skimmer help please!!

[lanacane214]

i have been trying to get this skimmer to work for a month now,all i get is bubbles ,some foam for short time, not enough to fill the collection cup at all.its hard to control the water level if i set it to high it overfows,to low it just sits there for days,i tried everything any idea what im doing wrong?

 

[Jkedra]

what kind of skimmer you got?

 

[KathyC]

What kind of skimmer is it?
A pic of how it is set up would be invaluable

 

[lanacane214]

its a pm skimmer,you see where the water level is ?,it will stay there for a while then suddentlydrop down if i raise it to much it over flows

 

[NYreefNoob]

set it and leave alone, let it run a little to the dryer side of skimmate, never cared for those skimmers because of those reasons, there sensitive to feeding and anything ut in including hands

 

[mellotang]

I bet you that 90 elbow on the drain line in addition to the smaller pipe you have in there is creating too much back pressure

Try to use two 45 elbows or even better use flex PVC for drain line to sump

 

[Aquatic Life Direct]

we use the bigger model PM skimmer at our facility. Yes they are a pain in the butt to get to work the way they should. You can adjust the gate valve to get it to the proper height but only move 1/8 of a turn and wait 10-15 minutes before giving it another turn. If you turn it too much it usually tends to overflow.

 

[lanacane214]

i got rid of the 90 elbow and hooked up a 45,right away i noticed a difference.i was able to control the water level alot easier and the air intake stoped whistling.i think its finally going to work ,thanks mellow tang and everybody else