Skimmer questions

[Mike]

Hello everybody! I've got some questions regarding my skimmer. It's a used Berlin Classic I picked up a couple of months ago. I cleaned it all out, cleaned the venturi, etc, and got it set up finally last night with a new pump - a Surge 6000. When I first plugged the pump in, the skimmer promptly overflowed, and filled the collection cup with water almost instantaneously. I closed the venturi screw all the way, and it made virtually no difference. The only way I could get it to run without overflowing was by plugging the venturi line with a venturi adjuster doo-hickey that I believe originally came with an old Sea Clone skimmer I had a few years ago. I was able to adjust it with this, and it seemed to be working correctly. A couple of hours later, I checked on it, and the level of foam had receded so I couldn't see it anymore. I tried removing the Sea Clone thing from the venturi line, and it had little effect. I then opened up the venturi screw pretty much all the way. Now the level of the foam is below the collection cup so I can't see it. I don't really know if the skimmer is working at all, or not. Where should the foam be? Perhaps it's working fine, I don't know.... Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

Mike
:thanks:

[Michael_Lambert]

Mike! .. the Pump is too strong..

i ran the 6000 on the same kind of skimmer Paul seen it running.. you need to install a valve between the pump and the skimmer you are pushing too much water through!

[Mike]

Oh... Hmm... it doesn't seem too strong.... it did at first, but now it doesn't seem to be doing much at all. In fact the opposite seems to be true. Got the venturi wide open, and if I take the collection cup off, the foam is way down inside, almost at the bottom of the black tube the the collection cup sits on. I think there is something else wrong. I've got about a foot or slightly more tubing connecting the pump to the skimmer... perhaps this is too restrictive? It's the right size for the skimmer, but a bit small for the pump.... Thanks!

[pluff]

Maybe it takes some time getting broken in.As you said it hasn't been used in a couple months?I think the foam should be at the bottom of the tube just before the collection cup.

Also another suggestion is your tank,dosn't have enough crude to skim yet?

Best of luck!! :cheers:

[Mike]

Thanks! Maybe that's it... Gonna take it apart again and see if the pump is working properly, and that the venturi isn't plugged... But there isn't a whole lot of stuff in the tank yet... Perhaps it's fine! Maybe I'm just being impatient!

Mike

[kentracey]

Diiferent skimmers take different lengths of time to get going. My Aqua C Urchin Pro took about a week to "kick in", my Aqua C EV90 literally took weeks before it got going and once I got my DAS installed correctly it only took about a day before it really "kicked in". I don't know why particular models take longer than others, only that they do. I'm sure it has a lot to do with tank conditions too (how much bioload etc.).

[Sohal Tang]

ya...and my Aerofoamer took about 20 minutes to kick in!!!
ahahohaohho ROFLMBO!! Sorry guys..just had to take a shot!!!
hahoahohohohoa :roflmao: :) :D :cheers:

Tim

[Mike]

Hmm... it still didn't look like it was doing anything this morning, but I'll give it a week or so. Maybe I should just bite the bullet and upgrade it now to something better....

[pbutkovich]

Mike,
The Berlin Classic is more than enough skimmer for your 90. I would not upgrade to anything else right now unless you plan on a larger tank. Your Bioload is quite low now. Unlike most of us, you are moving nice and slowly. I wish I could take this advice more seriously sometimes. I can be quite impatient some times. :wink-grin

[Mike]

Yeah, I know what you mean! The slow progression isn't intentional, though, it's because my bank account won't let me go any faster!

[Mike]

Looks like I was just being impatient. Lots of nice dry foam coming out of the skimmer this morning!!

[Sohal Tang]

There ya go Mike your off to the races....
Good luck with it,

Tim
:)