Added carbon and GFO, now skimmer pulsing

no foam, just sputtering. 4 inches is pretty low for any skimmer, puts lots of head pressure on your pump and lead to premature failure. I think for the 3.5 it's recommended 8-10 inches.

 

Yep, 8-10 is what I read too. I replaced the pump thinking that it wore out, but I still have the exact same problem. Again, I don't think the skimmer arrangement is the issue because before the addition of the reactor, the skimmer was performing very well.

Has anybody ever experienced inconsistent/intermittent/pulsing air pull on a skimmer after the addition of GFO/carbon?

 

How long have you been running the new pump?

 

Less than a week...I hope that the newness of the pump is the problem and that the skimmer will start working in another week or so. The problem is that my air intake is making the exact same sound as it was before. I mean exactly. The pulsing and intermittent pull of air is no different than it was before. I was hoping that the pump would start pulling air constantly at the level it needs to be at. But, it's not. The pump only pulls air consistently when the water level is super low in the skimmer. Again, this was never a problem before.

 

Does this go away when you get it in deeper water (not internal water level), & turn off/on? Still doesn't explain why it worked before though.

 

I've tried, but the areas in my with deeper water are too small to fit my skimmer in to test it. I might have to just mix up a batch of water and test it. I can use the water for a water change.

 

new pump could have oils, that would interfere with skimmate production, but I thought the old pump had the same problem? You can also run all your new equipment, such as pumps though some vinegar water to help remove the oils. In this case it doesn't sound like it, but worth mentioning.

 

Yep, no change after the addition of the new pump. Still had the exact same problem, so this poits away from oils or newness of the pump.

 

Yep, no change after the addition of the new pump. Still had the exact same problem, so this poits away from oils or newness of the pump.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VsobnSu3N4

I uploaded a video of the failure, notice the intermittent sound. This is the problem. Without enough air being pulled in, there is not enough agitation to properly skim.

Also, this is 7 inches of water. I turned off my main pump to allow for some more water to drain into the sump to test the deeper water theory. No luck.