No Skimmate

So, I'm thinking I'm going to be buying a new skimmer here soon. This is the last time I'm going to try to adjust my skimmer, before I blow another 200-300 on a decent one. I'm down between the ASM G1x or the Turboflotor 1000 Blue. But, before I buy one of those, I'm going to see if anyone has some ideas on how to tweak the one I have currently.

I have a Suncoast 125 (nobody has probably heard of these, as they're made locally here in Tampa). It's a needle wheel, and frankly, I'm at the point I think it's a piece of crap. It occasionally produces skimmate, but for the bioload in my tank (2 YT damsels, 1 maroon clown, 1 lawnmower blenny, who I might add, drops a heck of a deuce, 1 scissortail goby, large cleanup crew, frogspawn, BTA, condy, 100+ zoa colony, xenia, assorted mushrooms, etc) - I would think that I should get a bit of skimmate each day.

I have tried to raise and lower my water level. I have an adjustment for air. I have increased the air intake. I have decreased the air intake. I have raised the water level and decreased air, lowered water level and increased air, and vice versa. Has anyone else encountered this problem, and what did you do to solve the problem? If I have to buy a new skimmer that's cool, but do you think theres some mods I could do? I dumped my cup of brown water, about 1/4 inch, that took over a week to collect, and over the last 2 days, the cups been dry. I've broken down the pump and cleaned it, and I've cleaned the collection cup and neck, blah blah.

Pics of this thing below. I cleaned it 3 days ago, and this is what I have after that amount of time.







Whattya all think?

 

If it comes down between the two, which is better? The ASM G1-X w/ Sedra 3500 or the Turboflotor Blue?

Or, maybe the ETSS Reef Devil - anyone use those?

 

Roger that. Keep in mind, that's all that's been happening for 3 days now. Foam goes up -- then goes down. It literally will disappear after a while then reappear. Gunk will collect in the neck of the skimmer, but only very little. If I lower the level I don't even get what you see. I don't know what else to do.

 

I vote ASM, I have a mini-g that skims like a champ.

 

Hi, before you set out hard earned dollars for a new one how about a tad more info. You don't say what size tank you have, I could guess 125 gal. or less but I won't. Also, are you currently adding any supplements or anything else to the tank? Skimmers will react strangely at times to different additives. It would be my predilection, from what I see in the pictures, that the skimmer is fine it just seems to be being impeded by something. A pic of the whole sump/refugium will be helpful. You may be trying to skim fairly pure water instead of the first incoming water.

 

30 gallon tank with 20g sump. The skimmer is rated for tanks around 90 gallons. The skimmer pump is separated from the return of the skimmer by a baffle so it is only processing water coming into the sump - the return is flowing into the last area of the sump near the return pump to the tank so it should only be processing "unskimmed" water.

I simply don't think it's normal for me to only have foam with no skimmate - the foam even disappears periodically - the collection cup is literally dry. I am not adding anything but alk, ca, and mg as needed. I have also not had my hand in the tank for around a week now.

 

I've heard good and bad things about the mini-g - some folks say the pump is noisy and goes out quickly. Have you had any problems at all with the pump? It says it's rated for 75g so this may be a better size for me as I don't plan to get anything higher than 75 for quite some time and the g1 / g1x would be overkill.