Help With Used Coralife Skimmer

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mrbee2828

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Aug 1, 2011
Messages
776
Location
Virginia Beach, VA
Many of you are following my first SW garage build which is on a budget right now until things get going. I purchased a big pile of stuff from a guy on CL to get started. One of those things was a junky Coralife skimmer.

I'm trying to get it installed today and I'm missing a few parts and I'm not sure about others. First up I"m missing the output box. I have read about some DIY modes to this for better performance, but was wondering if anyone had done it before. It doesn't make to much sense to me. http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=112079 In short... it's just water output and a filter to help reduce bubbles in the tank? I was thinking about using some 3/4" pvc I have and some poly fill in it with a zip tie to get it going. Thoughts?
 
The other issue is this air silencer. I'm not sure where it goes. I got a PDF copy of the manual, and while they show it in the parts list, they never show it on the install diagrams. Where does this go? Does the air intake attach to this part on the output tube? Does it just need to be above water somewhere? I'm confused...

sump-018.jpg
 
The air silencer goes on the air inlet for the skimmer and just hangs outside the tank or sump. It will have two nipples and it doesn't matter which one you use.

You are correct; the outlet box's only purpose is to cut down on bubbles entering the display or sump. I'd try a foam block for an Aquaclear filter myself.

I think the little nipple on the return is just a vent for any trapped air.
 
THANK YOU! So the output nipple... does anything go to that? Isn't it going to spray water up or is it not pressurized enough?
 
Does anyone know if you can get a mesh like that at a local store or only online? I can't seem to find anything other than a large sheet online and with shipping it just seems silly.

BTW, in my build thread I just mentioned that plastic rod inside the pump snapped after just running it for a few minutes. The whole thing is an old POS.
 
I have some I can mail you. Pm me your Address. I would suggest getting something much better though.
 
I managed to trim a Fulval rod down to size today that I got at the LFS. There are loads of other problems with it and this probably won't do much good while I save up for the new one. But... Can anyone tell me where the water line/bubble mass should be on average? It's probably different on every skimmer. I have the valve by the pump, a valve on the return to adjust and I can adjust the height so there is a lot involved.

sump-021.jpg
 
It would depend on how "wet" you wanted the end result to be. I would keep the bubbles at the point where you see the dirt line in the pic. It seems to be about 2" higher.
 
Slight adjustment since last time and about 2.5 hours of running. It has some water inside the cup so I assume I'll need to turn it down a tad once it "breaks in"?

sump-022.jpg
 
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