new c-skim 1200 questions

[DonBossung]

I have recently purchased this skimmer and am anxious to see it in action as it appears to be well built and there are some innovative ideas that I am looking forward to using.

I am setting this up external to a sump and will use a separate pump to deliver feed water that is coming directly from the main aquarium into the sump. I will then return the water into the sump downstream from the input.

With this, I have two installation questions.

1) On page 16 of the manual under the heading "Connecting the feed pump" it states "The inlet hose barb is designed for a 1/2" standard flexible hose...". I cannot see how this is so. The only type of flexible 1/2" hose I have ever seen is clear and made of vinyl and will not work with the retention collar on the hose barb. The is not enough space between the retention collar and the barb to allow the retention collar to slip over the tube. Please advise what type of flexible hose this inlet is designed for. Possibly supplying a source for purchasing same.

2) The outlet is designed for 1-1/2" and I appreciate the included length of clear tube used to transition from the outlet to pvc. Do you have or do you foresee an outlet elbow that will connect directly to schedule 40 pipe sizes?

Also, I have 1 operation question.

The 1200 deluxe control lever has 3 positions and a tab that 'locks' the lever in the normal position. It seems to take quite a bit of force to move the control lever from one position to another primarily because of the locking tab. In fact, I have not gotten the lever to a position other than normal for fear of breaking the tab. Is the lever supposed to pull out to allow the tab to clear the lock or should I just 'force' it? What if it does break?

Thanks
Don

[sflorlando]

I am also interested in purchasing this skimmer. Any news yet.

[Steven Pro]

1.) I am using standard 1/2" vinyl tubing that I bought at the LFS. It should work just fine. Is the tubing you have too thick-walled for the collar to slip over?

2.) The included elbow has a locking mechanism built in, so I don't think a standard PVC fitting would work.

3.) The ones I have slide back and forth between the positions with a little click noise as the tab moves over the little bumps. It should move freely for you. You do not have to pull it out to switch positions.

[sflorlando]

Thanks Steven,

I have read all the information I can on the internet on this skimmer and I have to admit that I am excited. I want a hassle free skimmer that does what it promises. Are there any members that are currently using this model. A write up from them would be great.

[DonBossung]

You are on the money Steven. Unfortunately the LFSs in this area don't stock this kind of stuff and I have to rely on the local home centers. The tube I had was 1/2" ID and 3/4" OD. I found some 1/2"ID with 5/8" OD at a small mom and pop near here and it worked well.

I was hoping that the locking elbow would accept a 1 or 1-1/4" (US) PVC and as you point out it does not. In an email to RedSea Isreal they replyed it is designed for 1-1/2" OD pipe or 38/40mm PVC pipe. The skimmer came with a length of 1-1/2" clear acrylic pipe about 6" long that does fit nicly in the elbow and I was happily suprised to see that a 1" US PVC slid (loosly) into the clear pvc so I got out the Weld-On 16 (great stuff) and glued it in. Then used a 1" coupling to go 1" PVC from the skimmer to my sump. I put a couple wraps of plumbing tape around the end of the acrylic that went into the elbow and it worked VERY well. Once I am happy with the setup, I plan on gluing the clear acrylic into the elbow.

Based on the email to RedSea I found the gumption to go ahead and move the operation lever with a bit of extra oomph and it works fine. I was just a little leary at first since I had a $350US piece of equipment and didn't want to break it before I even turned it on!

All in all I am very happy with this skimmer (even though I just got it running about an hour ago) and the installation (with these few bumps) was smooth and the skimmer seems well made, easy to disassemble, and I have had it on for about an hour and it is bubbling away! Ready to see how it performs in the long haul.

For those who are curious, I am using a QuietOne 1200 pump that I had laying around to feed the skimmer. The skimmer input is about 20" above the sump level that the pump is in. With this pump and head I have the flow valve of the skimmer about 3/4 closed and have bubbles coming to within 1" of the top of the waste tube in the collection cup. When I turn on the auto wash (very very nice) the pump is putting out plenty of pressure to get a good 'sheet' of water that swirls around the waste tube in the collection cup. So while the QuietOne might be a little underpowered here, I believe it is going to work, especially once the skimmer has some time to break in.

Thanks for the input
Don

[Steven Pro]

Actually, the wash down feature utilizes the recirculating pump, not the feed pump.

FYI, the hose barb fitting for the water feed does screw out and permit a larger thread to barb fitting to be inserted in for those that want to feed water to the skimmer directly from an overflow. It is recommended that the feed be in the 300-400 gallons per hour range.