Skimmer Help Needed!

[Hardy Reefs]

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?

This is challenging. The only chamber that stays consistent (without ATO which may could solve the problem) is the entry chamber where I have the filter roller. Between that chamber and the middle refugium section is a baffle that can be raised or lowered (currently all the way down) Unfortunately my drains are hard plumbed so my filter roller would be a PITA to raise up. The 3 chambers on the right fluctuate with evaporation together. Any suggestions are welcomed and appreciated!!

Currently my tank is about 3 weeks old with only 2 clownfish. So not much in that area to skim I guess.

 

[skrappy]

I'm of the opinion that your tank is too new to be running all that filtration. You should definitely research more and take my advise with a grain of salt, as they say 'lots of ways to skin a cat'. That being said If this were my tank I would raise that adjustable baffle in the sump half way up, get an auto top off setup in the last chamber with the return pump, throw as much live rock from a LFS into the middle chamber as I could fit under the water surface, I would take off the filter roller for now and add it back once the tank is dirty or full of livestock, I would put the skimmer in the first section of this particular sump raised up to the water level and settings I suggested before but leaving it unplugged for the next month and just use the filter socks it came with rinsing them out in the sink each day until its time to swap back to the filter roller. At the speed I would go, I probably wouldn't put the filter roller back on for 3-6 months.

 

[Hardy Reefs]

I'm of the opinion that your tank is too new to be running all that filtration. You should definitely research more and take my advise with a grain of salt, as they say 'lots of ways to skin a cat'. That being said If this were my tank I would raise that adjustable baffle in the sump half way up, get an auto top off setup in the last chamber with the return pump, throw as much live rock from a LFS into the middle chamber as I could fit under the water surface, I would take off the filter roller for now and add it back once the tank is dirty or full of livestock, I would put the skimmer in the first section of this particular sump raised up to the water level and settings I suggested before but leaving it unplugged for the next month and just use the filter socks it came with rinsing them out in the sink each day until its time to swap back to the filter roller. At the speed I would go, I probably wouldn't put the filter roller back on for 3-6 months.

I appreciate your advice and will probably abide by it honestly as it matches most of what i have read. So another cog in the wheel here.. I had to cut out the sock holders to fit the filter roller and and skimmer in the same section so I wouldn't have anything for mechanical filtration.. I have filled the middle section with the rest of the dry rock, but not sure that helps right now either as opposed to live rock.. I know I am complicating things the max.. Thanks for sticking with me through all of these issues!