Cleaning Red Sea Nano Max Protein Skimmer

[raymd]

Hi. I have an all in one 20 gallon Red Sea Nano Max. I clean the protein skimmer cup weekly. But there is build up at the bottom of the skimmer. How do I best clean that. Do I need to take the entire assembly out? Thank you!

 

[Kiwi reefer]

Welcome

 

[RC51]

Hi. I have an all in one 20 gallon Red Sea Nano Max. I clean the protein skimmer cup weekly. But there is build up at the bottom of the skimmer. How do I best clean that. Do I need to take the entire assembly out? Thank you!

Welcome to R2R!!

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Hi. I have an all in one 20 gallon Red Sea Nano Max. I clean the protein skimmer cup weekly. But there is build up at the bottom of the skimmer. How do I best clean that. Do I need to take the entire assembly out? Thank you!

Welcome!

Glad you joined. Cleaning bottom inside of my skimmer is part of annual maintenance but I do the cup every 1-2 days and top neck where I can easily reach inside about weekly

EDIT: saw note about citric acid and that is more for pumps than for acrylic and/or glass cleaning where vinegar is fine (and easier + cheaper)

Have you considered starting your build thread? I found its a great place to document my tank's evolution for myself. Like you, I started tank first then joined, so I'm still finding myself going back collecting pictures & updating historically as well as current state. Once you create your first post in your thread and link it to your account, they will give you build badge (look left, under my ID)

 

[MERKEY]

Hello and welcome to R2R!

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[Pudgeshambley]

Welcome!

Glad you joined. Cleaning bottom inside of my skimmer is part of annual maintenance but I do the cup every 1-2 days and top neck where I can easily reach inside about weekly

EDIT: saw note about citric acid and that is more for pumps than for acrylic and/or glass cleaning where vinegar is fine (and easier + cheaper)

Have you considered starting your build thread? I found its a great place to document my tank's evolution for myself. Like you, I started tank first then joined, so I'm still finding myself going back collecting pictures & updating historically as well as current state. Once you create your first post in your thread and link it to your account, they will give you build badge (look left, under my ID)

How do you get the stuff on the inside? It doesn't come apart. I soaked it in vinegar and water but you can still see build up on the inside. I bought it used so I am trying to make sure it is completely clean

 

[Projects with Sam]

 

[I.AM.MR.MIKE]

Oh yes- I had to pull that skimmer out many times due to baby snails stalling the pump. cleaned it many times. The best cleaner for me wasn't vinegar. I used the Sicce pump cleaner you can buy and filled a 5 gallon bucket with water and the cleaner and a pump then submerged it for a night then pulled it out and rinsed. It looked new. Way better than all the vinegar soaks I had done in the past. You can reach in there with a bottle brush too.

 

[Pudgeshambley]

Oh yes- I had to pull that skimmer out many times due to baby snails stalling the pump. cleaned it many times. The best cleaner for me wasn't vinegar. I used the Sicce pump cleaner you can buy and filled a 5 gallon bucket with water and the cleaner and a pump then submerged it for a night then pulled it out and rinsed. It looked new. Way better than all the vinegar soaks I had done in the past. You can reach in there with a bottle brush too.

Is the sicce pump cleaner the same as citric acid. Saw that suggested somewhere also. Actually got suckered into buying this 8 dollar brush that ended up being worthless because it was too flimsy. Couldn't scrap the stuff off.

 

[I.AM.MR.MIKE]

Not sure what is in it but it dissolves calcium/lime buildup and any other buildup/crud.

 

[rmorris_14]

welcome!

 

[Schraufabagel]

 

[Manny’s Reef]

Hello and welcome to R2R. We sure are glad to have you here.