gravity fed skimmers

[atzak]

Does anybody have plumbing pics of their gravity fed skimmers?

[heyfredyourhat]

this is basically what i did

http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff157/heyfredyourhat/drain.jpg

[heyfredyourhat]

I dont have my tank up and running yet(tested with SW, but nothing to skim out yet) but so far it seems very hard to tweak this thing to get it just right...

[atzak]

heyfred, how big is your drain hole and how much water are you getting through the skimmer. My concern is there won't be enough water coming through

[Jim_S]

You will only need at the most 1.5 times your system volume running through the skimmer. Your overflow should very easily be able to handle that.

As far as adjusting goes, it pretty easy. They key with any skimmer is to just set it, and let it sit for a few days without messing around with it. Once the foam head starts to properly build, you can set the water lever much easier.

Here's mine. Its plumbed with 1" and reduces to 1/2" at the skimmer.

HTH
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m199/jimdogg187/Drain_2.jpg

[WarrenG]

And note the use of a "T" so that the skimmer can take as much water as it needs and the excess can flow somewhere else. Mine is set up this way too. I use a Quiet One pump after a Kent venturi for the input to my skimmer.