A bit overwhelmed

[Joshua Morey]

Alright everyone so I'm going to try and be as thorough as possible. Currently running a 30 gal long tempered glass tank with an e- shopps R-100 sump. I'm using the E-Shopps hang on back overflow with my tank and it feeds down to the sump and into both the refugium chamber and the skimmer section and finally back to the return chamber.


I've got a few questions
1.) Im using the Reef Octo Classic 152 Protien skimmer and I believe it's a bit too big for the system.( it pulls and collects gunk but never in the collection cup, it collects inside the skimmer instead?) I can't return it because I threw all the boxes away (dumb)
Are there any ways I can get this to work with the current set up?
I tried raising the water in the skimmer portion by sliding this small bevel into place over the drain to the return chamber, but all it did was cause my return pump to spaz out and almost over flow my tank. (This sump business is slightly confusing) why would E-shopps install the bevel if not to be used to raise the water in the skimmer section?

2.) the overflow is making a slurping gurgling noise every so often and I wonder if there's a way to make things a bit more quiet. The tank is in my bedroom and the constant flushing sound keeps me awake both because it's loud but also because I'm afriad of the tank overflowing lol.

*I'll never use a hang on overflow ever again.*

I guess in a nutshell what I'm asking is the best way to set up the system I have until I can get a bigger (drilled) display tank.

If you need more info let me know

 

[Jason mack]

First of all welcome too R2R , good too have you here , Do you have any photos of your set up ?? It sounds to me like your over flow is on a full Syphon is it possible too adjust the airflow at all ? I know you said you tried too adjust the Hieght of the water in your skimmer .. but is it standing in the recommended water height ( just a thought ) any photos you could provide will give a little more insight into your problems ..!!

 

[LostInTheDark]

Overflow boxes are quite worrisome because they need to be checked daily so that air doesn't accumulate in the tubes. Some of the better ones have a siphon pump to prevent that. To stop the gurgling sound take a length of 3/8 air hose tubing and stick it part way down the drain. Usually about 3 to 4 inches down will stop the siphoning and secure it on top so it doesn't fall in .
I'm not familiar with the skimmer but most take a while to break in when they are new. Leave it set to the lowest water level for a week and then slowly close the gate to find the right level.

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Welcome! You've come to the right place to find answers. A lot of this is just +1 to @Jason mack, but in an attempt to keep my thoughts in order I'm going to throw them up here.

First off, your skimmer. Take another look at your water height, I see it's recommended to be at 5-8 inches so if it's not try to get it in that range. Raising the it's should actually lower the level of water in your tank (due to the increased water volume in your sump). Are you skimmer and return pump in the same chamber? If so, that is your problem. After checking the water level, start checking your valves. I'd start with the outflow gate valve (looks like it's the larger red knob). Turn it counter clockwise a little bit at a time. This should raise the water level inside your skimmer allowing the skimmate to reach the opening of the neck. If you've already done all this and it's not working, I wouldn't know what else to do. Your skimmer is massively oversized, but if you have a decent bioload (what is it BTW?) you should be able to pull something.

Next the overflow drain. Gurgling is a result of a partial siphon. What return are you running? If it's either DC or adjustable, try increasing the output little bits at a time. This will increase the water height in your tank (be careful to not overflow it, and be aware of what your ATO is doing if you have one. You made need to add additional saltwater to prevent a large salinity swing) and enable you drain to reach a full siphon. Is that's not possible restrict your drain, again little bits at a time. This will accomplish the same thing as increasing the output. If you don't already have a valve on your drain it's easy enough to install one and I'd suggest a gate valve as they are much easier to make small adjustments to. Trust me, it's worth the extra 10-15 bucks.

Wow... that got drawn out. Lol sorry. Keep the questions coming and keep us updated!

EDIT: @LostInTheDark brings up a great point. How long has the skimmer been running?

 

[needbiggertanks]

If you go on youtube, you can search for "make my overflow quiet" or the like and they show you how you can silence the HOBs with about 12$ in parts from home depot. I had to do this with mine and it worked pretty well.

Id also (as previously mentioned) check the required water level for the skimmer and allow it to break in a little to see if those things help.

 

[Joshua Morey]

I have literally so many photos but I honestly can't figure out how to post them on the forums? I'm also on mobile most of the time if that makes a difference. Thanks for the reply though!

