Skimmer Help Needed!

[Hardy Reefs]

I recently purchased a Reef Octopus Classic152s for my new setup. This is my first time having a skimmer with a dedicated ball valve as all of my others have. Just had a tuning knob for the air tube. My problem is that at any height I run the skimmer, open or closed gate valve I can’t get the skimmer to stop overflowing or almost overflowing. The water just doesn’t slow down in the neck like I remember my old skimmers doing. I have been running it for a few days and just letting it overflow as some recommend, but I just want to know if I’m missing something. Any help is appreciated

 

[Hardy Reefs]

 

[Steve Burton]

Looks like water level is too high, you can either lower the water in skimmer chamber or raise the skimmer. I prefer keeping a higher water level in the sump, I use plastic egg crate to build skimmer stands in my setups.

 

[jcook54]

Oddly enough, I had the same thing happen to my Octo after running it for years and years. I do not know what happened but even with the valve wide open it would overflow. I ended up taking a piece of egg crate and cobbling together a small stand to raise it off the bottom of the sump 1-1/2" and it's running great now. The only other thing could be the air intake being blocked somehow. Try to piece together something that will raise it an inch or two, that should fix it.

Side note: Just in case a inch or two isn't enough, maybe shoot for 3 if possible. You can always lower it.

 

[Hardy Reefs]

Thank you both for the responses. I have some 1" pvc from the pipes I can use for a base and will pick up some light diffuser tomorrow and get something together.

I did a mock test and raised the skimmer up about an 1" or so and it definitely slowed down the quickness of the water rising, so I think it is going to help. I also think I needed to run it for a while as well to "break it in" so hopefully this will solve both problems at once. Will let you know if that fixes things tomorrow!

 

[Hardy Reefs]

Looks like water level is too high, you can either lower the water in skimmer chamber or raise the skimmer. I prefer keeping a higher water level in the sump, I use plastic egg crate to build skimmer stands in my setups.

Thanks for the reply Steve! I made a homemade stand today out of PVC and a ceramic tile. The water is just barely touching the inlet valve and it fills slower but still almost fills the collection cup up. I’m not sure I can take the skimmer any higher.

 

[Hardy Reefs]

This is the current level

 

[skrappy]

I don't see any water coming out of your gate valve, looks like it is clogged or you have it all the way closed. Clean it out and turn the gate valve to all the way open.

 

[Hardy Reefs]

I don't see any water coming out of your gate valve, looks like it is clogged or you have it all the way closed. Clean it out and turn the gate valve to all the way open.

Hi Skrappy!

It is almost impossible to tell from that picture, but there is a small amount of water being pulled in through the gate valve. Would it need to be submerged more than that even though the water is already overflowing at such a low level on the skimmer?

 

[skrappy]

Water should be coming out of the skimmer through the gate valve, not into it. Put the little black cap back over top of one of the air intake holes. I scribbled on your first picture to show you what I would try.

 

[Hardy Reefs]

Water should be coming out of the skimmer through the gate valve, not into it. Put the little black cap back over top of one of the air intake holes. I scribbled on your first picture to show you what I would try.

View attachment 80227

Wow… I don’t think I have ever showed my ignorance more than right now…. Please forgive me. Okay, update I cut the skimmer on this morning and this is how it has stayed. This is progress with the bubbles not immediately climbing up the neck, correct? I also don’t know where that black cap is that is over the air tube. Should I try to order one?

 

[skrappy]

I would just plug one of them with something, maybe a pencil eraser, piece of cellophane, cork, anything that won't pollute the tank if it fell in the water. Then you can probably lower the skimmer back down in the sump.

 

[Hardy Reefs]

I would just plug one of them with something, maybe a pencil eraser, piece of cellophane, cork, anything that won't pollute the tank if it fell in the water. Then you can probably lower the skimmer back down in the sump.

Thanks so much for the help. So since I sent you that picture, I haven’t changed anything but the foam level has slowly crept up to around the black ring where the collection cup slides in. Valve is still wide open. What corresponds to the height of the bubbles in the actual skimmer? I am afraid to do anything now since it is slowly working it’s way back up, but I’m theory shouldn’t the bubbles never rise up in the settings I have it in right now?

 

[skrappy]

The bubbles have to rise to get the nasty stuff into the skimmer cup. Leave it alone for a day and watch what it does. If you keep changing it a bunch it wont settle in and work. Assuming you have the gate valve all the way open, if the water in your skimmer cup tomorrow is still full and clear then you will need to limit how much air is getting pulled in, since you already have the skimmer raised up. If the water tomorrow is dark and not full, then you are good to go. If the cup is empty then you need to lower the skimmer in your sump or increase the amount of air it is getting.

 

[Hardy Reefs]

The bubbles have to rise to get the nasty stuff into the skimmer cup. Leave it alone for a day and watch what it does. If you keep changing it a bunch it wont settle in and work. Assuming you have the gate valve all the way open, if the water in your skimmer cup tomorrow is still full and clear then you will need to limit how much air is getting pulled in, since you already have the skimmer raised up. If the water tomorrow is dark and not full, then you are good to go. If the cup is empty then you need to lower the skimmer in your sump or increase the amount of air it is getting.

Wow! Thanks for the thoroughness. I have been messing with this thing for weeks and this is the first time I have had hope! So I haven’t touched anything today and am leaving everything like it is including the valve all the way open. I will report back with the results tomorrow. Thanks again for your help. Means more than you know!

 

[Hardy Reefs]

The bubbles have to rise to get the nasty stuff into the skimmer cup. Leave it alone for a day and watch what it does. If you keep changing it a bunch it wont settle in and work. Assuming you have the gate valve all the way open, if the water in your skimmer cup tomorrow is still full and clear then you will need to limit how much air is getting pulled in, since you already have the skimmer raised up. If the water tomorrow is dark and not full, then you are good to go. If the cup is empty then you need to lower the skimmer in your sump or increase the amount of air it is getting.

Good morning Skrappy! So here is a picture of what the skimmer looks like this morning after letting it run overnight without touching anything. When I went to bed it was around the black ring where the collection cup meets the skimmer body so it has dropped a little which I presume is a good thing being that the gate valve is wide open and the skimmer is sitting pretty high! What are your thoughts on this? Any advice on what should be next?

 

[Hardy Reefs]

 

[Hardy Reefs]

Quick update..

I had to add some top off water and that raised the level in the sump of course, so here is what’s going on currently:

 

[skrappy]

Your skimmer should be in a chamber where the water level is constant and not going up and down. If your sump is set up correctly the water level should only go up and down in the very last chamber when you have your return pump. For your skimmer to stay dry all night and then start overflowing that badly again today, I would say it is something you are adding to the tank. Did you pour your top off water directly into the same chamber as the skimmer?

 

[skrappy]

Also, if your tank is brand new and has no livestock then you won't be able to get a skimmer running correctly. They are there to pull out waste, and they can't do that if there isn't any in your tank.