Need some help with a skimmer

Then something is wrong. How long has it been running and how long has your tank been running? Have you had a skimmer before this? There is no way the gate can be fully open and skimming wet at that shallow of a depth if everything is working right.

 

Tank has been up and running for about 7-8 months with a very light load on it so there's not much to skim anyway.

I've had the skimmer for about 2 months now and when i first got it and just dropped it in the sump it just overflowed like crazy filling the cup within minutes.Everyone i talked to had me convinced it was because of the tap water i was using and the water conditioners i was adding to the tap water.I then switched to using nothing but RO DI water and still had the same issues even a month later so i just unplugged the skimmer.This past weekend i decided to tinker around with it some more and started changing the height of the skimmer in the sump and that made all the difference in the world.

The gate valve is fully open and if i close it any then it just produces an even wetter skim.The wet foam i am getting though is a yellowish color so i know the skimmer is working but with the light load i have on the tank im not expecting dark brown skim at all.

Skimmer is about 5 inches deep and is i believe 6 1/2 is whats recommended but if i put it at that then it just overflows like crazy and yes its in the same section as the return pump.

 

OK... it's just not really broke in yet and your tank has not been skimmed.

Lower it a little just to get over your paranoia that it will run dry. Really you just need to let it go and do it's thing. You will have to run the gate wide open until it gets broke in. You will be getting rid of a lot of wet skimmate. Keep in mind that is not evaporation... that is salt water. So you will need to keep an eye on salinity.

It simply will not run right till it breaks in and right now you probably have enough organics to make it go nut. Doing anything right now like trying to dial it in or replumb it will just be wasting time. Let it go for a week. Let it calm down, and then lets get it dialed in closer to manufacturer specs.

 

Thanks for all the help i really do appreciate it.

It's been going for two days now and i've been getting about an inch worth of skim in the cup a day.

 

When i empty the cup should i just dump everything down the drain and put the cup back on or should i be rinsing the cup out every time?
I'm not sure if i neeed to rinse it or leave it alone after emptying it so the slim coat can build up.

 

Normally I clean it all. Rigght now if it is not too dirty you can just empty it.

When the skimmer starts to calm down you can start closing back the gate valve to keep getting skimmate in the cup.