Looking for new skimmer, need suggestions please!!

I second the BH-100F

 

about 3 months but it never produced dark foamy waste as i expected, and recently i began to overflow just with the watery foam it produces, i have the skim cup as high as possible, and after the cup is completely filled with the very thin foam it starts to creep up through the bottom of the cup and overflow(literally within 15 minutes) so i have had to turn off the skimmer completely recently

 

Do you have the air muffler open all the way?

 

I've seen my skimmer do this when the return got blocked...

make sure your return is clear (I use a sponge to regulate the flow from my return back to the tank in my HOB skimmer).

 

the muffler is not open all the way, and the only thing i have in the second chamber is my heater but that shouldn't affect the skimmer

 

what exactly do you mean when the return got blocked??

 

hmm. how else can i word this?

there is a chamber full of water in the skimmer. this chamber drains into the tank. it does this with a pipe. the pipe has an opening on both ends. if one end gets blocked or clogged or something is in the way, it won't drain fast enough to the tank.

leading to a too high water level in the skimmer. leading to wet skimming.


Hope I'm not coming off rude... I don't really understand your question's direction...

some more info:
if I dont' block that return somewhat with a sponge, then it drains too fast, leading to too low water level in the skimmer causing bubbles in the main tank.

so I have to block it somewhat with a sponge. by changing how much I am blocking, I can regulate the water level in the skimmer.

does that help at all?

 

Get the I-Tech small model, best skimmer in the market for the price. I think its around $300

Welcome to IchthyThings.com! for store contact info. The skimmer is still in development stage so you have to call and custom order the skimmer. Talk to John. Check out the thread below for more info on its performance. Expect to be on a long waiting list to get this skimmer.

checkout this thread Reef Central Online Community - I-Tech Skimmer Club .

It performs just as good as $2000 skimmer for a fraction of the price. I would've bought it if i didn't just buy my Octopus Extreme. It pulls out amazing amount of dark skimmate with standard pinwheel impellers.

 

Make sure your biobale isn't overloaded with crud, that will keep water from flowing out freely. Also make sure the sponge in the outlet elbow is clean as well. Make sure you don't have a lot of calcium buildup as well.
As far as the collection cup filling up so fast, open the air muffler almost all the way, then lower the cup so the bottom of the cup barely sits below the bubbling water line. You should get a decent semi wet skimmate. I empty my cup once a week with it set like this. I hope this helps.

 

Ok thanks everyone for all the help