Nano Skimmer/sump working?

[zachcmcintyre]

Relatively new to hobby. Just picked up a used Red Sea Nano 20 gal. I currently have a waterbox 25 and is going great. I have never had a sump/protein skimmer. I have it placed in the middle where it goes and the box on top with lid. I have the gate all the way down. Is there supposed to be water in the box. It is dry. There is power as I can feel vibration but have no idea if it is working. Have no problem buying another if it is broken or upgrading to something different. And advice would be great.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Relatively new to hobby. Just picked up a used Red Sea Nano 20 gal. I currently have a waterbox 25 and is going great. I have never had a sump/protein skimmer. I have it placed in the middle where it goes and the box on top with lid. I have the gate all the way down. Is there supposed to be water in the box. It is dry. There is power as I can feel vibration but have no idea if it is working. Have no problem buying another if it is broken or upgrading to something different. And advice would be great.

Can you post a pic so we know what skimmer we are working with?

For a skimmer, you should see a mix of air and water in the body of the skimmer. Where to cup mounts to the top, you will use that area to reference where you will need to set the water level in the skimmer. The further below where the cup meets the body, the "drier" the skim. Higher up and even in the center section of the cup will produce a "wetter" skim.

 

[zachcmcintyre]

Can you post a pic so we know what skimmer we are working with?

For a skimmer, you should see a mix of air and water in the body of the skimmer. Where to cup mounts to the top, you will use that area to reference where you will need to set the water level in the skimmer. The further below where the cup meets the body, the "drier" the skim. Higher up and even in the center section of the cup will produce a "wetter" skim.

Not sure if this helps or if you want me to pull the skimmer out.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Not sure if this helps or if you want me to pull the skimmer out.

That is exactly what we needed.

OK, that looks like an older RedSea Max Nano Skimmer.

If it is, then you may need to adjust the air valve and the height that it sits at. But no matter the adjustment, you should be able to remove the cup, look down in it and see a mix of air and water moving around. If no air, then the air valve (little white valve) is either all of the way closed, the line is clogged, or where the line meets the pump is clogged.

With those skimmers, I prefer to run them just a tad wet for skim. I will adjust the airline all of the way open and then set the skimmer height so that the bubbles are popping about 1/16" from the top of the skimmer body. Much easier to remove the cup to see where the bubbles are popping. You may have to do this a few times, when first setting up a skimmer, as they have to break in a little.

Here is a little video I found to explain a skimmer. This will also help you understand the above a little more.

 

[zachcmcintyre]

This is perfect! Thanks for the video. Last question here. Is the sponge on left too big? Seems big for space and should be trimmed down a bit.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

This is perfect! Thanks for the video. Last question here. Is the sponge on left too big? Seems big for space and should be trimmed down a bit.

Are you referring to the sponge that is placed next to the skimmer outlet? If so, then it can be trimmed to whatever you want, as long as the skimmer stays level and no micro bubbles make it down to the return pump. The only reason for it is to provide some "hold" to keep the skimmer from not being level and to help disperse micro bubbles that may come out of the skimmer.