Skimmate in the sump

[Anonymous]

No, this isn't about the latest death penality thread Sumpside . I just rebuilt the sump under my nano to accomodate a Tunze nanoskimmer, for a pic see the thread in my sig line. I used a 20high glass tank and made partitions, etc. It looks good, but the Tunze requires almost 12 inches of water to skim properly so the first baffle is rather high.

If the power goes out and tank drains down the extra water will for sure float loose the collection cup on top of the unit, spilling gack back into the tank before it gets high enough to flow over the first partition. Of course that never occured to me when I bought the unit...sigh.

Planning for that eventuality and hoping that emptying it every day would keep the amount of gack to a minimum, how bad will that impact the tank?

 

[Anonymous]

I will be like not skimming since the last time you empty the cup, maybe slightly worst, but not to bad.

 

[jandree22]

nevermind... too early in the morning and my post didn't make any sense after re-reading what I wrote :lol:

if nothing else, I agree with dupaboy

 

[Anonymous]

Clean the cup 2X a day.

No worries

 

[Anonymous]

Or how about affixing a guided float for the skimmer somehow? - Water level rises, so does skimmer.....

Might not be not practical or even possible, but just a thought...

Barring that, any way to drain the skimmate off into a separate collection point?

I know, opens a whole new bag of tricks if the skimmer goes ballistic...

Hey! - Maybe float that separate collection cup..?

Dunno... - Guess I needs to check out the new pics (or visit the new digs!)

 

[Anonymous]

Clean the cup 2X a day.

No worries

work 36 to 40 hr straight shifts sometimes so that's a no go.

 

[Anonymous]

Or how about affixing a guided float for the skimmer somehow? - Water level rises, so does skimmer.....

Might not be not practical or even possible, but just a thought...

Barring that, any way to drain the skimmate off into a separate collection point?

I know, opens a whole new bag of tricks if the skimmer goes ballistic...

Hey! - Maybe float that separate collection cup..?

Dunno... - Guess I needs to check out the new pics (or visit the new digs!)

Ah, skimmer is attached with magnets to the side so it can't move. The cup isn't locked down into the base, it only sits there (baad design IMO) so drilling it and tubing the excess to another container won't work.

as far as the visit, you are welcome to come to Hell anytime you've a mind to

 

[Anonymous]

Can you put your skimmer in a container a little larger than it within the sump (weighted down with lead) so an overflow would spill into said container?

 

[Anonymous]

huh...could maybe fit it. Rock would do for weight.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the ideas here and via PMs. The simplest one was suggested by my father the retired engineer. I explained what was going on and he looked at me like I was stupid and told me I go and find a rock of the right diameter/size that would be heavy enough to weight down the cup against the flow :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the ideas here and via PMs. The simplest one was suggested by my father the retired engineer. I explained what was going on and he looked at me like I was stupid and told me I go and find a rock of the right diameter/size that would be heavy enough to weight down the cup against the flow :lol:

I almost posted that, but thought water might seep in anyhow and overflow through the holes in the lid.
I have a weight on my lid because sometimes the foam pushes the top off.

 

[Anonymous]

No, this isn't about the latest death penality thread Sumpside . I just rebuilt the sump under my nano to accomodate a Tunze nanoskimmer, for a pic see the thread in my sig line. I used a 20high glass tank and made partitions, etc. It looks good, but the Tunze requires almost 12 inches of water to skim properly so the first baffle is rather high.

If the power goes out and tank drains down the extra water will for sure float loose the collection cup on top of the unit, spilling gack back into the tank before it gets high enough to flow over the first partition. Of course that never occured to me when I bought the unit...sigh.

Planning for that eventuality and hoping that emptying it every day would keep the amount of gack to a minimum, how bad will that impact the tank?

My ASM G3 dumps after a power outage every once and a while. The corals do not seem to mind. If it happens to me six times a year that is a lot.

 

[Anonymous]

I almost posted that, but thought water might seep in anyhow and overflow through the holes in the lid.

Oh, it will! :lol: - At least, as long as the water could potentially rise to that level anyway.

Looking at the pics of her setup from the thread, its hard to tell if the top of the collection cup sits below that line or not. - In the first pic, it doesn't. In a later pic, the skimmer isn't visible but the lid for the sump is on and no collection cup is peeking through..

But otherwise, yah, good simple plan.

 

[Anonymous]

:lol: well, that'll teach me to worry about problems. Had snail get stuck in the overflow early this morning and I woke up to the sound of running water. Got it handled, but now for some reason the main pump will not start. Took it apart with no joy. Will have to locate a new one this morning and get it installed.