HELP!! Fluval PS2 Protein Skimmer

[Tony Nano]

Hi,

 

I have been trying to dial in my Fluval ps2 protein skimmer in my Fluval Evo 13.5 gallon tank and am not having any luck. 

 

Any guidance or tips to make sure this starts skimming properly would be great! 

 

Some thoughts I have;

- does water level in tank effect the skimmer?

- should you plug that hole in the second chamber so the “sump” is a closed system?

 

Thanks in advance!

[Clown79]

6 hours ago, Tony Nano said:

Hi,

 

I have been trying to dial in my Fluval ps2 protein skimmer in my Fluval Evo 13.5 gallon tank and am not having any luck. 

 

Any guidance or tips to make sure this starts skimming properly would be great! 

 

Some thoughts I have;

- does water level in tank effect the skimmer?

- should you plug that hole in the second chamber so the “sump” is a closed system?

 

Thanks in advance!

I don't use a skimmer on nano systems so I'm not sure on that but definitely plug that hole in the middle of the wall. 

 

Fluval is the only tank that designs a hole in the wall near the bottom. It prevents the overflow from surface skimming.

[Tony Nano]

6 hours ago, Clown79 said:

I don't use a skimmer on nano systems so I'm not sure on that but definitely plug that hole in the middle of the wall. 

 

Fluval is the only tank that designs a hole in the wall near the bottom. It prevents the overflow from surface skimming.

Thanks for the tip, I will definitely plug that hole. I think it's getting better and I am understanding it a bit better, but with a fluctuating water level you'll be adjusting it all the time!

 

I'm newer to nano tanks, I had a 110 gallon before this, so I am now quickly understanding how tedious it is to get everything right on such a small tank.

 

Thanks again

[StevieT]

It's a bad skimmer, don't expect much from it.

[Sparty]

It's been fine for me... though I don't have much experience to compare it with anything else. I get a decent tea-colored skim every day or two.

 

It took me a while to figure out that the only way I could get more control of the skim level was by adjusting the level of the sponge in front of the output. Pushing it down a little bit to let more flow out allowed me to adjust the skim level low enough to keep it from overflowing every 6 hours.

[Tony Nano]

40 minutes ago, StevieT said:

It's a bad skimmer, don't expect much from it.

I've read that some reefers don't like it at all. Would you suggest something instead of the skimmer (not a refugium either)? 

27 minutes ago, Sparty said:

It's been fine for me... though I don't have much experience to compare it with anything else. I get a decent tea-colored skim every day or two.

 

It took me a while to figure out that the only way I could get more control of the skim level was by adjusting the level of the sponge in front of the output. Pushing it down a little bit to let more flow out allowed me to adjust the skim level low enough to keep it from overflowing every 6 hours.

Thanks Sparty, I will mess around with that later tonight. I know once it's dialed in it will be beneficial - but man it's taking a long time!

[StevieT]

1 hour ago, Tony Nano said:

I've read that some reefers don't like it at all. Would you suggest something instead of the skimmer (not a refugium either)? 

 

Go with our inTank Chamber One Media Basket.

[dandelion]

I have an aquatic life 115 which is a very similar skimmer and I’m getting pretty good skimmate from it. That being said I ordered an intank chamber one media rack and will move the slimmer to media too. Getting too much gunk in my back chambers

[Tony Nano]

28 minutes ago, StevieT said:

Go with our inTank Chamber One Media Basket.

Thanks, but I can't justify spending almost $100 on a media basket...this gives me ideas for DIY though. Thanks!

[Sparty]

2 hours ago, StevieT said:

It's a bad skimmer, don't expect much from it.

You are likely right but it seems to be working well enough. I don't have a huge load on it.

 

I will get a nicer one when I finally splurge on my new anemone dedicated tank.. 😀

[Clown79]

A mini fuge would be beneficial in a small tank.

[Tony Nano]

I got the skimmer dialled in and it works SO good now. Water level and water intake into the skimmer play the biggest roles in finding that sweet spot.

[GusF]

Mine completely stopped producing bubbles just after 2 months. Any tips on how to clean it or trouble shoot?

[Lew]

Guys if you keep the water level around two thirds the way up in the sump tank to bring it two thirds of the way up to the skimmer then undo the air cap all the way and let it hang out of the lid as this causes suction which makes it overflow when the pressure gets too great, then I want you to push the output sponge lower down this restricts water and bubble movement making too many bubbles rise up to the surface at once. As you are probably aware the water control isn’t great if you twist it one way it will go up and down you want to find the lowest point and calibrate it with using your sump water level instead it makes it so much easier. And make sure the water level is two thirds in case of water escaping as I told you to take air cap out of lid and let it hang so overflows are massively reduced but not cured. You want a steady bubble rising and popping at the top not too much fizz just like blow a large bubble when we were kids