Skimmer level question

[Marty1971]

The level in the skimmer now is half up the collection cup. I think it should go to the top but if I do that, the cup fills with water. It has been running fro about 2 weeks now. Any advise is welcome.

Thanks,

David

 

[Skimmy]

what kind of skimmer is it, how many inches of water is it in,
and what kinda bioload do you have.
definately if its a new skimmer, it could be at the tail end of breaking in still,
especially if you didnt give it a bath in hot water or vinegar first...
but a little more info should tell me what the issue is.

 

[Marty1971]

It's a Royal-Exclusiv Alpha 200 Cone Skimmer. Only have 40 pounds of live sand at moment. 100 pounds of live rock is going in this weekend. I suspect it's breaking in but just wondering where is the bubble line supposed to be at when it working normally? At the rim or mid way up?

Thanks.

 

[Skimmy]

yep...
as i suspected, it's prolly got nuthin to chew on...
hence forcing you to crank up the water level until it just fills the cup,
there's no adjustment zone at the moment..
i suspect tht will change drastically with the addition of
the live rock and then bioload. as for what is the best place to set the internal level of the skimmer,
that will remain to be determined by your stocking and feeding habits... you'll easily find the sweet spot once your tank is set up in it's permanant configuration. it also depends upon if your looking for wet or dry skimmate, I would suggest to you that wet skimmate and the rate of it's removal makes it a better level to acheive than dry skimming. once there's a bioload, I would start out with the bubble breaking point being in the bottom 1/2 of the collection cup, and the water level being in the top section(if not the very top) of the reaction chamber.

 

[Marty1971]

Thanks for the quick response.

David