Help!! E.T.S.S skimmer

[Tureefik87]

Got a full set up off Craigslist and got an E.T.S.S skimmer within the deal and it's not skimming and having trouble tunning it. This skimmer is currently in my sump. I am running two RIO 2100's due to my budget. The two RIO's are connected with a Y shaped fitting that goes directly to the skimmer. If your experienced with it that would be great if you could give me feedback. Here are some pictures so you can accurately give me suggestions or tips.

 

[Skimmy]

have you checked the bioballs and injector???
how many bioballs and are they clean??
and yeah, you need a better pump set up... i'd say at least a rio 3100
the whole reaction chamber should be nothing but bubbles, with the water level close to the bottom...
also, that skimmer will do better with this type of bioballs:

 

[Tureefik87]

Dont know what the injector is and i do have bio-balls and i can clean them. How do i go about cleaning the bio-balls?

 

[Bosco83]

Did you ever get your skimmer up and running properly? I use to have this same one and it worked quiet well I could share some tips and pics if you need them.

Brian

 

[Frankie]

+1 to skimmy's post. You need a better pump on that thing and the Becket injector is most likely clogged since your not even aware of what it is.

It's should be in that housing right where the water tubing connects to the skimmer. Open that up and pull the black thing out. One you have it out there is a plastic ring on the bottom. Slide that off and the whole thing should split in half. Clean it well and put it back together.

Here is a picture of one:

and opened:

 

[Frankie]

Hmm... after doing a search I am not so sure now that this is a becket skimmer! lol

Never had one but always thought they were. Can anyone confirm this?

 

[Skimmy]

nope... close, but they are not a beckett injector skimmer...
the propietary injector on the etss is much simpler than that,
it just decreases the water inlet size down to like 1/2-3/8" and then
the pressure sucks in air from the "venturi"...
which does work better if you put a small 1/2 valve on it to adjust the air back a bit.
also, the best way to clean the bio balls is in vinegar/hot water or muratic acid.
and if you can find those lee's diamond shaped bio balls they really do work better.
as for an exact pump, your just looking for about 1000gph...
maybe a 1200gph pump with a valve on the outlet to control it would be best,
this would give you the ability to over drive the injector nicely, and throttle it back slightly to
"the sweet spot". I dont know what etss was thinking when they made pump recommendations for their skimmers...
i think they were just trying to use pumps that consumed less power, because everybody knows they work better with
larger than recommended pumps...same with aqua C injector skimmers.

 

[Frankie]

Thanks Skimmy. I had a feeling I may be wrong on this one.

 

[NaClH2Okpr]

From the first photo it looks like the water is coming out the front valve(the white valve with the red handle) and maybe the rio's are connected to where the water comes out??
I may be completely wrong but that is just what I am seeing from the first picture... I had an E.T.S.S. 800 and it worked well..You can also check out pictures of them online to see how others have hooked them up.. hope you get it working..