my skimmer doesent work

[mattreefer]

hi guys im new here and to the reefing scene ( however i have looked after a seven foot reef tank for bout two years but it aint mine ) any way i have a berlin red sea venturi driven protein skimmer for my 460 litre aquarium but whatever pump i use (ocean runner3500 or a small power head 1800lph) the water and bubble mixture doesnt seem to be right. there seems to be the right amount of bubbles but they dont seem to rise up to the cup they just stay in the reaction chamber ive tried everything ive put taps on to reduce the flow of water but the skimmer seems to loose its foam over night. also it gurrgules lots ie the water reacts with the bubbles rises over the cup spills over the cup (wet foam instead of dry) and then just empties itself out of the two inlets and repeats itself. please please help im sorry that this is so long but i really need help as its doin my head in
ps the tank is not stocked yet which is good its got ocean rock and reef bones in it help! oh yeah and the skimmer is in bout 9 and a half inches of water and the ocean runner 3500 with tap on is in bout the same also the skimmer is in the sump connected using green eheim flexi hose

[mattreefer]

the skimmer is standing in bout 9 and a half inches of water and the ocean runner pump which has a tap on is in bout the same

[Reefland]

Hi mattreefer, Welcome to Reefland!

The Red Sea skimmers are not very good skimmers, you may consider looking into another. For your problem though, perhaps the skimmer should be set it water slightly deeper?

[FinsReef]

Use the Oceanrunner3500 on it and put a couple of ball valves on the output of the skimmer, so you can dial in a little more water in the chamber. That should help the foam come up further in the collection cup.

[saltjunkie]

if the tank isnt stocked.. and is 2 years old... there wont really be that much to pull out...

[da colts]

i disagree that red sea skimmers are not very good skimmers. i have 1 on my reef and 1 on a all fish tank and they work great. the secret is to over pump them. my reef 1 has a surge 6000 on it (870 gph) and the fish one has the same. red sea suggests using a rio 2500 pump but it is not strong enough for the skimmer. get a bigger pump and i bet you will get results. another person i know uses a mag drive 9.5 on hers and it made all the difference in the world, she was gonna trash hers and get another one but after the pump switch she is quite happy with hers. and i am happy with both of mine, and every customer i sell 1 to is happy with theirs. just remember to over pump them. ocean runners in my opinion are not strong enough to pump the red sea either, i had 1 in the store on a berlin that was in our rock vat and ended up changing it to a genx 4100.

[mattreefer]

well thanks guys i put the ocean runner pump on it and it seems to be ok however i wake up every morning to find new foam at the top but when i take the lid off there is no foam in the neck of the collection cup any ideas y ? is it working properly it is now stocked with 2 percula clownfish a red bubble anemone xenia rock and a pyjama or six line wrasse