NEW Euro Reef AM I Doing something wrong?

[drgnbttrfly]

Ok I just got a Euro Reef 180 the directions were shall we say? crap? but I put it together and after rearranging it twice in my sump..I have it going. Now I cant seem to get the thing right.

It is pushing so much water up its pushing the cap off and putting enough mist and overflow that I am mopping the floor.

How the heck do I adjust this? If I try to close the flow any it rockets the thing off the top. The air valve makes the bubbles worse if touched at all.

My husband thinks its too expensive for him to touch...:at_wits_end:

What do I do?

[stoneroller]

Can you take pics of how you have it setup?

How are you feeding water to it?

[joelb]

open the valve all the way. all the time. does it have a second type of PVC sticking up (like a valve that sais open/close)? use that to adjust but start out with it all the way open. how high is the water level up the outside of the skimmer? (it sounds like it is not in the sump) keep it at least 1 inch above the PVC plastic connected to the motor. that should stop the overflowing and it should take a day or 2 to start seeing some dark green nasty building up in the cup. good luck

[drgnbttrfly]

I actually lowered the water level to 7" per its little manual...but believe me the water is covering it..I had to be careful to keep that one arm above water as instructed

everything is wide open...

what do i do in the interim? mop alot? :nailbiting:

[drgnbttrfly]

yeah gimme a minute i can do pics...i am running a hang on filter next to it now because it suggested running carbon to lower the bubbles

its in the first chamber of the sump and it gets water flowed right into the bottom

[drgnbttrfly]

Here is a zipped skimmer pic file...i hope this works..I took a few more but I couldn't get em all to fit in the alloted space

[coraline79]

Man, is there soap in that thing? j/k hope you get it worked out.

[stoneroller]

For pics, you can use photobucket and then insert the links on your thread. See http://www.maast.org/forums/showthread.php?t=40582

[stoneroller]

What happens when you close the air valve completely?

[drgnbttrfly]

ok i think the carbon has finally helped...i turned the air down and it made the water shoot out the exit faster (very hard) had to redirect it...which forced clear water out the top of the skimmer...once i settled it down its clear water in the collection cup...is that normal? shouldn't it be empty?

I think if I can just get it going empty..lol. We are almost there.

[labrown]

Try turning the tube that sticks strait up above the place that is supposed to stay above the water level. That's how I adjust the level in my euroreef.

[drgnbttrfly]

Its all the way open...if i close it any..it makes it flow harder at least right now did yours do that when you first got it?

[stoneroller]

Just a thought...
Could the output tubes be restricted? foreign object?

[ErikH]

Keep dumping the water out into a bucket and see if it stops. It's a new skimmer and if there hasn't been one before it's just going crazy.

[drgnbttrfly]

No nothing is restricted...its all brand new...but good thought..I will let it keep running and trying see if it calms down by tomorrow...some of the suggestions have already helped some. It is the first skimmer since set up.

[verynewatthis]

your location says Hood....im guessing Ft Hood....if so feel free to give me a call...my number is 495-1320....it could be alot of things....but what im guessing is going on is that you have added something to your tank that is making this happen..Id be more then willing to come over and lend a hand....i have been running ER's for over 5 yrs.. I could even bring mine over to run a test if you want. Let me know

rich

Stay Cav

[subsailor]

yeah she lives over in kouma rich, I think the problem might be the skimmer is going crazy because she hasn'y had one up to this point. I think it will prolly settle down in a couple of days.

[verynewatthis]

ya...i can take mine over there and run it very dry and get the water cleaned up to the point she can run hers...ive seen this happen many times...lol...

[BigKGlen]

When I bought my ER, there were instuctions that had a pic of another ER model. I went through a few messy hours until I changed the PVC configuration. The instructions showed both tubes turned up, but it's like this http://www.euro-reef.com/rs180specs.shtml. Changed it, and had it dialed in with-in minutes.

