skimmer setup secrets?

[Graham_f]

I have been using my Eshopps psk 100 for about a year now, i can never seem to get it to function great. Its always a super wet skim (like 5 gallon bucket a week!) or so dry nothing really makes it into the collection cup, it just sticks to the top of the bubble tube.

its sitting in a stable 9" of water, Ive replaced the pump due to a malfunction about 3 months ago. Its cleaned monthly and the collection cup is emptied once a week...or by the hour when its acting up
Its to the point that i have overflow buckets setup in case it freaks out while i'm at work and more than a few times i have come home to them full and my tank salinity way out of wack due to the ato working overtime.

there seems to be no middle ground. A extremely small adjustment one way or another make it pretty much useless. I know its not a fancy skimmer... am i just expecting too much for this piece of junk?

any secrets? I'm sure my corals would appreciate a little clean stable water for once

[jason604]

Wow 5 gal bucket a week is way too much man that's more like a spill than a skim. I do 1 2L pop bottle every 2-3 weeks and that's already a lot. What size is ur system?

[pinkreef]

Epoxy makes a skimmer run wet (unuseable) i have an eshopps and epoxy is the only thing that makes it act up i get a 1/4" of dark skim mate in a few days 72 gal tank well stocked

[The Guy]

I just got an Vertex Omega 150 and OMG it's the most awesome skimmer ever, very quiet & easy to adjust, I get about 2 cups a week of almost black gross smelling skimmate. I was running a Bubble Magus 155 before and it was very good as well, but my wife bought the Vertex for me at Xmas and it's great.

[FishyFishy!]

I hate to say it, but Eshopps skimmers are extremely tempermental like that, and are well known for the wet skim. I have owned 2 in my days, and neither of them ever stayed consistant.

As far as filling a 5G bucket..... I would rather see the thing overflow back into the tank than have that much salinity swing. Ditch the bucket and let if overflow into the sump.

AND... look for a better skimmer. Dosn't have to be soon, but lerk on the F/S forum and you'll eventually find a better deal.

[Graham_f]

ya, the bucket thing has only happened a few times. I normally am more cautious and try to keep it on the dry side rather than overflowing. (on the bright side, water changes are not required as often
At best i get some gunk in at the top of the tube, and some tea water in the cup. Never anything dark.
My tank is a 60g with a light bio load... two blue chromis and and a maroon clown along with the coral and cleanup crew. Maybe i just don't have enough waste being produced to make darker skim?

either way, I have never seen any side effects from the salinity swings. maybe slower growth but even my sps has been doing quite well with new growth tips all the time.
I'm afraid to mess with it when it seems to be working...sometimes.

[makana]

I've had two eshopps skimmers and they both where fairly easy to adjust but require very small adjustments. I find them very sensitive to changes. If I stick my hand in the tank it kills it for about an hour. If I stir up a bunch of detritus when cleaning it will overflow like crazy. The first one I hade would get salt buildup in the venturi and overflow when the air intake became partially blocked. The new never has that, don't know why.

I also find that it seems like because my bio load it so light for the size of skimmer that it is difficult to get great results. But it also isn't a high end skimmer.

[mr.wilson]

You get what you pay or with smaller skimmers. Having said that, Sicce pumps are pretty much the best for a small skimmer (other than an air stone). Adding an air pump and wood air diffuser is one way to make drier foam. Raising the salinity to 1.026 will also help. It sounds like 9" is too deep for it to function properly. Try 7 or 8" and you should see drier foam. I assume you have inspected the needle wheel to be sure it is free of debris. The air intake needs to be cleaned with hot water and a toothpick to break-up salt that crystallizes where water and air meet.

[Graham_f]

so a funny thing happened... when i had a minor tank emergency i moved my entire sump setup into a extra 36x19x19 tank i had while i replaced the cracked and leaking old sump.

while in the panic i just tossed my skimmer in without worrying about its water depth. I figured some skimming was more important than nothing, but to my surprise...it pulled the darkest thickest skimmate that it ever has! i have to clean the cup every three days now instead of a week to 10 days.
in fact its working so well when i got the new tank setup, ive put it back in the same way and its working fantastic sitting in 18" of water. i was looking for a replacement but i think ill just keep it now.

I'm not complaining, but its kinda weird hey?

[neoh]

maybe try adjusting the water level in your sump?