[slief]

Originally Posted by mike810

Scott,

If I remember correctly, you recommended the outlet not be below water. You said this is what RE recommends and could possibly airlock my skimmer on restart which was why the skimmer overflowed a bit upon restart.

Either way, I have tried multiple times to have the outlet below the water and it literally kills the water level inside the skimmer body to the point that closing the wedge pipe does nothing to raise the water level adequately, I'd also have to run the pump at almost full power to get the water level back up inside the skimmer body. I've also tried adjusting the baffles in the dreambox to raise the water level after putting the outlet below the water. In the end, the skimmer doesn't function well when the outlet is below the water , this is the case for me, not saying it will be for everyone. This skimmer functions much better with the outlet above the water. It's noisier but man does it pull some nasty fish poo out of the water in record time. I drained my cup last night before bed and this afternoon, it's already a 1/4 full again.

Have you tried setting the outlet pipe at an angle so the water exits the pipe at just below the water level but a bit of the opening is still able to get some air? That is normally the recommended setup for this skimmer. I wish I had a Deluxe myself to play with here but I don't so I am kind of grasping at straws so to speak. You would want the effluent side of the pipe facing downstream but given you have a Dreambox with the lids cut, I can imagine that might be difficult. How deep is the level inside the sump? How far closed on the wedge pipe have you gone? I am guessing that if you close the wedge pipe enough, the level inside the skimmer will be fine but it could overflow on startup because the water can't get out fast enough until a siphon occurs which is a sign that the wedge is closed too much. Normally I would recommend a sump depth of around 9.5" or so.. I am thinking that if the wedge we were left almost wide open and you raise the telescope pipe enough to get the level where you want it, that leaves you with the exit pipe out of the water?