Air pump on a skimmer?

Not sure why. There are no clogs in the air lines connected to the skimmer so couldn't really tell you why the skimmer is not drawing in air with out forcing it in with the air pump. Any suggestions.

 

I don't have much experience with your skimmer. Pump working properly, air lines big enough, no clogs kinks, I'm sure you have been down the list. I guess I was just trying to find out if indeed you have been down ther list and can't find anything.

How do you know you are not getting "enough"? Have you got more before? Or is it just not performing the way you think it should?

 

I went down the list checked it twice. Its working good now with the pump and doesn't with out it.

 

Sounds good. So has it always worked that way or did it used to work better? Do you live at high altitude?

Sorry, Gorgia.

 

It worked great for a while but now its the only way to make it work.

 

Bummer. I hate when I can't figure something out.

 

i may try that however i just figured something very very strange out. in changing out the tubing for the venturi to hook it up to my air pump that currently provides airstones in my cichlid tanks, i noticed that LENGTH changed the amount of bubbling im creating in the skimmer. with a short line from the venturi about an inch above water i can hear it sucking air making a "whiz" noise. the bubbles in the skimmer are small but there isnt enough to even fill the column. with a 2ft line hooked up to the venturi hanging out of the side of the sump im getting no noise and id say 2-3x more microbubbles.

with it hooked up to my gange (sp?) valve off of my air pump i can regulate the amount of airflow. so i messed with this for awhile and im actually getting worse results with it hooked up in this manor. less bubbles and they're much larger.. no longer in the microbubble category. tried two different sized air pumps thereafter with the same results. at this time im running with the 2ft 1/4" airline hooked up to the venturi input and already have skimmate production. usually would take a day to get any bit of skimmate in the collection cup. foam buildup is much thicker now.

i have no explanation for this though. does it have something to do with how the line is hanging out of the sump on the floor? and its longer so i figure it'd get less air. assumed shorter the line the better

edit: both the types of tubing used in any length were of the same type/quality and 'new' so there isnt anything clogging the shorter tube used in my experiment. i also thought "hrmm maybe the plastic water adjustment flap thing moved" so i taped it in place (anyone that owns this p.o.s knows it likes to move on its own even if you do some mods to it to try to prevent it still finds a way to move slightly over time especially if nudging the skimmer itself).

so yeah i have no freakin idea how im getting more bubbles now. but hey, its working better now than it did before. ill let the phenomenon work itself out

 

You are most correct in thinking like that still for some reason many think a system can not be over skimmed ! I know better I know they can I have skimmed a few to death and helped out friends and customers who had issues with over skimming , I look for a lighter liquid and I'm running a true Berlin system here now , Thats the major problem I find with this hobby in the last 20 yrs people just want to over do everything to the Max.. You know me LOL let'em learn the hard way all education cost ..

 

The only thing a skimmer will skim out is a hydrophobic organic molecule. The only difference between light and dark is how much water is in it. Concentration does not equal quantity.

 

Have you ever looked at skimmate under a microscope? I have. There's all kinds of microscopic critters swimming around in there.