First of all welcome too R2R , good too have you here , Do you have any photos of your set up ?? It sounds to me like your over flow is on a full Syphon is it possible too adjust the airflow at all ? I know you said you tried too adjust the Hieght of the water in your skimmer .. but is it standing in the recommended water height ( just a thought ) any photos you could provide will give a little more insight into your problems ..!![/QUOTE

 

[Joshua Morey]

Okay so part of my buyers remorse and frustration from the fish store is that I didn't do as much research on specific parts and just asked what would work the best together. In my stupidity I threw away all the boxes and receipts and how to's (lol whoops) oh well lesson learned!

Basically after putting the skimmer together for the first time and realizing it was massive compared to the sump and seeing the recommendation for water level height I measured out the skimmer section water height it and JUST barely qualifies.
When I first hooked it up it was runnin fine, with the red knob all the way open it was actually too quick and pulled way too much water and overflowed. So I dialed it down all the way and it seemed to work. It's been running for about a week now and my first thought for the decreased activity was to blame the evaporation in the skimmer section cause holy crap it evaporates really quickly. (I'm not running an ATO at the moment) that's interesting that you mention the skimmer being able to control water height... with either the red knob all the way open or closed it had no visual correlation or effect on the water level.


What is the best way to raise the water level in the skimmer section? The bevels in the sump are all the same height and there is a "cut out" at 7 inches high that allows the water to drain into the return section. I mentioned earlier that this hole has a sliding cover to it that I assume you use to raise the water level. But when I tried that it caused my return section to have too little water and my return pump to mess up sending a ton of bubbles into the display tank.

I'm sorry I don't have exact part numbers or knowledge on flow rates. My train of thought was to buy the biggest equipment I could so that when I upgraded I wouldn't need to buy any more and I assumed it would just work on the smaller system.

Welcome! You've come to the right place to find answers. A lot of this is just +1 to @Jason mack, but in an attempt to keep my thoughts in order I'm going to throw them up here.

First off, your skimmer. Take another look at your water height, I see it's recommended to be at 5-8 inches so if it's not try to get it in that range. Raising the it's should actually lower the level of water in your tank (due to the increased water volume in your sump). Are you skimmer and return pump in the same chamber? If so, that is your problem. After checking the water level, start checking your valves. I'd start with the outflow gate valve (looks like it's the larger red knob). Turn it counter clockwise a little bit at a time. This should raise the water level inside your skimmer allowing the skimmate to reach the opening of the neck. If you've already done all this and it's not working, I wouldn't know what else to do. Your skimmer is massively oversized, but if you have a decent bioload (what is it BTW?) you should be able to pull something.

Next the overflow drain. Gurgling is a result of a partial siphon. What return are you running? If it's either DC or adjustable, try increasing the output little bits at a time. This will increase the water height in your tank (be careful to not overflow it, and be aware of what your ATO is doing if you have one. You made need to add additional saltwater to prevent a large salinity swing) and enable you drain to reach a full siphon. Is that's not possible restrict your drain, again little bits at a time. This will accomplish the same thing as increasing the output. If you don't already have a valve on your drain it's easy enough to install one and I'd suggest a gate valve as they are much easier to make small adjustments to. Trust me, it's worth the extra 10-15 bucks.

Wow... that got drawn out. Lol sorry. Keep the questions coming and keep us updated!

EDIT: @LostInTheDark brings up a great point. How long has the skimmer been running?

 

[Jason mack]

I have literally so many photos but I honestly can't figure out how to post them on the forums? I'm also on mobile most of the time if that makes a difference. Thanks for the reply though!

I'm always on my mobile on here , to load a photo go to upload file .. box next too post reply .. click on choose file it should access your photos on your phone then choose photo , wait till photo is uploaded then click on post reply .. couldn't be easier !!! Good luck .. and remember we are here too help

 

[needbiggertanks]

At face value, If raising the water level in your skimmer section fixed the skimming problem,... but it lowered the water in the return chamber too low that you have air going into the pump, you should be able to just add more salt water to increase the volume in the return chamber.

 

[Joshua Morey]

Here is a complete (to my knowledge) list of my equipment and bio load.

Equipment :
-30 gal tempered glass tank (long)
-Ocean Revive Arctic T247 LED
-Hydor Koralia PH (600 gph)
A smaller PH that came with the tank. (Can't remember the brand or gph)
-E-Shopps HOB overflow (will google to find exact model later this afternoon)
-E-Shopps R-100 sump/refugium
-Reef octopus Classic R-152 skimmer
-hydor return pump (not sure on the gph but I opted for the bigger one. I want to guess around 900gph?)

