How deep is your skimmer in water?

[Petercar (RIP Dec 2017)]

for all yu guys that have in sump skimmers...how deep is your skimmer in water?..when yu shut off pumps  the water rises in your sump?....does it overflow your skimmer cup with water?...do you shut off your skimmer to when feeding?..can yu raiise the skimmer out of the water a few inchs by using egg crate?...and when yur feeding the cup still overflow?

 

[reeffreak]

Re: question of the day

water in the skimmer section is as high as it needs to be depedning on your skimmer working hieght mines 9 inch .... the skimmer will overflow if the water gets higher then where it should be at running .  when i feed my skimmer doesnt over and i dont take it offline . techinically the only time the sump will shut down is when theres a power outage and that would mean the skimmer wouldnt be running anyways .

 

[teebone110]

Re: question of the day

my water level for my skimmer is about 7-8 inches, it doesnt overflow when I feed, usually the opposite. It drops when I feed things like oyster feast, etc. I have it programmed to shut off through my apex when my pump loses power to prevent overflow.

 

[TORX]

Re: question of the day

My frag tank has 2 power set ups, one for the frag tank lights, and the other is for the sump with pumps, heater, reactors and skimmer. When I shut down the sump, the skimmer does not overflow, when I turn it back on, the water level drops quick enough that the skimmer does not overflow.

 

[Petercar (RIP Dec 2017)]

Re: question of the day

do you guys shut off powerheads and the return pump when feeding?

 

[teebone110]

Re: question of the day

do you guys shut off powerheads and the return pump when feeding?

just my mp40s get switched to feed mode

 

[Darryl_V]

Re: question of the day

Only if im feeding pellets....cause they sink if the fish cant get them on the first attempt.

 

[davesolo29]

Re: question of the day

strangely enough i was just wondering the same thing.
i have never shut any pumps off for feeding before, but was considering putting them all on one powerbar so that i could do it easily.  i was also wondering if i should put the skimmer on this powerbar.

 

[Darryl_V]

Re: question of the day

Personally I have my powerheads and wavebox on one switch and I love being easily able to turn the flow off.....I dont even have to bend over.  Its makes looking at them from above easy, also good for over the top photography.....easier to frag with no flow and easier to feed pellet.  Also remember I dont have a very power return pump so that stays on which is good cause I sometimes forget to turn the flow back on.  Also skimmer always stays on....I have mentioned it before but it has startup problems and I dont want to stop that thing.

 

[davesolo29]

Re: question of the day

i just changed all the plumbing in my overflow.  much quieter now.  need to change to a less powerfull return pump as i have a valve almost completely restricting the flow on my mag 18.  so i figure it will only be wavebox and mp40s that get shut off for feeding once i get a new pump.  looking at the water blaster 3000.  750gph

 

[Darryl_V]

Re: question of the day

Just make sure you account for head height......

 

[spyd]

Re: question of the day

Yah, that HY 3000 is probably a little too small. The HY5000 may be the best option there. You can all ways plumb your reactors off of it as well to cut the flow down a little in the tank. I can tell you that pump will run a 100 x more quiet than that mag pump! They are all most dead silent! I love it.

As for the feeding question, I shut off my wavebox and powerheads when feeding. I leave my return pump on though. I all ways leave my skimmer on, unless I am feeding Cyclopeez. I find cyclopeez gets picked up too easily from the skimmer so I turn it off for an hour or so after I feed it. Fish food breaks down the bubbles in your skimmer so it should never overflow when feeding.

Using eggcrate to lift your skimmer is completely fine. I ran my sump on my old system at 9" and my skimmer ran best at 5". I just built a stand using eggcrate and PVC pipe legs.

 

[Duke]

Re: question of the day

i shut my skimmer off whenever i shut my return pump down, if i didnt do that the sump level raises about 3" and that would make my skimmer overflow almost instantly.

 

[unibob]

question of the day

I never shut off anything. And when I do shut off my return pump, my skimmer shuts off too as its ran of the same mag18 that does return.

 

[yveterinarian]

Re: question of the day

I shut off my return pump but leave all powerheads and the skimmer running.  My skimmer is in about 10-12" of water and so far is running well.  I know I should raise the skimmer but haven't gotten around to it.  It still churns out lots of dark skimmate and the cup doesn't overflow when the return pump is off.

 

[Petercar (RIP Dec 2017)]

Re: question of the day

Do you have yur skimmers  in the same baffle side ?... If its yes yur skimming the same water agin ?...or do yu have a outlet piping from the skimmer into another baffle side ?

 

[Duke]

Re: question of the day

my skimmer is in the section of the sump that my returns dump into, the water doesnt stay in that section long as my return pump is constantly circulating the water.

 

[pulpfiction1]

Re: question of the day

i don't shut off my powerheads when feeding,i do shut my skimmer off at night with my lights and yes the water level rises and over flow issues with my skimmer are non existant,my skimmer can be used internally or externally,guess i havent finished my first coffee,just notied the in-sump thing

 

[yveterinarian]

Re: question of the day

Do you have yur skimmers  in the same baffle side ?... If its yes yur skimming the same water agin ?...or do yu have a outlet piping from the skimmer into another baffle side ?

My sump is set up a little differently than others.  My baffle is just an area to hold rocks away from the pump and the skimmer.  The baffle also has many little holes in it to allow for free water flow between the 2 sides.  When I am feeding, I turn off the main return pump and keep the skimmer going.  Yes, at this point it is only skimming the water in the sump but I don't turn it off because I used to have issues with getting it turned back on again.  Once the pump comes back on, it is once again skimming all of the water that passes through the sump.

 

[dale]

Re: question of the day

water in the skimmer section is as high as it needs to be depedning on your skimmer working hieght mines 9 inch .... the skimmer will overflow if the water gets higher then where it should be at running .  when i feed my skimmer doesnt over and i dont take it offline . techinically the only time the sump will shut down is when theres a power outage and that would mean the skimmer wouldnt be running anyways .

+1 except mine is 8in