How come my skimmer works so much better when hung on tank vs in sump?

Mike01z · 04-17-2006, 08:35 PM

Got a Coral life super skimmer which can be a HOB or in sump, I have noticed that when i put it on the back of the tank I get a real nice frothy foam, When I put it in the sump its hard for me to get much foam at all without wet skimming.

What do you guys think? I really wanted to put it in the sump to make the tank less of an eyesore but if it works that much better up top I may just keep it there.

Casey · 04-17-2006, 08:36 PM

I dont know mine works great in the sump do you have a pic of it in the sump how you set it up?

VWD · 04-17-2006, 08:41 PM

Thats hard to say, I don't know why that would be the case, I have a coralife that was in the sump, no longer, bad pump and I changed skimmers, It may have to do with the way the water enters the skimmer, in the tank you have a constant water input to where in the sump if you have bubble coming to the sump via the overflows , It may reduce good water contact, I don't know just thinking something to that effect

Geoff · 04-17-2006, 08:42 PM

it has to do with the water pressure on the pump feeding the skimmer. i am guessing the pump is closer to the waters surface when HOB than in the sump, correct? needlewheel skimmers are very susceptable to changes in water level. it is a good idea to have auto-top-off if you plan on using a needlewheel skimmer.

G~

VWD · 04-17-2006, 08:48 PM

I guess that is could be it as my sump is at the same level all the time. I liked it but have not gotten a new pump, I went and got a new skimmerLOL

Brent Cone · 04-17-2006, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Casey

I dont know mine works great in the sump do you have a pic of it in the sump how you set it up?

Ditto! i run mine in the sump with no trouble!

Mike01z · 04-17-2006, 09:22 PM

Here is a pic, Ill get some better ones tomorrow of on the tank as well and the difference in skimate,,, but believe or not in the sump it is closer to the surface than it is when HOB,

This all came about because I got my new poisedon pump today and when I went to hook it up it did not pump water at all so I am kinda at a holding point until I get the replacement. The little giant was just to noisy to be in the main living room which is why I am switching that out but i have to admit it was a pretty powerful pump.

Needless to say I hung it on the back again and it is producing really dark/nasty Skimate just like is used to before I moved it to the sump. I was actually thinking about trying to lower it in the sump to be more like the HOB. And another thing I thought of is maybe it has to do with all the current in the sump and it being so close to the sump return to the main tank.

Geoff · 04-17-2006, 09:54 PM

it could also be that a lot of the DOC's are being collected by the wet/dry section. when it is HOB it has full access to fully laden water.

i have never heard of a Poseidon not working.

did you try plugging it in dry and seeing if the impellor turned. it will make a horrendous noise. if it makes the noise than you know that the only moving part in the pump is working.

it always surprises me how such a noisey pump dry can be so completely quiet when wet.

did you get the PS3/T3? that will move some water.

G~

Loverotties · 04-17-2006, 09:57 PM

It's being filter before going into the skimmer in the sump.

Mike01z · 04-17-2006, 10:45 PM

yeah I was pretty pissed about the poseidon,, I let water drain through it via siphon from the main tank and then just incase it wasn't being primed which did seem impossible I must admit,,,,,, I tried forcing water through it via some clear tubing and a maxijet 1200 which actually was able to pump water through it all the way up to the main tank.

I called the manufacturer and they said that the impeller must not be working but to be honest I did not know how to check that. It was REALLY quiet though when it was on LOL.

I got an RMA at marinedepot will see how this one works out. I only got the p1 pump cause my tank is so small, the little noisy giant was rated at less flow and if I turned it on full it would blast sand around in my tank even if I pointed the nozzle horizontally, pretty nuts that pump was but it was just too noisy for me.

So you guys think it cause its being filtered beforehand huh? I was thinking that the bio balls and the sponge are so new how could this be?

Give me some ideas on how to set this sump up before I get this thing altogether, The stand is really small and this sump being only 9.5 inches wide is the only one that would fit under there, I tried even a 10 gallon tank that I was gonna make myself into a sump but I could not even fit it under there cause of the way that back bar is.

xaoss23 · 04-17-2006, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Geoff

it could also be that a lot of the DOC's are being collected by the wet/dry section. when it is HOB it has full access to fully laden water.

G~

Thats what I was thinking....

Twitterbait · 04-18-2006, 12:48 AM

It may be that with the reduced workload on the pump having to keep the skimmer filled because the water level in the skimmer is going to be almost at the same level as the water in the tank. Or it could be that the skimmer fairy now sees you have one on the tank and so it can now work it's magic... i should go to bed now...

Casey · 04-18-2006, 05:21 AM

Must be the docs in the main tank humm let me do HOB today and see what mine does.

Mike01z · 04-18-2006, 07:29 AM

Hmmm I was thinking about what Geoff said earlier about the water pressure,, Since it is deeper in the main tank the water pressure would be greater, even if they were at exactly the same length the water lvl in the sump would not put as much pressure as the main tank due to the volume. So this would mean I should try putting skimmer deeper in sump or need more powerful pump.

Jeremy1973 · 04-18-2006, 08:16 AM

You may also want to see if you can raise the pump closer to the surface. I was seeing the same thing about low skimming.. one day while fiddling around, I moved the pump and as soon as I got it closer to the surface, it started producing more foam. A friend Craig also mentioned water pressure being an issue as to diminished air intake. Just my two cents.