skimmer waste tank question

[HUNTER01975]

so this is my first skimmer that has a drain pipe so I built a drain bottle but the problem is my sump wall is higher than the hose if I put bottle on the outside is it ok to let it float in the sump? or should I drill a hole in my sump wall and put hose threw it and seal it up?

I don't really want to lift skimmer cause it is at the right run level right now.

help please

here is a pic of the bottle in the sump.

 

[Bosco83]

I would probably just not use the hose and empty the cup every few days. I don't use the one on my skimmer and I think it's better to pull the collection cup every few days and clean it even if it's not full.

 

[user 26995]

same here. did they send a plug with it? I plug mine and just empty the cup a couple times a week.

 

[user 26995]

Oh, if you were to leave that bottle in the sump, it would float and probably turn over and leak what ever is in it back into the water and it would end up back in the tank.

 

[HUNTER01975]

i have been thinking and was sort of thinking about putting a big o-ring around it and hooking suction cups to the o-ring and sticking on the wall of the sump.

The bottle is a baby formula bottle should i worry about that? and no it is empty and has been rinsed out. lol

no plug can with it but I have a bunch of vacuum caps so i could prob find one to fit.

 

[mfinn]

same here. did they send a plug with it? I plug mine and just empty the cup a couple times a week.

same with me...

 

[user 26995]

i have been thinking and was sort of thinking about putting a big o-ring around it and hooking suction cups to the o-ring and sticking on the wall of the sump.

The bottle is a baby formula bottle should i worry about that? and no it is empty and has been rinsed out. lol

no plug can with it but I have a bunch of vacuum caps so i could prob find one to fit.

The idea of the skimmer drain hose is to drain it all into a container LARGER than the skimmer cup so it doesn't have to be emptied so often.
A problem I see with the drain hose, is every once in a while the skimmer will go nuts on you and overflow. If there is a drain hose on it, all the overflow will drain into the drain container and the skimmer will empty your sump. If the drain container is not big enough, and with it in your sump, your going to have all the "crap" flowing back into your tank, or if the container is not in your sump, you will have it all over your floor.

Anything to seal the hole will work. a rubber or plastic stopper of some kind. I have one that was was sealed with silicone.

 

[DTECH07]

I know some that will argue this but removing the skimmer cup when needed and cleaning (with my skimmers) allows the type of skimming a like either wet or dry to work at top efficiency. I've noticed that when i don't clean the cup and just allow the the scum to build most will stay in the inner chamber above the main chamber and not go into the cup then i see a build happening in the main chamber which seems to reduce overall performance of the Skimmer. Its worth it to me to clean my skimmer poo weekly.

 

[user 26995]

I agree, I still see the same issues and clean mine weekly.

 

[mfinn]

I know some that will argue this but removing the skimmer cup when needed and cleaning (with my skimmers) allows the type of skimming a like either wet or dry to work at top efficiency. I've noticed that when i don't clean the cup and just allow the the scum to build most will stay in the inner chamber above the main chamber and not go into the cup then i see a build happening in the main chamber which seems to reduce overall performance of the Skimmer. Its worth it to me to clean my skimmer poo weekly.

+1 There is even a product that fits inside some skimmers to clean out the neck on a daily basis

 

[pandora32]

I have my drain hose barb on my cup plugged. I do NOT trust it to not freak out. I jad all kinds of overflows last uear, the worse being almost 25g on the floor. It happened in the middle of the night when we were sleeping. Not a good start to a day. Since then, plugged the hole!

 

[TJL]

Another +1 on plugging the hole and emptying and cleaning out Skimmer neck at least weekly. As stated above a clean Skimmer is much more efficient at doings it job.

Cheers, Todd

 

[HUNTER01975]

I have my drain hose barb on my cup plugged. I do NOT trust it to not freak out. I jad all kinds of overflows last uear, the worse being almost 25g on the floor. It happened in the middle of the night when we were sleeping. Not a good start to a day. Since then, plugged the hole!

sold sold sold.... need to avoid water on the floor as much as possible..

 

[Ichthys]

OK, so i have a solution and what i feel is the best way to deal with both your issues. #1, you can have your bottle outside your sump and the drain line goes up over the lip of the sump and down into the drain bottle. When the level of skimmate in the cup rises above the level of the lip of the tank it will start to drain, then it will create suction and finish draining the cup into the bottle, I know this works, it is how mine is set up.
As far as water on floor, absolutely no need for this. I have a redundant float switch in my drain bottle, when the level of skimmate reaches the float, it shuts the skimmer down and sends me an alert. It is silly to not use a feature of your skimmer that is designed to make life easier, you just need to set it up so it cant overflow, piece of cake.

 

[DTECH07]

So HUNTER01975 do you have Apex, CA, or Reef Keeper?

 

[HUNTER01975]

OK, so i have a solution and what i feel is the best way to deal with both your issues. #1, you can have your bottle outside your sump and the drain line goes up over the lip of the sump and down into the drain bottle. When the level of skimmate in the cup rises above the level of the lip of the tank it will start to drain, then it will create suction and finish draining the cup into the bottle, I know this works, it is how mine is set up.
As far as water on floor, absolutely no need for this. I have a redundant float switch in my drain bottle, when the level of skimmate reaches the float, it shuts the skimmer down and sends me an alert. It is silly to not use a feature of your skimmer that is designed to make life easier, you just need to set it up so it cant overflow, piece of cake.

I am little slow some times can I get a pic or swing by sometime?

 

[HUNTER01975]

So HUNTER01975 do you have Apex, CA, or Reef Keeper?

I have 2 hands and 10 fingers..and a brain that works part time...

 

[Ichthys]

liquid flows to the lowest point. So if your drain tube goes up and over the lip of the sump and down to the bottle, the point where it passes the lip of sump is LOWER than the top of the collection cup. So as the collection cup fills with liquid, the drain line attached to it fills with liquid. When the level of liquid in the tube, which is the same as the level of liquid in the cup, raises above the level of the rim of the sump, it will begin to flow down into your outside collection bottle. Once it begins flowing, the suction will finish draining the cup. Trust me.

 

[user 26995]

OK, so i have a solution and what i feel is the best way to deal with both your issues. #1, you can have your bottle outside your sump and the drain line goes up over the lip of the sump and down into the drain bottle. When the level of skimmate in the cup rises above the level of the lip of the tank it will start to drain, then it will create suction and finish draining the cup into the bottle, I know this works, it is how mine is set up.
As far as water on floor, absolutely no need for this. I have a redundant float switch in my drain bottle, when the level of skimmate reaches the float, it shuts the skimmer down and sends me an alert. It is silly to not use a feature of your skimmer that is designed to make life easier, you just need to set it up so it cant overflow, piece of cake.

hmmm, this is a pretty good set up.

 

[HUNTER01975]

liquid flows to the lowest point. So if your drain tube goes up and over the lip of the sump and down to the bottle, the point where it passes the lip of sump is LOWER than the top of the collection cup. So as the collection cup fills with liquid, the drain line attached to it fills with liquid. When the level of liquid in the tube, which is the same as the level of liquid in the cup, raises above the level of the rim of the sump, it will begin to flow down into your outside collection bottle. Once it begins flowing, the suction will finish draining the cup. Trust me.

THANKS i got it now..