skimmer adjustment help

[greatgman]

hello al you finnheads out there
i got a new skimmer (excalibur ) hv-1
and would like a bit if help dialing it in right

first the collection cup
should it be right at the bottom of the center pipe in the cup
or at the top ?

second the skimmer box/ bubble trap
how far up does the box have to go?
should bottom of the slots be a 1/4 inch under water
or just at the water surface

i'm getting lots and lots of micro bubles from the bubble trap in the tank
the box has three compartments one for he pump (rio 800) , the center section for the bubble trap, and the third section is the water discarge from the skimmer
im getting bubbles bleeding from the 3rd into the 2nd (natrally) but also bleeding into the 1st section (pump chamber)
is this normal ? will it go away?
any thoughts


only 2 hours after turning it on the cup filled up quickly but got some very light green water out
how long should it take to get good production of skimate
been on for 2 days

also should the air be on full blast?
right now i got a 2 way gangvalve on it to keep the sucker from overflowing the cup
b4 i went to work last night the cup was empty now it is 1/4 full with lightish green water. (a bit darker than the 1st time)

does this sound like a normal break in for the skimmer?

 

[greatgman]

can ne1 out there give me help?

 

[grimlock3000]

hello al you finnheads out there
i got a new skimmer (excalibur ) hv-1
and would like a bit if help dialing it in right

first the collection cup
should it be right at the bottom of the center pipe in the cup
or at the top ?

Push the collection cup all the way down into the neck of the skimmer.

second the skimmer box/ bubble trap
how far up does the box have to go?
should bottom of the slots be a 1/4 inch under water
or just at the water surface

I had mine so the water level of the tank was about halfway up the slots, this works good for me. You do not want the bottom of the slots to be right at the water level because if the tank went down a bit, the Rio might suck air. Also, once you find a good spot, tighten the thumb screws with a hand wrench or something.

i'm getting lots and lots of micro bubles from the bubble trap in the tank
the box has three compartments one for he pump (rio 800) , the center section for the bubble trap, and the third section is the water discarge from the skimmer
im getting bubbles bleeding from the 3rd into the 2nd (natrally) but also bleeding into the 1st section (pump chamber)
is this normal ? will it go away?

This is normal. The bubbles will go away in a few days once the sponge in the bubble trap gets some bacteria on it. Also, air builds up in the sponge in the second chamber during break in, which can causer water to go into the first chamber. Poke the sponge with a stick or something, I bet a ton of air comes out of it. Keep the water level in the bubble trap area above the water level of the tank so it drain properly too.

only 2 hours after turning it on the cup filled up quickly but got some very light green water out
how long should it take to get good production of skimate
been on for 2 days

This is fine to start with. The first few days you run a skimmer it pulls a lot of interesting stuff out of the water. Or it might not pull anything out of the water at all for a few days. Best not to worry about it until you approach a week or so.

also should the air be on full blast?

Yes, the air should always be on full. You adjust the skimmer by raising and lowering the output pipe.

right now i got a 2 way gangvalve on it to keep the sucker from overflowing the cup
b4 i went to work last night the cup was empty now it is 1/4 full with lightish green water. (a bit darker than the 1st time)

If the cup keeps filling up really fast, you might just have some leftover water conditioner or other chemicals that can bubble up a lot.

does this sound like a normal break in for the skimmer?

Yep, patience is the key. With both skimmers I have had, the first few days are spent worrying about if the things were working rihgt or no.

On your HV1, you should have a water line sticker. After you get the skimmer running for a few days, use this line as the reference point to adjust your skimmate production. I had my outlet pipe adjusted so that the water was right at the line, and everything above the line was foam. If your water line is above the stick, lower the pipe. And obviously raise the pipe if it is too lower. The line being there give you a great way keep it at the same spot until you figure it out.

Once you get it to the line with the air on full, LOWER the outlet for darker thick skimmate, or RAISE the outlet pipe for a thinner skimmate, but you will get more of it.

Do not clean the collection cup for a while either, just dump it out until the skimmer is fully broken in, then you can clean the cup when you dump it.

 

[greatgman]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH GRIM
that is helping a bunch
just as you said a ton of bubbles came up after poking the bubble trap sponge
air is on full
on day 4 some darker skimate(but still a watery green color)

 

[greatgman]

hows the remora comming along

 

[grimlock3000]

Still undecided on the Remora given the cost of it. The Excalibur collected darker/thicker skimmate very early on. My Remora is about two weeks and I am still messing with the collection cup height. Getting some skimmate in the Remora for sure, just more watery.