Cleaning your skimmer?

Follow up; Here we go.....I had a little cyano in my 55 gal. Had a water change due in a couple days so used Chemi-Clean. Fine, 48 hours later, cyano gone. When I did the water change (from the sump) I wanted to clean the sump so I removed the skimmer, cleaned it (rinsed) and put it back. What do you think is happening? It is over skimming! The water change was Friday and when I tried it again today, same results. So when I said I didn't have a problem after cleaning it I must now say...you could have a problem. I thought at first it was over reacting from the Chemi-Clean, and it may be, but after 3 days? Who knows?

 

I regularly clean all of my equipment. My tanks been up and running for about 2 years so I thought it was time to do a little spring cleaning. I've had very bad calcium deposits on my equipment in my sump, probably from the way I used to dose, and my pump to my skimmer runs, but if you turn it off, it doesn't start up. The impeller seemed to get stuck. So I took my skimmer out and soaked the pump, impeller and pipes in vinegar. That worked like a charm and it's all back and working great now. I also soaked my ATO sensor in vinegar to remove the calcium build up. I plan on doing this with my return pump and power heads too. I also clean the inside of the chamber too in my skimmer. You are supposed to keep the neck of the collection cup clean for optimal performance but I also clean the actual reaction tube too. I've never had a problem with it not skimmer after.

 

Yes, I don't have a problem with it not skimming, it is over producing. The foam gathers and just goes right to the top and over and won't stop filling the cup in about 5 min. Since I only did a 10% water change after the Chemi-Clean instead of the recommended 20% so maybe it will just take time for the residual Chemi-Clean to dissipate.

 

a skimmer that over-skims is not 'broken' ...I would say it's doing it's job. You should be able to dial it back a bit to skim less, but I don't think you can over-skim, as long as you have a place for the skimmate to go and replace the water with new saltwater.

I like to do wet-skimmate water changes, where I will drain my skimmer's collection cup into a 5 gallon bucket over a 10-12 hour period, then replace the water that was taken out. Part of my bi-weekly routine.

 

Yea, you should be able to adjust the water height or the cup height (depending on the skimmer) That will allow you to dry skim more.

 

Yes, it is dialed all the way off/down. I tried closing the the ball valve to 1/2 and 3/4 like I was breaking it in and although that helped to slow down the over production of foam it sends micro bubbles down into the reaction chamber and the display becomes inundated with them.

 

If I do a really good cleaning of the cup neck, it is like inwall says. Its almost like a new break in period. It just starts going crazy. Even with the cup all the way up all I get is water. It needs that slime coat to work right. This is why new skimmers need a break in period. Well at least this is how mine is.

 

Cleaned my skimmer yesterday, "COmpletely" inside and out.. main chamber,cup,neck,pump,inside pump,airlines,etc.. now its working awesome.. already have 3 days worth of skimmate (apprx 1/2") in last 18 hours in the cup.

you'd be surprised to what you'll find at the bottom of your main tube, and little scum buildup in main chamber all hinders performance and also can trap nitrates in there as well..

 

I clean the cup and neck weekly and never experience what you describe. I have, as of today, had to act like it is brand new and throttled back the pump to 3/4 open and am running it like that for 1 day. The micro bubbles are no longer getting into the display.