Skimmer problem... again.

"I feel ya" as they say. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, count to ten and relax. Sometimes we drown in a glass of water and cant see the problem thats just under our nose.

I never soaked any of my equipment, in fact, the salt crystallization that I spoke of couldn't have come off with a mere soak in vinegar. It was like a rock formation. You would have needed a hammer and chisel. I still think that your problem is a maint. issue and I'll tell you why. When you first got your skimmer it worked properly........right? That was 6-9 months ago. Thats a long time for anything in a SW environment without any regular cleaning. When was the last time you clean out that sponge that sits at the bottom of the last chamber? If your not getting a good flow from the pump, something is clogging it. If your not getting enough "bubbles", which would mean no foam in the collection cup, something is clogging the air intake system. Take everything apart again and I mean EVERYTHING, down to the smallest part and inspect everything. You just might find your problem. Keep us posted.


Luna

 

Thanks Luna. I will be taking it all apart again today.

 

I suggest taking the coller that the airline attaches to the pump off of the pump. Take the airline off it and then using a very small needle scrape the buildup off. It normally collects insite that nipple that the airline connects to. My octopus skimmer uses a similar design for the venturi and every 5 or 6 months it slows down skimming until nothing is collected. I can tell when its clean by being able to blow air rather quickly through that little nipple that the airline connects to on the coller.

Chaeto also messes up my skimmer but I bet you already checked that =)

 

Exactly what I was saying or was trying to say. I also had to do it every 4-6 months to keep the skimmer working properly.



luna

 

could you try putting the bubble trap foam in the left body and put it in the center chamber

 

Packleader had a skimmer like this at one point......PM him if you are continuing to have trouble.

 

That is exactly what it was! I normally clean the pump, etc. every 3-4 months but that one little piece I never noticed to clean.

I couldn't get that little collar off. Does it screw? I was afraid of breaking it so I didn't try too hard bc wasn't sure if it actually came off. But a toothpick and a pipe cleaner did the job.

After that I was able to blow through it effortlessly and it's skimming away now!

WOO HOO

 

Is it the exact same pump???

 

A few months ago I replaced the pump. It's that exact same pump... I guess the original (in a box now) probably just needs the same spot cleaned :

I no longer hate this skimmer and realize it was user error.

I will start cleaning this spot when I clean the skimmer (every 3 months or so).

 

So it's fixed? I certainly sounded like no air. So glad you got it worked out.