CoraLife 65 protein skimmer

[libertonalex]

Attached is a pic of the part I dont know what to do with... I know its an "Air-Inlet Silencer" and I have it attached to the "Veturi Chamber" but what do I do with the other end thats in my hand? I am having problems with it bubbling instead of overflowing, and if I blow into this part it bubbles real nice...

Thanks any help is appreciated.

[Allmost]

that's the silencer, the tube you have in your hand goes to the venturi, and draws air, the air it draws makes a noise and that little black canister reduces the noise. you leave the other end open.

so when you dont blow air into it, no bubbles ? (not first time hearing this with CSS :S unfortunetly I have one of those too :S)

how far down under water level is the pump ? the stock pump is NOT a good pump so you need to bring it closer to the surface of water for more bubbles.

these guys, need ALOT of playing around with to work. once it does work, it will work gooood for a little bit and then requires same to be done again.

[libertonalex]

Definitely no bubbles when it runs on its own. It does look like my package was missing the "adjustment valve" for the water intake as I look at more detailed instructiosn (their instructions were terrible!)... i guess that could be a problem, but the water level is getting up to the O ring, and then through the cone and overflowing the collection cup.

I can try raising the pump some but then it interferes with the bubble production diffuser thingy.

[libertonalex]

And also, where does the actual "silencer" go? It just sort of hangs out of my tank right now all limp. Theres a little clippy thing on it but maybe im just an idiot because it still didn't look right

[wtildens]

I have the 125 and they are a pain, but it does seem to work if you stay on top of it. There isn't a water inlet valve, just the outlet. That back pressure is how you control the water level in the skimmer.

As for the placement of the silencer, it has a little spot next to the inlet pipe. I just hang mine over the back of the sump. Seems to get a better air flow.

[Mr. Wiggles]

I have a CSS65 too, and it is a real pain to get set properly, but once it does it seems to skim ok. I have my silencer attached to the main body by a zip-tie that way it will always be above the water line (or else it might siphon water out or have a hard time pulling in enough air. I do have to clean the hole in which the air is pulled into the pump because it clogs and can easily overflow the skimmer. If you can I would set up a hose to automatically empty the cup into a 1 gallon container (has saved me more times than I would like to admit). I just bored out the hole in the lid of the cup and hot-glued it in to get a seal and then ran a piece of airline from the cup to my overflow container. Yours seems to be new so give it some time to break in. Also I would run the outlet into a filtersock rather than the bubble box as it does the same job and takes up 1/10th the space.

[Allmost]

libertonalex : dont think its ure fault, if anything the person who designed it is the idiot and I get what u mean 100% lol

ok so the red knob is to control the water level, it is one of the worse designs I have seen ! and they are using a high pressure gate for a low pressure skimmer, so the smallest adjustment will make the skimmer overflow !
(if u think u can return it, that will be the biggest favour u have done to ure self lol mine didnt take it back :S )

so u gotta set the knob to almost open, and make SMALL adjustments, REALLY small lol

the silencer, yea just hangs around but be sure its above water level at all times.

move the pump higher by cutting the tube, or moving the skimmer body higher, until you see bubbles. (mine has to sit almost on top of water to make bubbles)

after all this, skimmers take almost a week to break in, so just keep playing around with it, SMALL adjustments.

good luck :) but they are a pain, so just keep playing with it,
what is the tank size ? I hope no bigger than 30 G

[Allmost]

I have a CSS65 too, and it is a real pain to get set properly, but once it does it seems to skim ok. I have my silencer attached to the main body by a zip-tie that way it will always be above the water line (or else it might siphon water out or have a hard time pulling in enough air. I do have to clean the hole in which the air is pulled into the pump because it clogs and can easily overflow the skimmer. If you can I would set up a hose to automatically empty the cup into a 1 gallon container (has saved me more times than I would like to admit). I just bored out the hole in the lid of the cup and hot-glued it in to get a seal and then ran a piece of airline from the cup to my overflow container. Yours seems to be new so give it some time to break in. Also I would run the outlet into a filtersock rather than the bubble box as it does the same job and takes up 1/10th the space.

hey :) just something I learned here last week !

everyday, I get a little bowl, fill it upw ith RO/DI water and put the air tube int he water and let it suck in RO/DI water ! this way it wont get clogged up and works good at all times (I do this on my Euro reef but same concept, helps alot) :)

[Dustin1300]

I'd agree. If you just bought this skimmer you might go ahead and return. One of the most unreliable skimmers on the market. You can spend just a bit more and get something like the Super Reef Octopus that will do wonders. If you need a HOB then you could always go with the Octopus HOB which is very highly reviewed.