Need help from someone that has a etss 800

[Liam]

i agree with Delta and others,not enough pump.

 

[JohnK]

ok i am going to try the balls just for the h!!! of it. if that doesn't work i am screwed because i can't put a out of sump pump on now there are no holes in my sump for one. if i can't get this to work i am willing to trade anyone for a protien skimmer that i can put under my tank and will work a lot better for me. that will skimme enough too. and i know you can never have enough skimme.

Actually, you can run an external pump without drilling the sump. It's not ideal, but it does work to run a pipe up and over the wall of the sump, you just have to deal with getting it primed initially but then it will work fine. If I remember I'll post a pic or two later. (feel free to PM me and remind me if I forget)

 

[EriksminiReef]

Ok guess i went and get some more bio balls and a friend down the road had a iwaki 55 that i could borrow to try that and see what happen. i tryd just to add more bio balls just got a lot more bubbles and that is about it. it still doesn't want to make the bubbles go up like they were. so i put the iwaki 55 on and has been on since the 17 and still no difference. so i am thinking of tryn a differnet skimmer perferable one with out bioballs for one and one that is a little smaller that i can fit in my sump. i am willing to trade anyone on here for something that will more suit me. as long as it will be good enough for my tank.

 

[JohnK]

Can you post a pic of the set up? Maybe we're all missing something here??

Have you tried restricting the air inlet(s) a bit? (nevermind if someone already suggested that)

 

[EriksminiReef]

i am going to go take some pics rigth now.

 

[Liam]

don't give up just yet,that should be a great skimmer with an iwaki 55.
It just sounds like you need a little help with tuning it.
I am not experienced with ETSS but there are plenty of folks on here to get that baby running for you.

 

[JohnK]

"Etss Support very good and helpful Contact
845-838-9044"

Bumping up that support number in case you didn't notice it.

 

[EriksminiReef]

i will have to give them a call tomorrow. right now i have the pics on my camera but can't get them off i hate these things always messging up. i didn't notice any difference with the iwaki on it to the mag 12 exp more noise and that is about it both seem to me moven the same amount of water but the mag a little more. as far as the balls i notice more bubbles and finer that is it.

 

[EriksminiReef]

ok here are one pic how it was before in the sump only one i can get right now camera is going me hell. and here are two of the skimmer as it is running right now.

as you can tell it was working just doesn't want to stay workign now i did for a few days then stopped workign right and now i can't get it back. and that is with the mag 12 that was on it and 11 bio balls in each tower

 

[KyleinCT]

Thats funny, it looks like it was running ok from the pic even with that pump. Regardless of when you upgrade, see the air inlet? Yopu need to fahit a tube to that then tie a ball valve so you can restrict the air intake a bit, and find a balance between air and discharge.

 

[biggyclops]

on my etss i have to use duct tape around the air inlet part (where the two black pieces meet) that made a difference when i was tuning it..

 

[Liam]

for an instant trial on restricting the intake you could just use a small piece of stiff cardboard and slide it across to create various restrictions,the suction should hold it in place.

 

[EriksminiReef]

i never though of that i am going to put some tape and start blocking off the two air intakes a little and see what happens. and ya like i said it was workign great then stopped and wouldn't work at all again.

 

[EriksminiReef]

ok i put some tape were they meet and the bubbles got realy small and if mad more foam i am going to leave it like that till morning and see what happens. then i will try the peace of paper thing over each intake valve and see what happens with somethign over each one half way. wha if i put a t on them to make it got to one then a valve would that be ok to do.

 

[chew*]

its also necessary to clean out the balls on a regular basis.........

 

[biggyclops]

just cut off a little hose for the air inlet, then bring that hose to HD for a pvc valve... you might have to get a threaded one to match a barb so the other end of the hose can go in.. mine is setup that way.. its a little bulky looking but it works!

 

[biggyclops]

hey i will post a picture of what i mean when i get home today.. around 330

 

[delta]

It doesn't look like you vented the return when you you plumbed it back to the sump? Is it just and elbow and a drop into the sump?

 

[JohnK]

It doesn't look like you vented the return when you you plumbed it back to the sump? Is it just and elbow and a drop into the sump?

Oh yea, that would explain the problem.

 

[smithcreek]

I have the 800 also and run it with an pressure rated Iwaki 55. That pump is more than enough for that skimmer, in fact I have to cut mine back.

Something clearly looks wrong in your picture. It looks like you are very underpowered. The water/foam line looks like it is 2"-3" up into the body. If I was to run my Iwaki 55 full throttle, then close my gate valve until the water/foam line was as high as yours I would have a flood in a matter of minutes.

If the pictures are with the Mag 12 and you aren't seeing a difference with the Iwaki, then something is wrong. My gate valve is set so there is NO water in the skimmer body. The only thing I see is foam. After I feed the fish there is no water or foam in the body even though the pump is still going full blast. So for you to have that much water in the body tells me you're either not pumping enough water through or getting enough air in the mix or both, meaning you may not be getting enough air in the mix because you are not pumping enough water through it.

Here's a couple questions:

-Are you cutting the pump back?
-have you cleaned out the air intakes?
-have you cleaned the Iwaki with vinegar?
-Is the Iwaki 55 the pressure rated model?

Finally, again, what bioload do you have in the tank?

I've read good stuff about the air inlet mod, but I think you need to solve some other problem first.

Greg, I have a vent on my return that I ended up blocking off. The only difference I noticed with having the vent closed is the water moved through a bit faster with the siphon, but I just closed the gate valve a bit. Made it a lot quieter though.