skimmer/powerhead placement???

[candian bacon]

I just built my first sump/ref. I have a seaclone 100 that is going to be placed in the first stage of the sump. My sump is tight. so the only way i can place the simmer inside the sump is to run the powerhead upside down. Does anyone see a problem with this? I tested it using fresh (no salt) water. I cant seem to get any bubbles. Even with the powerhead pointed in all directions. Im thinking that maybe because the water is less dense that its doing this?

Please respond? I might have a sump for sale otherwise. lol

[DAC]

hanah.. is there a an area on the intake of the pump that you can attach a hose to? I had a skimmer like that and had to attach a hose to the intake to create the bubbles, stupid hose kept falling off and the skimmer would not skim.

[candian bacon]

is the air hose is installed.

[mg]

I don't believe skimmers will work in fresh water, try testing in saltwater and see if you get the results you are looking for. Only concern in putting the pump upside down is you have a much smaller room for evaporation before the pump runs dry.

[candian bacon]

the pump will be in a part of the sump where the water level is constant. about 10" below the water. im thinking that it will work once placed in salt water.

[mg]

Did the skimmer work before you tried it in the sump? If so then running in saltwater should work fine.

[candian bacon]

yes it was working fine.

[aussiereefer82]

The powerhead itself will not created bubbles. You need an airline connected to the venturi on your skimmer to make it work. The venturi uses the force of the water going through it to draw air down the airline and mix with the water thus creating bubbles. A PH should not created bubbles by itself, it should be just water coming from the outlet. You are right FW is less dense than SW and skimmers dont work in fresh water, it also should not matter if the PH is upside down, mine is and it works great.

Also clean the venturi, it may be blocked with salt/calcium espescially if it has been out of the water and allowed to harden.