Skimmer depth

[Elijahh]

Hi all, I have an octo Classic 110-int skimmer, and I’ve become aware that I don't know everything about skimmers.

What does the depth of water the skimmer sits in have to do with proper/optimal skimmer operations? And, how do you determine the optimal depth for the skimmer? I'm thinking the depth has to do with the water level in the chamber. Not so much to do with the power of the pump as it does with the water pressure on the out let (skimmer sits higher = less pressure, skimmer sits lower = more pressure). But if you can regulate the amount of water in the chamber by adjusting the gate valve, does the depth the skimmer sit in really matter?
The manufacturers recommended sump height for my skimmer is 7-8” and mine currently sits in 7.5”, but if I sat mine at say 10” or 6”, how would the skimmer know?

Any way, if anyone can explain it to me I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.



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[slief]

Originally Posted by Elijahh

Hi all, I have an octo Classic 110-int skimmer, and I’ve become aware that I don't know everything about skimmers.

What does the depth of water the skimmer sits in have to do with proper/optimal skimmer operations? And, how do you determine the optimal depth for the skimmer? I'm thinking the depth has to do with the water level in the chamber. Not so much to do with the power of the pump as it does with the water pressure on the out let (skimmer sits higher = less pressure, skimmer sits lower = more pressure). But if you can regulate the amount of water in the chamber by adjusting the gate valve, does the depth the skimmer sit in really matter?
The manufacturers recommended sump height for my skimmer is 7-8” and mine currently sits in 7.5”, but if I sat mine at say 10” or 6”, how would the skimmer know?

Any way, if anyone can explain it to me I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.



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The deeper the water, the higher the level inside the skimmer. If you put your skimmer in 10” of water, there is a good chance it would overflow due to the level being too high inside the skimmer. This would also cause the skimmer to run excessively wet and make it all but impossible to tune it for drier skimmer. If it didn’t overflow initially, you might find it overly sensitive and randomly overflow. If the level is too low, you end up having to close the valve too much or the wedge pipe too much which can cause siphoning out the drain pipe which results in surging inside the skimmer (level rising and failing as head pressure builds up and creates a siphon). Having it too low can also result in the pump sucking air from the water intake which would impact the skimmer perfomrance for the worse. The reasons above are typically why manufacturers have recommended depth ranges so they can be easily tuned and not overflow or have to be restricted too much on the output side of the skimmer.

[Elijahh]

Thanks for your reply, it makes total sense now.!


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