High Tide Aquatics

Help with tuning Skimz Skimmer

Klems

Supporting Member
Hi all, the tank has been up for over a month now and I have transferred over most of my corals, inverts and two clownfish. I have a DC skimmer and it runs 24/7. It pulls out tea colored liquid from the foamy head... But i cannot get the thick stuff to come out into the collection cup. It accumulates in the top of the neck. Is there a way to make changes to get it to overflow into the cup without getting tons of liquid? Or do I just need to let it be awhile and let it break in more?

I am currently running it in 8.5" of water and the pump running at 100%. I have the gate valve almost closed( closing it raises the foam head and opening it drops it down lower into the neck). I also have a micro adjustment for the air...it is about half way closed. Pics are below...
 

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If you have the pump at 100% and the gate valves closed all most all the way for you to get any kind of skim, your bioload is probably too low. Skimmer is too big.

What happens if you lower you pump speed and open the air valve? Can you get a more consistent skim?

Usually this situation is a sign of too big a skimmer. You set it to skim dry but it does nothing then all of a sudden, you get a ton of light skimmate.


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It sounds to me that your skimmer is not deep enough.
I don't know the setup instructions for skimz, but pump at full + needing the gate valve almost closed implies that.

One trick is to put a layer of silicone grease on the inside of the tube on the lid.
The bubbles come out of the cone, over a bit, and pop when they hit that, and collapse easier.
But do not put grease on the skimmer cone or anywhere else.

+1 on being an over-sized skimmer.
 
8.5 inches is about right, my Skimz203 was at about 9 inches. I ran the pump almost off...at setting 2. I kept the gate almost closed, and ran a good amount of air. The water/air interface was about halfway up the neck. The skimmate was not tea, and not sludge, but it was good enough.

Don't sweat the tea color UNLESS you are just pulling water out of the tank. Really, it doesn't matter IMHO, as long as there is SOMETHING coming out.

Can it be too big? I honestly don't think so. It's a great source of aeration to the tank. If it is too big ... doesn't that just means it has pulled out everything it can?

The aim of the skimmer is to pull out organics, not to have nice colored skimmate. If more water comes out and dilutes it to tea color ... doesn't matter.

Honestly what you are really tuning is ... how often you clean it out. I actually prefer slightly wetter (light tea) colored skimmate because running it wet keeps the neck cleaner. If you run it really thick, the neck will coat itself with a sludge layer.

V
 
Yes, I had to raise the level on the sump a little higher and that allowed me to open up the valve a bit more.....and added 3 banggai cardnials along with more feeding...still running the pump at 100% though, but getting a darker skim now and it is not overflowing after water changes.
 

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Yes, I had to raise the level on the sump a little higher and that allowed me to open up the valve a bit more.....and added 3 banggai cardnials along with more feeding...still running the pump at 100% though, but getting a darker skim now and it is not overflowing after water changes.
What's the water level now?


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