Bioload:
30lbs live rock
1 Red Firefish
1 Bengaii Cardinal
2 Ocelarris Clowns
1 fireshrimp (isn't doing to well as I type this he actually might be dying. Not sure why, water parameters are good and up until today the little guy was super active and always ate /did his job)
1 Peppermint shrimp
2 snails (smaller pointed shell)
2 snails (long shell with extending mouths)
6ish hermit crabs
1 Pulsing green Xenia frag
1 Euphylia Torch frag (doing tremendous actually)

 

[lion king]

As far as the overflow slurping, search "stockman standpipe"; this is a method used to quieten down overlow boxes. You may also be getting too much flow compared to rating of the overflow box, eshopps overflow boxes are one of the best; you could slow down your return pump.

As far as the skimmer goes it does sound like the skimmer needs to be in deeper water, providing you have it adjusted correctly. There is also a break in period for most skimmers, some can take a week or so to really kick in.

 

[lion king]

If you are pulling 900gph, that's way too much for your setup; that would be the culprit for the gurgling. You skimmer looks to be rated for the water height of that sump; so maybe just some adjustment and break in time would do the trick.

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Okay so part of my buyers remorse and frustration from the fish store is that I didn't do as much research on specific parts and just asked what would work the best together. In my stupidity I threw away all the boxes and receipts and how to's (lol whoops) oh well lesson learned!

Basically after putting the skimmer together for the first time and realizing it was massive compared to the sump and seeing the recommendation for water level height I measured out the skimmer section water height it and JUST barely qualifies.
When I first hooked it up it was runnin fine, with the red knob all the way open it was actually too quick and pulled way too much water and overflowed. So I dialed it down all the way and it seemed to work. It's been running for about a week now and my first thought for the decreased activity was to blame the evaporation in the skimmer section cause holy crap it evaporates really quickly. (I'm not running an ATO at the moment) that's interesting that you mention the skimmer being able to control water height... with either the red knob all the way open or closed it had no visual correlation or effect on the water level.


What is the best way to raise the water level in the skimmer section? The bevels in the sump are all the same height and there is a "cut out" at 7 inches high that allows the water to drain into the return section. I mentioned earlier that this hole has a sliding cover to it that I assume you use to raise the water level. But when I tried that it caused my return section to have too little water and my return pump to mess up sending a ton of bubbles into the display tank.

I'm sorry I don't have exact part numbers or knowledge on flow rates. My train of thought was to buy the biggest equipment I could so that when I upgraded I wouldn't need to buy any more and I assumed it would just work on the smaller system.

Hmmm... you really shouldn't be seeing evaporation in the skimmer compartment. And I guess I'm confused, but what is the water height in your skimmer compartment? Also, just to clarify, the red knob on the skimmer is supposed to change the water level inside the skimmer itself. Bigger is, for the most part, just fine and a great idea.

 

[ciscomania]

At face value, If raising the water level in your skimmer section fixed the skimming problem,... but it lowered the water in the return chamber too low that you have air going into the pump, you should be able to just add more salt water to increase the volume in the return chamber.

This+++

 

[Joshua Morey]

Alright guys thanks for all the advice! I was able to make some major progress and learn a lot. Basically what I did was tear down the whole system, do a major water change (90%) and changed the orientation of the sump so I could see the return chamber. I raised the water level in the skimmer section of the sump with the "latch" that was included. To the recommended water level for the skimmer. After that I raised the water in the return chamber to what I thought was acceptable and then marked off the water level. I was able to take care of the flushing sound from the main overflow by changing the orientation of it and keeping it from having any bows.


I have a better understanding of everything now and I think the culprit is the return pump is too strong 700 gph, even on the lowest setting the water level has dropped a Little more than an inch. I'll monitor and update y'all tonight!

Here are some photos for the time being

 

[Joshua Morey]

The skimmer section with the raised water level. You can see where the water was origally and why it was causing trouble both for the skimmer and return pump.

 

[Joshua Morey]

Here is a photo of the return chamber with the pump (found the box) it's a hydor 740gph return pump.

The top marked line is where I initially raised the water level to. The second is after around 30 mins with the pump running at he lowest speed possible. Is it too big of a pump? I believe that this is my issue

 

[Joshua Morey]

Everything back in after a water change. (My torch coral frag is a lot bigger when opened up)

 

[Joshua Morey]

Pulsing Xenia featuring my clowns

 

[Joshua Morey]

Euphylia torch with my shrimp and snail (what type of snail is this?)