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Setting up skimmer help!!!!! really frustrating...


jos3f

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Hey guys so I'm setting up my skimmer for my first saltwater tank. its a reef octopus 4 inch recirculating I'm plumbing externally. My sump wall was too tall so i end up plumbing it elbowing up and back down. Here's a pic:

 

IMG_0971.jpg

 

My issue is the water level rises WAAAYYYY too fast and fills my cup within like a minute. So I know absolutely nothing about how these work and I've spilled plenty of water trying to solve this problem. It's become a real pain... So my guess would be that having the piping elbow up and back down is restricting the flow too much resulting in the water to go back into the skimmer. I really hope there's an easy solution to this because I really want to avoid having to drill into my sump or doing something drastic. Maybe I could drill a hole in a certain spot to alleviate some pressure? Please help... thanks.

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The height of the water is being determined by the height of the outlet which is higher than the cup. Your going to need to raise the skimmer up so the outlet is above the sump and get rid of the elbow setup. You will probably need to shorten the standpipe but I can't see any reason it would cause a problem if you do so.

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Rick's correct there, the elbow that you have pointing up and have the band clamp on should be pointing down as the return not up- get rid of the clamped on piece and stick to the grey PVC only which means you need to raise the skimmer body so it will sit above the edge of the sump-I had to do the same, my skimmer sits on a a block of wood to acclomplish this

 

Hope that helps!

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Ugh that's what I was worried about hearing... I only have less than an 2 inches of room from the top of the skimmer to the top of the stand so raising the skimmer up to go over the sump is really out of the question. I guess the only way this is going to work is drilling the sump which is really going to be a pain in the butt since its already down in my stand with water... Well thanks, I guess this is one of those things I just learned the hard way... lol.

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oh well stand size would still be an issue because I just measured it and I have ~2.5inches of room from the top of the collection cup to the top of the stand and I would need a good 3 inches or so for the outlet to go over the sump if i raised the whole skimmer. but now that you mention it, couldn't I shorten the pipe below the T, if you see in the picture, there's about 1 1/2 inches of room between the last elbow and the sump wall. Would that lower the water level or do you think i'd still have issues?

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Cutting below isn't going to help. The height at the top of the outlet will still be too high. I actually wouldn't cut below it anyway since it is already set up at the optimum height to work with the skimmer. Unless you can put the skimmer inside the sump you may end up having to drill it then.

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yeah after sitting here trying to think things out I figured that would be easiest way and that way I won't have to mess with the skimmer design. Probably won't be too hard since it's an acrylic sump. Anyways I appreciate all of your help. It's good to know I can come here for some quick answers to any kind of troubleshooting.

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yeah after sitting here trying to think things out I figured that would be easiest way and that way I won't have to mess with the skimmer design. Probably won't be too hard since it's an acrylic sump. Anyways I appreciate all of your help. It's good to know I can come here for some quick answers to any kind of troubleshooting.

 

drill it, its very simple, use a wood hole saw bit and run it backwards. put 4-5 strips of duct tape on the side with water to catch the shavings and plastic. use a wet/dry vacuum to suck out any additional shavings. throw in a bulk head and replumb it. should be a 20 minute job.

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