Marineland's new skimmer

I’ll try to explain it without pics. Unscrew the lock-ring and remove the collection cup. Turn the collection cup upside down so you can examine the surface of the part that seats on the gasket or O-ring. Run your finger along this surface. In order for the O-ring to seal properly, this surface should be even and smooth. On mine, there are 4 little round shaped protrusions evenly spaced in the shape of the 4 corners of a square that stick up from the surface ever so slightly. Just enough to prevent the O-ring from sealing the joint properly.

I don’t know if these 4 circles were just the result of a faulty injection-mold or if it is just a design flaw where they were supposed to serve some other purpose.

Whatever the case, any skimmer out there that has these 4 circles protruding from this surface, or any other irregularity on this surface for that matter, is going to leak.

 

Great explanation. That makes perfect sense. Is there a way to cut notches in the o-ring to make it seat better?

 

use a dremmel with a good tip and grind them down take one min

 

I would think it would be better to grind down the protrusions rather than mess with the O-ring.

Just curious. Anyone else have these raised circles on theirs?

 

Good point. I am a little tired today, I should have thought of that.

 

Yeah,I looked in mine. Looks like the plasti-injection mold point,mine don't stick out much. No leaks,But they are there.

 

I think we're on to something. I took mine apart and I too saw the 4 injection nubs. I took a flat knife and used the back end of it. Don't try to cut it off or you'll dig into the plastic. You just want to lightly shave it smooth. Mine is fine now as it was leaking just a bit. I was also wondering why there is no rubber washer inside where my finger is pointing. It would tighten the top to the threaded area if you know what I mean. Thank heavens for DIY. Where would we be in this hobby without ingenuity!

 

i agree with it being a design flaw. The pre used skimmer that i got from marineland in which the CS said there where no leaks....well guess what i got a leak! but it is no where as bad as the one that had sent to them...just a little dribble. I think they should had made the gasket thicker! but now that i have seen te diy project i will give it a shot and keep you posted.

 

I scraped mine down same as Marlinman and the leak is gone. I also just found out that the Maxi-jet pump that is used on this skimmer is made in Italy by the same folks who make the Sicce pumps that drive the Octopus/MSX Extreme skimmers.

Very happy with this skimmer.

 

Alright Bruno! Way to go! Well, I just bought the Marine Pro 300 at Barrier Reef for $200 for my new 48" x 24" 120 gal All Glass double overflow reef ready tank that I'm going to be setting up this month. A daunting task I'm sure it will be. I'm looking forward to the new setup but I'm not looking forward to the work that is necessary to make the change right. I am my own worst enemy when it comes to these things. I will drive my girlfriend crazy but she already thinks I'm crazy. I bought a 48" 8X54W T5 retro kit for $299 on ebay. I have 2 36" 2X39W T5 retro kits that I might take off my old setup if I think I need more light I also have a 175W MH I can use also along with 2 20" moonlight strips. I hear that the T5's are all you need today. This thing is going to rock my house out! I'm getting a Megaflow 4 wet/dry and I'm going to pull the bio balls out and use live rocks as a bubble difuser. The stand is 36" high and the canopy front goes back 6" to allow good access. I'm going to be painting the stand and canopy black like the one I have. I bought a 1200 gph mag drive return pump from Drs Foster & Smith and it's on the way. I got great prices on everything. Big Al's has the tank for $400 + overflows and they sell the megaflow 4 for $300. These are the cheapest I've seen.

I only have my 65 gal for just over 2 months and I've outgrown it. I should have gotten the bigger tank to begin with but I wasn't sure that I could do it. Here's some recent pictures of my 65 gal peninsula reef tank. As you can see everybody is happy! I'll keep you posted as I go along. If anybody has any suggestions please feel free to let me know!