Someone help me dial in this ETSS skimmer

[deputydog95]

This is driving me nuts.
6 weeks running on a new tank with 300# of live rock.
Iwaki 55 pump

When you turn it on, it wet foams almost all the way up to the collection cup and overflows.

ETSS says there is a lot of organics in my tank right nowand to turn the pump down. Nothing gets skimmed when I do that, so that obviously won't pull the organics out.

What is the optimal height of the wet foam to get the good dry foam to go into the collection cup? I'll try and work it from there. I assume everyone's etss skimmer wet foams like this, mine is just a little high right now and i'm not sure where to set the height.

i can't set the water height in the clear riser tube per the instructions because it foams instantly and i can't get an accurate idea of where the water level actually is.

somebody help me out here.
thanks.

[jklaw]

i have an etss evolution 500 skimmer. i have had similar problems. don't worry they are totally fixable. first, turn it down, you might have to turn it down so far it is almost off. don't worry about the skimming, it will still skim, it will just be down in the bottom of the skimmer instead of up in the collection cup. keep it at a low level until the bubbles stay low then turn it up a little bit, keep doing that till its at a decent level.

second, what kind of salt mix are you using. i normally use instant ocean. this does not affect my skimmer. however, i cheaped out and bought red sea one time, what a mess, the skimmer automatically overflowed even if it was turned down 99%, basically i couldn't use it at all.

third, if you use dechlorinator, this will also cause it to overskim, so you have to set it really low and keep it there for awhile, then you will eventually be able to turn it up. provided that your're not doing massive water changes, it won't be as much of a problem after a while. you'll just have to monitor it. usually i turn it off until the water change is down then i turn it on again when i have time to just sit and watch and turn it down if nececssary. sometimes i have to turn it down, then i turn it back up at the latest the next day. i feel your pain, i was equally frustrated at 1st

[deputydog95]

JK:
I live on the ocean here in FL so I got out a couple miles in the Gulf and get natural sea water. The stuff rocks. The few corals that I have right now love it. There must be plankton in the water.
I have noticed that when I add salt to my sump (Instant ocean) to bring the salinity up, the skimmer immediately stops skimming for a while. Salinity makes a big diff apparently.
I've got it dialed about half way back right now. I'm getting dry foam now finally. It's barely making it up to the collection cup though. I use a five gallon spring water container as my overflow container. There is pretty much nothing in there yet.
How high is your wet foam? If I can find a good point to set that at I'll be good to go. Mine is at about three inches about the black box.
I can't get mine to have just non foamed water to set the water level properly. It foams like crazy even with the gate all the way open and the pump cut back to half.
would you recommend cutting the pump back till i get just water to set the level? i know the directions say to set the water level at about one inch over the box. my prob is that this thing foams while it's below the box. should i keep knocking the pump back till i can get non foamed water at the proper level.
sorry this is so long. i'm trying like hell to get this right. i'm actually going to add about 200 pounds of fresh keys rock tonight so i'm sure i'll be back to square one again :(

[jklaw]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by deputydog95
[B]JK:
I live on the ocean here in FL so I got out a couple miles in the Gulf and get natural sea water. The stuff rocks. The few corals that I have right now love it. There must be plankton in the water.
I have noticed that when I add salt to my sump (Instant ocean) to bring the salinity up, the skimmer immediately stops skimming for a while.

yes, mine does the same thing. also when i feed dt's phyto. or sometimes just feed in general.

Salinity makes a big diff apparently.

i agree

I've got it dialed about half way back right now. I'm getting dry foam now finally.

great.

It's barely making it up to the collection cup though.

no worries. it's still skimming. you'll notice the inside of the bottom part of the skimmer will have a bunch of scum on the sides.

I use a five gallon spring water container as my overflow container. There is pretty much nothing in there yet.

no problem. you'll problem never need to use such a large overflow container. usually the skimmer stops skimming when there is too much buildup, which is after a week to 10 days once you've got it dialed in. most of the people i know with etss skimmers clean there's every weekend. also, because the overflow container is an open bucket it will really stink when the skimate collects in there.


How high is your wet foam? If I can find a good point to set that at I'll be good to go. Mine is at about three inches about the black box.

i have the evolution 500. thus, i'm not measuring the wet foam. i'm measuring the water line. normally its out 2 inches below the flange. however, if i've got too much foam, i just keep lowering it until it's not overflowing, then i start turning it back up over the next day or two, until its back up to two inches below.

I can't get mine to have just non foamed water to set the water level properly. It foams like crazy even with the gate all the way open and the pump cut back to half.

does it flow to overflowing that way? if not, leave it like that and it will eventually stop foaming so much and you can start turning it up. if it is overflowing all the time, it sounds like the problem i had with the red sea salt. i just left it off and kept trying every once in while, while i did water changes every week to change out that crappy salt mix.

would you recommend cutting the pump back till i get just water to set the level?

yes, it'll eventually let you start turning it back up.

i know the directions say to set the water level at about one inch over the box. my prob is that this thing foams while it's below the box. should i keep knocking the pump back till i can get non foamed water at the proper level.

yes, your instincts are correct. follow them. that's what i did and it worked out. that's why everyone's complaint about etss skimmers are that they have to be dialed in. everyone says they're awesome skimmers but they need the fine tuning. this is exactly what they're talking about.

sorry this is so long.

not a problem. make it as long as you like.

i'm trying like hell to get this right. i'm actually going to add about 200 pounds of fresh keys rock tonight so i'm sure i'll be back to square one again

cool. you're probably right. but you're fish and coral are going to love that stuff.

sorry it took me so long to reply. i just got in some clams from clamsdirect: derasa, squamosa, hippopus, and brown variety maxima. so i got a little distracted. but feel free to write again. i'm nowhere near an expert but i'm happy to share my experiences. also, i really like my etss evolution 500 skimmer. i think it is the next generation of what you have, if you you're like me and you like to blow tons of money that you don't have on gadgets, you might want to check out the evolution 750.

john