why are in sump skimmers a PIA to keep " balanced "

[BruceK]

I'm 21 days into my RedSea 750 operating
LOTS of evaporation
my in sump Reef Octopus Elite 200 SSS is a pain in the #$% have to adjust it daily to keep it at the right level
is this mostly because skimmer has only been running a week now ?
or because my tank is not cycled yet ?

Bruce

 

[ninjamyst]

some skimmers take a while to break in. give it another week or so. how many inches of water is it in?

 

[BruceK]

Skimmer is in about 9" of water which is OK based on manufacture specs

 

[Volcano1]

I had the same issues. If the sump level fluctuated at all , I could never get them to run constant. Hopefully if your sump level stays the same, things will break in and be good. Good luck.

 

[ninjamyst]

Skimmer is in about 9" of water which is OK based on manufacture specs

i had to raise mine just slightly to 8.5" for it to stop overflowing in the beginning even though mine says 9" is fine. I just put it on top of eggcrate.

 

[ssky]

Did you run your skimmer in vinegar? If not then it will take atleast a couple of weeks to break in. Be patient.

 

[Sawdonkey]

You need some crap in the water to make it work right. Without organics, you won’t get that thick foam that kinda stabilized things. New skimmers take a while in my experience. Be patient and you’ll wake up to a thick foam one day.

Also, is your skimmer in a sump compartment that stays at the same level? Your ATO doesn’t dispense into the same chamber, does it?

 

[BruceK]

I'm not using ATO, I add water when I feel the need

 

[troublemaker]

Is it in a compartment that stays level even if there is evaporation?

 

[dvanlier05]

Skimmers water level needs to stay consistent. If it is dropping from evaporation, the bubble height will do the same.