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Skimmer break-in

fatoldsun

fatoldsun

NJRC Member
Can someone possibly explain to me this concept? I have a new (to me, but used) skimmer that I've had installed for about 10 days. It's a SRO XP2000 which is a large needle wheel cone skimmer. It's recommended depth is 5.75" which I believe I have satisfied. I reached out to the mfg and they say 3-4 weeks of break-in. What does that mean. It's used so does that mean my system has to adapt? Or is it the skimmer that's adapting? If its the skimmer, why is the new system any different than post-cleaning? Should I expect thus every time I clean it? It's just filling the cup in about 4 hours. The cup holds close to 1/2 gallon. For the first week I just kept emptying it and treating it like a mini water change. Now I have it draining back to the sump. The gate valve is fully open which their instructions correctly translates to "on". Anyone have any pointers or advice? Thanks
 
trivan

trivan

I had that problem with the skimmer i recently added, but I ran it for 2 days in a bucket of water with a bit of vinegar. I was told that there are oils on the skimmer from the manufactoring process. The soak and run in water/vinegar helps remove it.
 
fatoldsun

fatoldsun

NJRC Member
trivan said:
I had that problem with the skimmer i recently added, but I ran it for 2 days in a bucket of water with a bit of vinegar. I was told that there are oils on the skimmer from the manufactoring process. The soak and run in water/vinegar helps remove it.
Click to expand...
This skimmer ran in another tank since it was purchased in 2010. Unless something was used to clean it by the seller anything from mfg should be gone.
 
falconut

falconut

NJRC Member
I always thought it was just the inital run. Maybe the breakin you're going through is just for tunning it. I'm not sure what you mean by darining back to the sump. Is there anyway to skim dryer? It sounds like you may be set to a wetter skim.
 
jose7878

jose7878

A buddy of mine went thru this it took his skimmer two weeks to finally break in. Are you adding any additives?
 
Lostinthedark

Lostinthedark

NJRC Member
I'm breaking in a new SRO Diablo XS200 now. Its takes some trial and error. I ended up raising it up an additional 1 1/2"s till it calmed down. After 2 weeks its very steady.
 
AJ1080

AJ1080

There are a couple things that can cause this:

1) Your water level in the sump may be too high (Its low end is 5.75" but what is the high side)
2) Have you added anything to your tank in terms of additives or new frags? Some additives will make skimmers go nuts and the 2 part epoxy can also mak them go nuts.

If I was you I'd check the water levels in the sump first. If thats good then start doing smaller water changes until it gets a dryer skim.
 
downbeach

downbeach

Have you adjusted the gate valve? The water level should be about 1" below the collar in the chamber. Are you getting enough air? Try removing the tube from the silencer.
 
fatoldsun

fatoldsun

NJRC Member
I have a few things to try - thanks. I'll start with adding a piece or two of egg crate to my stand and raise the skimmer/lower the depth 3/8" at a shot. I only have about 3/4" clearance or I'll be hitting the underside of the stand
Jim. I think if I come that close to the collar (meaning the neck collar) I'll submerge the gate valve output. Can't do that.
Still, I don't understand what's meant by "breaking in" a skimmer. Everyone talks about doing it, surely someone can explain what's going on with the process....
 
jose7878

jose7878

Here goes somewhat of a explanation. Salt water is affected by many things, oil being the big one, if you feed or put my hand in the tank the head collapses the bubbles back up and start going out the return instead of staying in the riser. Various oils,silicon and who knows what is present in a new plastic skimmer that alone will restrict foam production, after a short while this is cleansed by the salt water and a slime coating is formed in the skimmers body , the bubbles get finer taking longer to climb the tower, picking up waste and creating foam.
 
fatoldsun

fatoldsun

NJRC Member
downbeach said:
Just in case you didn't get this with the skimmer:

http://coralvue.com/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2011/01/XP2000I-instruction-manual.pdf
Click to expand...

Thanks Jim. I did find that but didn't find the 2 pages all that helpful. Merely saying "wait 3-4 weeks" seemed a bit over simplified in my opinion. They also say 6"-10" depth as long as the outlet isn't covered. Well I'm at 5.75" and it's 2/3 covered/submerged so that leads me to believe its a universal set of instructions. No way 8" would work. Also one of the coralvue guys on RC suggested 5.75" for this skimmer. Im honna raise it up some and see if that helps or makes it worse. Could be that I'm too shallow with my depth...
 
downbeach

downbeach

I don't think you should have a "break in" period at this point, since it's pre owned. If you haven't added anything to the tank, i.e. red slime remover, it should be just a matter of getting the unit in the right depth of water, and adjusting the gate valve so you have the right level inside the reaction chamber.
 
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