Ugh, skimmer impeller died...again!

Anyone else have issues with their Reef Octopus Extreme 160 protein skimmer? My impeller assembly has crapped out twice in the past year! That seems like a lot to me.

Anyways, it recently died and I'm waiting for the replacement part. My coral are doing horribly now and cyano is taking over. Booo this! I hope I am able to perk them up when the skimmer starts running again.

 

Sorry to hear the I've always had good luck with RO, but I have not used that model. Are you dosing kalk, or 2-part etc... near the skimmer pump? In the meantime, just run extra carbon. Carbon removes most of the same thing a skimmer does, although a skimmer is more cost effective as carbon is exhausted fairly quickly. In the short term that shouldn't be an issue. The other possible consideration is O2, as the skimmer adds a lot. That could effect livestock, so you could also add an air stone temporarily.
You will get some salt creep, but if O2 is an issue, I'd probably deal with it for a bit, if I had to...

 

Thanks. I don't dose at all, so it's not that.

I am very nervous about O2 levels. So far all the fish seem fine, no one is hanging out at the top or gasping. Everyone is acting normally - except the coral. This impeller stopped working on Friday....so the skimmer has been off for almost 5 days now. I'm hoping the new assembly shows up soon.

 

Scrap the RO and get an Eshopps . I chopped my RO 100H up to modify it for the mantis tank because the Eshopps skimmer out performed it hands down.

Seriously, sorry for your trouble. As long as you have open surface area and a few waterfalls your fish and corals will get the O2 they need.

 

I had the same thought. Sounds like it might be getting seized up and shattering?

 

Actually, I didn't ask, but are you taking it apart, cleaning it and soaking it in vinegar ever 3-4 months?


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do a little water change that will get you by. James

 

Sorry for your trouble, KC. I clean my pumps every 6 months or when skimmate seems to be on the low side and its back to normal. But I did have to replace my esshops needle wheel once already, so it could be a hit or miss with eshopps made in china pumps. Just mentioning this even though it isn't a reef octopus, since RM mentioned it. Only wanted to express my thoughts on that

Glad you're back!

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