2 exact skimmers on same system. One skims the other doesn't. Why?

[TomToro]

I have two etss800s with Iwaki 55's running them on an sps 235gallon system.

I did this because I figured two is better than one and I needed more skimming because of the Brightwell system I'm trying.

One day one of the skimmers will skim o.k. and the other is just bubbling at the bottom. Another day the opposite.

Q:Why won't they both skim at once? Is this something well known that I missed?


I feel I'm wasting electricity since they only skim one at a time. I also feed pretty heavily now so there should be enough for two.

Thanks,
Tom Toro

[KafudaFish]

Just curious but are both in the same sump next to one another?

I know people will argue one large skimmer is beter than two mediums but I have always wondered if each skimmer was fed independantly of the other if it would work better. For example have each skimmer in a 45 gallon rubbermaid being fed directly from the overflows and then these two dump into a 100 gallon one for the return etc.

Make sense?

[TomToro]

Yep, They're both in the same return section of the sump. Both drawing and dumping in the same section.

I thought about putting one on the other end of the sump, but it would still have to dump into the return end to avoid bubble problems in the dt.

[luther1200]

They should both skim at the same time. Sounds like theres just not enough waste for both of the skimmers to skim.

[TomToro]

I hope that's the case. I'm using the Brightwell system in there, so maybe it's doing it's job.

Thanks for the replies, Folks.

Tom Toro

[chadfarmer]

one is running better than the other usually than once they get some scum the other kicks in