Skimmer Not Skimming

[emmanuel]

I have a aquac ev120 with mag 5 it's been working great for years but the past 2 days it hasnt made any foam at all nothing even in the tower . The only change in my tank is i added 2 phosban reactors 1 with phosban media the other with superactivated carbon would that cause the skimmer to not produce foam I always had foam production with only half day periods were the foam wasnt produced .The other thing I did was check my mag 5 for rusted screws and while I was at it cleaned the impeller and then cleaned the skimmer's injection nozzle that was clogged with all kinds of junk I did notice after the cleaning there was alot more flow through the skimmer . I closed the valve on my pump a little to see if its because of too much flow .
My question is would the 2 phosban reactors be the reason I'm not getting skimmate ? If so should I run my skimmer 12 hours a day instead of 24 ?
Or could it just be that Ive been doing crazy water changes 20% a week and there is nothing left to skim

 

[JLAudio]

In the past I noticed that when the air intake gets clogged it results in the lack of bubbles, due to the lack of air. Check that line to see if its clogged, maybe it needs to be soaked or replaced. Could be from other elements, just remember this happened with my old skimmer. Just a suggestion

 

[emmanuel]

When I cleaned the injector and pump I also cleaned the air intake

 

[House of Laughter]

E,

An ev 120 needs a larger pump than a mag 5 I think - also, how old is it (running how long?) and it is possible your water changes are getting most of the gunk - but not likely.

I wouls run the pump and skimmer in a 10g tank with hot water and vinegar for a few hours and see what that does. Worked for my EV 180

And as noted above, the injector needs to be cleaned regularly.

House

 

[emmanuel]

the pump they recomend is the mag 5 and I havnt had a problem with it in like 5 years that I had it it just started the day i either hooked up the reactors or cleaned the pump, injector and air intake. I looked at it today and saw a ring of black stuff around the tower could make out what it was almost like a greasy look but not feel ,and no smell

 

[KathyC]

I saw Manny's system yesterday and it looked great. We took a look at the skimmer and the concern is that the bubbles aren't coming up the tube. He has a good amount of bubbles and flow, but it just doesn't rise to the top. Manny told me that in addition to what he mentions he cleaned..the air intake, injector & pump, he also cleaned the PVC lines going to his skimmer.
The only suggestion I could give him is to take out his waste collector (it's way back in the corner) and make sure his ping pong ball isn't sticking onto the bottom of the tube.
(did you do that Manny).
Aside from when one of my skimmers is dirty that is the only thing I'.ve founbd on mine that's will reduce the bubble activity.(aside from feeding)
The tank is also very clean, the reactors are hooked up correctly and the Phosban is moving just right. He doesn't have a high fish load and the corals all looked nice & healthy.
If it isn't the waste collector..I can only guess that his tank is sooo clean that his skimmer is taking a vacation!

 

[JLAudio]

Just a thought, if the skimmer aswell the 2 phos reactors are in the sump (not sure if they are), could the additional pumps have somehow messed up the intake of the skimmers pump? Maybe try and turn the phos reactors pumps off to asses this slim possibility.

 

[KathyC]

Interesting thought JL..the 2 reactors are in a different sump but I can't say for certain if the line Manny plumbed them from is the same one as the skimmer.
Manny?

 

[emmanuel]

the reactors are gravity ed from the bulkhead fittings were the return pump usually gets connected .
I figured it out this morning it seems like after cleaning everything there was a noticeable increase in flow to the skimmer I cut down the flow going to the skimmer and within 2 minutes it started foaming again.
thanks everyone !