skimmer or canister

[mountaindew]

I am now using a protein skimmer in a refugium on my 110.It seems that the skimmer makes too many bubbles in the tank.I placed a sock filter over the skimmer hose which made a difference.Then I placed a piece of glass between the skimmer hose and the pump and that helped a little bit more.I am thinking of doing away with the skimmer and going with a Eheim canister filter.Does anyone think this is a smart move

 

[Steven Pro]

Not me.

 

[Marc118]

Have you tried to adjust your skimmer pumps air line with something like a needle valve? I am assuming its a HOB skimmer. But I agree keep the skimmer.

 

[Ziggy953]

What kind of skimmer is this? Just a single baffle isn't going to do much to get rid of bubbles...usually a UOU (Under, Over, Under) 3 baffles will take care of the bubbles. HTH

 

[roka64]

I would stick with the skimmer.

 

[tecwzrd]

A canister unlike a skimmer traps waste and keeps it in the water which elevates your no3 and needs to be cleaned often (1-2 times a week).

Skimmers remove the waste into a collection cup away from the water and reduces your no3.

What has changed since you last said the problem was fixed?

Are you getting wet or dry foam from your SUPER 1002 VORTEX PROTEIN SKIMMER?

As Ziggy mentioned baffles are the easiest way to control excess bubbles from entering the tank.

There are a couple of ways to implement the baffles into your 15 gal fuge. The standard silicon or the presure lock are two options.

 

[melosu58]

I say stick with the skimmer. LR and skimmer is all you need for good biological filtration.

 

[mountaindew]

the skimming part is working great.its all the bubbles that go in the tank.the refuge is divided into three sections.the first is the water coming out of the overflow box,the middle one is just water in there now no live rock or sand,the 3rd is the filtered water out of the skimmer and the pump putting it back up into the tank.I put a filter pad over the hose where the water comes out of the skimmer and a piece of glass between the pump and the hose which cut down on the bubbles but not completey.the skimmer is a super vortex 1002.I dont think there is anyway to adjust the air on this model

 

[Ziggy953]

Like I said above the one piece of glass (baffle) isn't going to stop the bubbles...like you said it helped but didn't stop them. You need a series of baffles in a row to get rid of the bubbles. 3 pieces of glass or 3 baffles will take care of the problem.

Look at the second pic down on this page. The skimmer on the right then 3 pieces of glass that is the bubble trap. That is how to get rid of your bubble problem. HTH

http://www.melevsreef.com/acrylics/sumps/glass/

 

[Marc118]

While I agree, you need a bubble trap as ziggy has said. I still think your skimmer shouldnt be spewing out huge ammounts of bubbles...to me it sounds like the skimmer isnt dialed in.

 

[Ziggy953]

That's good point! This is why it is good to have more people responding to posts. Different view points gets the problems solved....

As for adjusting the skimmer doesn't that have a riser pipe (the outflow) I believe that is how it is adjusted, from what I just looked at it looks ot have a dial on top of the riser. I would guess that is your adjustment..

 

[tecwzrd]

The red knob adjusts your skimmer flow and you should have a venturi adjustment also to reduce bubbles (if needed). Is your skimmate in the collection cup wet or more of a dry foam?

 

[mountaindew]

on top of the skimmer is a red knob that when you turn it the water level in the skimmer goes up and down.as of now I have the water level in the skimmer just below the skimmer box.not sure if that is correct or not but that is what I have been told

 

[Marc118]

Yea, as tec said, how is your skimmate? Watery or thick foam?

 

[tecwzrd]

Just below the collection cup? That's too high IMO for your skimmer to function correctly. You don't want your water higher than the exit on the skimmer.

 

[mountaindew]

I have more of a wet foam.not sure where the venturi adjustment is but that is the skimmer I have

 

[tecwzrd]

The venturi adjustment would be on the airline hooked up to your pump which mixes the bubbles with the flow.

As a general rule it's better to draw darker, dense skimmate rather than wet IMO.

Closing off the knob slightly will make the foam climb higher and dryer. If this halts skimmate production instead of drying it out (darker skimmate) you may need to increase air and/or decrease bubble size as well. If that also does not work, then the problem may be design related (neck too wide for action relative to the air and water volume running through the unit).

What pump is powering the skimmer?

 

[mountaindew]

the pump from the overflow box to the skimmer is the CA 1800.The pump from the clean water back up to the tank is a CA 2200.as for the answer for the venturi adjustment the only airlines on the skimmer are the ones in the picture above.there is no airline into the pump if that is what you meant

 

[tecwzrd]

The CA 1800 has 3 inputs for venturi and you hook up the air hose to the pump.

 

[Marc118]

After looking that over...thats a pretty bad design. But it looks like a few mods could get it workin good.