it should be more solid and less liquid. Keep in mind that I don't have any life in the tank yet and am currently experiencing a Diatom bloom. Please check out my pics. Is this still just the breaking in phase? Skimmer has been running since 4/6/13.

 

[drej424]

I have the same skimmer in my 150 reef & my 215 FOWLR. The gunk from my skimmer is much thicker and darker. How often are you emptying the collection cup? Can you lower the bubble level anymore to get less water?
IME diatom blooms always happen when I start a new tank as part of the cycling phase. If you have no corals in there yet, you can leave the lights off and that should help move it along. Also, increasing the flow can help. Enjoy!

 

[AquaDan]

I have the same skimmer in my 150 reef & my 215 FOWLR. The gunk from my skimmer is much thicker and darker. How often are you emptying the collection cup? Can you lower the bubble level anymore to get less water?
IME diatom blooms always happen when I start a new tank as part of the cycling phase. If you have no corals in there yet, you can leave the lights off and that should help move it along. Also, increasing the flow can help. Enjoy!

Thanks Dre. I emptied it last Saturday. I'm sure I can lower it more but I've been trying to keep the bubbles about 1/2 inch from the top of the cup. How close to the top do you keep yours?

 

[drej424]

I keep mine lower than that, about 2" from the top of the cup. But if that's the skim you got for an entire week, then I don't think you need to adjust it. You're not losing too much water and you are pulling out gunk. Some people don't run a skimmer at all until there's livestock in the tank.

 

[HanKami]

Here's some pictures of my skimmer I Frankensteined to work the way I wanted. I had problems with my skimmer of it not being consistent, I seen a lot of mods for our skimmer and made a basic mod that works great for my new set up(home depot 5 dollars). I keep the bubbles in the neck of the collection cup 1/3 of the way, and the water level 1 to 2 inches above the pumps feeder neck. Here is some picks( water level is low in picture)

 

[mu8st7ang]

I run mine in less than 11 inches of water and everyday i have about 1/3 of it filled with skimate not water.

 

[AquaDan]

I just did a 15 percent water change, swapped out my filter socks and cleaned out the skimmer cup but when I turned the skimmer back on it started pouring all this clear foam into the cup and now i've got these micro bubbles spilling out into the sump. WTF?????

I didn't touch a thing on the skimmer except for removing and cleaning out the cup. Rinsed with hot water and wiped off the gunk using a paper towel.

I even tried running it with the pipe all the way down and its still doing this. Anyone experience this before?