Skimmer problems

[Gwarden]

I currently have a Red Sea Berlin 25-250 skimmer powered by a Rio 2500. I have a problem that has been occuring since I first got it.

When I start it up everrything runs fine and it skims really well. But after a couple hours it just stops skimming.

Is it possible to pull all the gunk out in that amount of time to the point that it cant pull out any more even though I havent used the skimmer in a couple months?

I havent stuck my hands in there or added anything that would break down the viscosity.

I can even fully open the valve to the venturi and it doesnt make a difference.

Any advice?

 

[PeeJ]

its possible that there isnt anything to skim really...after i clean my skimmer cup, it bubbles a lot, but i dont really get any skimmate. but i usually always get soemthing..even if its a super white skimmate.

whats ur bio load?

 

[Gwarden]

I suppose you could skim to the point where you really couldnt skim any more. But I dont think after months of no skimming I could get to that point in an hour or two.

Is it possible the venturi can get glogged and cause this? And how would I clean it on this particular Skimmer?

Bio load is about a dozen small mostly frag like soft corals, a small 2 headed frogspawn and a 2 inch bubble coral. A 2 inch Hippo tang, 2 inch sailfin tang, a blennie, serpent star and assorted snails and hermits.

65 gal with app. 100 lbs LR.

 

[PeeJ]

well what do u mean by not skimming? is the skimmer functioning? like foaming a lot, but just no skimmate?

i believe that if the venturi was clogged, ud be getting overlows of the skimmer...when my air intake on my nautilus gets water down in it, like if it wasnt gettin air, it overflows real fast.

just break it down and clean the hell out of it, and put it back together.

 

[danmhippo]

Is it not bubbling in the column? Or is the bubbles seems to be significantly less? I have never encountered "water too clean" problem, and as long as you have living organism in the water, my skimmer are always able to pull something out of the water in 24 hours or less.

If the bubbles are significantly less, I would check the impeller of the pump, see if any has broken off. Also check if the pump is clogged. I would also try to swap out the pump to another brand. Mag 7 or Mag 9.5 would be nice.

If the bubble is too coarse, you will not get much skimmate either. You will need to either up the pump size (increase the air suction), or close off the venturi valve a bit.

 

[PeeJ]

do u have the turbo upgrade? they give u that needle wheel impeler thats supposed to beat the life out of air and water to give better foam..i think its pretty cheap to....???

ii agree with hippo. i always have foam hanging out at the top of the collection cup. if the water column is clean, the foam is pure white.

smell the skimmate...it smells sooooo good.. ::imagine that guy with a green face cause hes barfing, cuase i was kidding, skimmate smells like poo!!!: dump it in a bag and light it on fire on your neighbors porch,.

 

[Gwarden]

Theres plenty of bubbles in the column but just hardly anything actually gathering at the top. Like I said, when I start it up it works great but drops to almost nothing in an hour or two.

 

[Micah00]

Just thougt I'd add a thought, don't know if its your problem or not. Skimmers have a break in period, they need to get a little dirty before they start doing the job properly.

 

[cdeakle]

I agree with micah, took almost 2 weeks for my new skimmer to "kick in" Also if you have added supplements or done a water change that could be a reason for no skimate. I found that when I change/disturb the water conditions it usually takes a few hours for the skimmer to kick back in....

 

[Mogo]

I didn't realize until this thread that skimmers need a break in period. That would explain why my Turboflotor wasn't working properly for the first couple months or so. Since then I haven't touched it for over a year except to clean the cup.

 

[Polyp999]

I aggree - leave it alone for awhile and then see what happens. After cleaning cup and column - it takes mine awhile to kick back in. If the bubble column is good, just wait and be ready to catch all the "good stuff".

I did determine that the outflows will not tolerate any back pressure and must vent freely - back pressure seems to make the bubble column collapse periodically and unit produce little product.