HOLY CRAP!!! My skimmer went a bit nutz!

[smcnally]

I noticed my water looked a bit cloudy and thought to myself "Hmmm...I forgot to empty the skimmer cup last night and it was pretty full" I opened the doors to find this

 

[delta]

 

[Moe_K]

Mmm, a rich amber ale.

 

[vinny]

Wow that sucks did you have to do a water change.

 

[this is me]

Thats good. Now you just turn your sump tank into a skimmer. More skimming power!

 

[aweeks95]

that looks like a mess....how long before your tank cleared up again?

 

[stevenp]

I bet your nose got a nice suprise as well

Steve

 

[smcnally]

I haven't done a water change. I don't have any water made up, and it doesn't look too bad. The water is a bit cloudy, but the corals and fish seem fine. It did all of that within the last hour. The water was crystal clear an hour ago. I emptied the skimmer and set it to skim a bit dryer so it doesn't overflow (hopefully) by morning.

 

[smcnally]

BTW, that gate valve mod I did to this thing makes a HUGE difference.

 

[aweeks95]

what mod is that....is there a thread on it? i have a euro skimmer and think iworks well, but if there is a way to make something work better....show me the way!!!

 

[smcnally]

You can see it right in that picture. All you do is put a 90 on the riser tube, then a gate vale, and then another 90 facing down. Lower the riser tube all the way, and then fine tune the gate valve to adjust your water level.

 

[aweeks95]

got any other pics without all that crap in the way....man what a mess!!!

 

[Moe_K]

You can see it right in that picture. All you do is put a 90 on the riser tube, then a gate vale, and then another 90 facing down. Lower the riser tube all the way, and then fine tune the gate valve to adjust your water level.

Where'd you get the gate valve?
What size?
THink my 1" gate valve would work on my G4?
The plan calls for a 1.25" gate valve. I could use a reduced bushing to make the 1" gate fit.

 

[lizzardking]

i have my gate valve mounted vert. b/c i have limited room in the sump. don't know if this is a potential problem but the gate valve is the best way to dial the skimmer right in

 

[grundig5]

heres mine with the gate valve mod...this thread reminded me to clean my skimmer out. The ASM website has info for the mod, gate valve from aquatic ecosystems. I was pretty sure it needs to be the proper size for the skimmer output but could be wrong

 

[DanStL]

THink my 1" gate valve would work on my G4?
The plan calls for a 1.25" gate valve. I could use a reduced bushing to make the 1" gate fit.

I would be surprised if it didn't work. Since you only need to slip-fit this stuff, give it a shot Worst case is you have to buy a 1.25" gate after all, but I think you would be fine - just put the horizontal section close to water level.

 

[smcnally]

Moe, I'm using a 1" gate valve. The 90 I have on the riser reduces to 1" on one side. The 1" works fine. I fact, if it is more than 1/2 way open the bubbles are way low in the chamber.

 

[maurod]

This type of funkiness is usually caused by something non-small dying (like a large snail).

M.

 

[NateHanson]

The only thing i didn't like about my gate-valve mod is that the skimmer level was then dependent on the flow going into the skimmer. If the pump intake got a little plugged with debris, the water level in the skimmer would go down, because the backpressure was decreased. This sort of thing happened occasionally, and was annoying enough that when I moved my sump to the basement I went back to a standpipe arrangement. That was rock-steady, and back pressure had no effect because the water level was just dependent on the height of the tube.

 

[reefinghabit]

mmmm looks like a nice rich brew hows it smellin. i once forgot to plug the drain end of mine with the rubber cork and wondered for 3 days why i had nothing in the collection cup. silly little things make such a big difference.