[naser]

this is all expermental. i figured id try and see the results. what will a cap on a pvc fitting hurt. but what if it works? i seems i have real good flow coming out of the skimmer and exelent bubble production. way better than my turboflotor1000. i cant say for sure how it works being i have nothing in my tank yet but super clean salt water... if it does work im not out 110 bucks plus 140 watts of money every month/.

[naser]

oh myreef is it normal to push the bubble out like crazy at first? is it just a break in thing?

[myreef]

Originally posted by naser
oh myreef is it normal to push the bubble out like crazy at first? is it just a break in thing?

Pushing bubbles out of the gate valve or through the top of the collection cup? Where is the water level in the skimmer?

[naser]

it fills my entire tank full of tiny bubbles when i open the air valve.cant foam out the top since i have no waste in my tank. right now i have the water level all the way down. i have had it almost every level though i still get bubbles out everywhere. i thinking maybe the tank is new the skimmer is new, once everything start to salt up and not have chemicals all over them it might be ok.

[myreef]

A new tank could be part of the problem, but doubt it. I looked at some of your other posts and tried looking at your sump. Do you have any baffles after the skimmer and before the return pump? If not that would be the main culprit. If you don't have baffles, you could put some sponge right at the gate valve so the spnge would catch the bubbles. You could also use filter floss. If your sump has baffles, then they should take care of it also. Let me know or take a pic of your sump configuration for me. Thanks

[naser]

no baffles. i gonna try to put a sponge block over the pump feeds hoping that will stop it or maybe just a foam block on either side of the skimmer . what is filter floss?

[naser]

i have the exit of the skimmer pointed away from the feeds...

[Ltspd]

From what I can tell from the picture I think you need some baffles. How much gph are you passing thru the sump?

[naser]

im figuring about 1500pgh. that a rough guess.

[Ltspd]

Without knowing much about how your sump is setup, etc I dont see how you keep from sending bubbles back into your tank.

I had a He!! of a time when I set up my sump the first go around. I ended up adding more baffles and now I am bubble free. I also discharge my skimmer (beckett) into the section where my tank water comes in. Since the skimmer IMO is the largest producer of bubbles then placing it there allows plenty of bubble break time before the return pump chops those bubble into more bubbles. If you were going from the tank water input side to the return of my sump it is as follows.

Under, over, LR/LS , over, under , over, under then return.


Credit for this design goes to Reefland (scott z)

[naser]

i believe i have too much flow to the skimmer... tried the sponge at the gate valve blew it right out. ill get a little ball valve on the skimmer feed and see if this helps.

[myreef]

I dont think you have too much flow to the skimmer. I have people running dedicated Ampmaster 3000's on the dual injected skimmers and they don't have bubbles. It is in your sump, since you have no baffles. now is the time to get everything right before you transfer your rock and corals over. good luck....I would drain the sump and put baffles in it.

[naser]

baffles arent gonna help. the sump is pushing to much water through. i feel it would still be pushing bubbles through with baffles.

[naser]

very tiny bubbles everywere. goes right through sponges. that is normal for bubbles to exit the skimmer like this?

[myreef]

Bubbles will exit any high energy skimmer. Just the nature of the beast. Baffles don't look like they do much in a sump, but they really do. Point the skimmer in the opposite direction so it is pushing water out away from the pump. You could also put an elbo on the water side of the pump so it is facing down near the bottom of the sump, this should help also. If a bubble gets in the pump, then the pump impeller chops it up to dozens of smaller bubbles.

[naser]

i have the skimmer facing the oposite way. i got some foam block and placed them over the strainers , this helped alittle. im slowley getting it. as far as a skimmer it is an exelent peice of equiptment. trying its hardest to foam. just place live rock in (40lbs) barley made a dent. it should be producing. i will have lots of live rock left when i move that i can place in front of the pump intake. easy baffles i guess.

[Ltspd]

Naser, trust us you NEED baffles.

I run 1800 gph thru my sump, coming from 12 ft above the sump. I have a high powered beckett skimmer. I have NO bubbles.

Filter floss will do nothing but slow your gph down and clog up every day. Its also a great No3 magnet.

[myreef]

Neil here is the reply from Doug on how he has his AM 3000 hooked up.... http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin...threadid=49274

[naser]

i have sufficient flow to the skimmer. it draws in great amount of air. i put my hand in front of the gate valve and there is good flow, no great flow.. the skimmer is awsome. the bubbles are the only thing. your skimmer is exelent. it is way better than the old turboflotor.

[golfish]

Your going to be sorry if you set this tank up using sponges, micron bags and other assorted POS.......put some baffles in the sump, put the amp master on a closed loop with the SS's, get a Mag 18 for the skimmer and a Mag12 or other 1000 gph pump for sump return....

Even with the baffles your probably going to get bubbles in your tank doing more then 1200+ gph