Need help getting skimmer to work

[elad]

Hey all I have a DNW REEF OCTOPUS 150 SKIMMER it is brand new. I have a maxi jet 1200 getting water from sump to skimmer but it just fills up and goes all over the floor not happy the water in the skimmer is not returning to sump I have had it both on the floor and on an empty salt bucket and I canèt seem to figure the darn thing out does anybody know how to get this darn thing to work. thanks

[lost_at_sea]

check what the specs are for the recommended operational water level.

Skimmer's are very finicky.... if I the water level in mine an inch it goes ballistic and does exactly what yours is doing... it usually settles down after a while.

if it's brand new you may want to let it just run and over flow for a while at first and 'break it in' ...

is this a Hang on back? or installed in your sump?

[Rybren]

I believe that yours is a recirculating skimmer, right?  If so, then you need to adjust the water level in the skimmer body.  On the older Octopus models, there is a riser tube that goes up from the water discharge "T".  You need to twist this to lower the water level in the body. (This is how mine works)  On the newer models, I believe there is a gate valve to adjust the water level.  Open or close the valve to set the level.

Hope this helps.

[leemay]

sounds like you don't have it in the sump!

[Rybren]

The Octopus recirc skimmers can be run in or out of sump.  I've had mine configured both ways with no noticable difference in performance.

[elad]

my model does not have a gate valve on it it has a pipe that says open or close it is all the way open and still no water is exiting the skimmer body it goes in the cup and into the overflow bottle. I am sure that if water starts to exit the skimmer body then the skimmer will work but I am unable to that to happen. it was on the floor at first but it wasnèt working so I raised it the height of a empty salt bucket and still nothing.

[Rybren]

When mine is set to all open, the water level is very low in the body of the skimmer.  As I start to close the pipe, the water level rises. For normal operations, mine is set to almost completely closed and it keeps the water level at the top of the body.

If yours doesn't have any water at all coming out of the discharge tube, then I suspect that either:

a.  You've got the plumbing somehow set up incorrectly; or

b.  You've got a blockage in the discharge

[JD]

b.  You've got a blockage in the discharge

+1

There must be a blockage somewhere. If you pump water in and it won't drain through the drain valve, something is stiopping it.
It might even be something defective with the valve itself.
Follow it through until you find it, it's there somewhere.
Consider an air lock to be a possibility too. I re plumbed my skimmer recent only to have problems.
Come to find out, I forgot to drill a 1/4" hole in the drain piping just above the water surface.
Simple things can make a world of difference.

[redbelly]

If you look just above the output of the T where the water is supposed to come out, does the pipe above say "open" or "closed"?