HTH

[drgnbttrfly]

Hmm...well sub will be here monday..I can let him play with it..I suspect i may have to build a stand to do that configuration...yay..trip to HD. :applause:

[drgnbttrfly]

I did a water change tonight..turned off all the pumps and skimmer.

I emptied all the water out of the cup and put it back together. When I turned it on it didn't rocket to the top this time. I slowly adjusted the air. Its about halfway open. It is working now and giving me a nice bubble slime. I will probably have to empty it tomorrow. It isn't green or anything but the tank is fairly clean still. But I can tell its working because its pulling uneaten flake food up into the cup. :applause:

So thanks for all the tips. I think it just had to get it all out of its system.

I am going to build a stand for it so it can sit a bit higher in my sump and the outgoing water won't be so close to the waterline. I will have subsailor help me if he doesn't mind. I picked up some grating from HD to make a stand and some acrylic to make a casing to keep the spray enclosed in the sump.

It will be my first attemp at making something like this of my own...it will be interesting to see how much I mess up..:nerd:

Thanks!!

[crossxfire2]

I can't believe I didn't see this post earlier!!!! I think I know exactly what is wrong.

Lets cover the basics:
Your skimmer is sitting in way too much water. The water level is much too high. Here is a cruddy video of my euroreef. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g88VZGZv6dg The water level is EXACTLY 7 7/8 inches. I just tested my skimmer for you, at the water level yours is at (according the the picture), and it did some wacky things, but nothing drastic. But that is absolutely a necessity to keep the water level correct.
Next: From the picture, this is definatly the problem. Do you see your water outlet? The tube that comes out from the bottom of the skimmer? I am sure you know this, but this part is adjustable. It can be slid up or down. Make sure it is ALL THE WAY DOWN!!!!!!!
Next: In the last 7 days, have you added any kind of chemical?? The skimmer is most sensitive to chlorine remover. I added it in the past, and my skimmer did EXACTLY what yours is doing right now. It went bazurk.

I hope this helps. PM me if none of these works.

[crossxfire2]

I just read your last post. Lol. I am sorry. Good luck with your new amazing skimmer!! Euroreef is my favorite! This will be your favorite piece of equipment, lol. I kindof like watching mine, lol.

[crossxfire2]

I am sorry again. Just do what the instructions say about the water height, I guess.

[drgnbttrfly]

Yeah the outlet I had to take the tube off...because it would be in the water. And it said that was bad and I had to turn it to the side. I did lower the water level and it worked.

I bought that crate stuff from HD and I am gonna build a stand but it is working well now. The part in the directions about the carbon I think was dead on. I did add some stress stuff when I added a new fish to the tank...and that could have done it I suppose...but either way...yay..all is good now. I also was able to create a "sliding glass door" out of acrylic I bought from HD that is the height of my stand and it covers the water splash areas of my sump to protect my stand and floors from bouncing water since my sump was made completely coverless. I made a temp cover for my fuge that I place over it when my light is on and I take the light off when not in use since its a cheap clip on ($9) from Lowes with a flourecent bulb in it with no cover.

It also helps keep curious kids out but I can still see whats going on in the sump when I open the doors and simply slide it down when I need to work in it or empty the cup. I think I am going to build a proper cover for the fuge and return area with holes for the incoming and outgoing water later.

I am still recovering from the bleeding wallet from the whole setup. So updates and improvements will have to wait a bit. :whew:

Well that was a long one...so I will stop typing now......

[aimaike]

As for the "Stress Coat" type stuff, I can vouch for that causing problems. Stick with Prime and you won't have that particular problem. I used it once in a pinch when I did not have Prime and it sent my skimmer into orbit. Following along with what CXF2 said, I have 2 ERs and they are just terrific. One is like yours with the downspout job and the other is a recirc model. As much as I love the RS250, man those recircs are really darn hard to be. For the money though, I don't think you can beat ERs in general.

[crossxfire2]

Yeah, they can be expensive! But man, it is my favorite piece of equipment! Its fun to watch!