Is it even worth getting this skimmer wet?

Philipgonzales3 · Feb 6, 2019

Received this today. Bought used on reef2reef. I believe the damage happened in shipping.

Ran some water at it in a faucet and did not see any apparent leaking from the cracks. I removed the pump and can feel the crack is all the way through the outside and inside of the skimmer body base.

Do you think it will still work as intended or better to not even try?

Hemmdog · Feb 6, 2019

Nah return it

ndrwater · Feb 6, 2019

A little Weld-on about fix it.. the water thin stuff with the applicator needle...

dantimdad · Feb 6, 2019

Try it. I am betting it'll still work. If it were external then no.

Did you have insurance?

Philipgonzales3 · Feb 6, 2019

Hemmdog said:
Nah return it

I bought it used on r2r? Not sure I could or would want to return it. Doubt the seller would want a broken skimmer either

Philipgonzales3 · Feb 6, 2019

dantimdad said:
Try it. I am betting it'll still work. If it were external then no.

Did you have insurance?

What do you mean by if it were external? I'm thinking it may still work also but I have another skimmer that works already so debating on if I should swap it or not. Other skimmer is an SCA 301 that is performing consistantly now, just wanted an upgrade really.

I'm not sure if I had insurance. The seller is looking into the insurance part. Not really sure what I should do in this situatuon. I paid with PayPal if that matters.

Hemmdog · Feb 6, 2019

Philipgonzales3 said:
I bought it used on r2r? Not sure I could or would want to return it. Doubt the seller would want a broken skimmer either

Oh nvm. Yea it could work, if it was from a wholesaler I would return it because it should be perfect.

Matthew Frost · Feb 6, 2019

Totally fixable, and it will work fine after, it just may not be really pretty.

It looks like thw damage is localized around the vent pipe. If you can remove the vent pipe do so. The piece on the right looks like it may come out, if it does fine. Get some Weld-on 4 and a hypodermic needle. When the vent is removed use the needle to "inject" the weld-on into thw cracks.

A couple of things make sure it is as clean and dry as you can get it and let it sit for 24 hours before you put and pressure on it.

dantimdad · Feb 6, 2019

External is either outside the sump or hang on the tank.

Most are in sump these days.

Philipgonzales3 · Feb 6, 2019

Matthew Frost said:
Totally fixable, and it will work fine after, it just may not be really pretty.

It looks like thw damage is localized around the vent pipe. If you can remove the vent pipe do so. The piece on the right looks like it may come out, if it does fine. Get some Weld-on 4 and a hypodermic needle. When the vent is removed use the needle to "inject" the weld-on into thw cracks.

A couple of things make sure it is as clean and dry as you can get it and let it sit for 24 hours before you put and pressure on it.

I have some good news and some bad news, for me of course. The vent tube came out pretty easily...

Thanks any way guys. Just going to toss it in the spare parts bin at this point.

Reeferguy365 · Feb 6, 2019

Like mentioned above I would just get some weld on 4 and fix it it

MTBake · Feb 6, 2019

I would also fix that myself. Weld-on with a syringe applicator. Nothing to it.

Edit:

Nevermind. Sorry it broke on you. Might still be fixable though...

Philipgonzales3 · Feb 6, 2019

Reeferguy365 said:
Like mentioned above I would just get some weld on 4 and fix it it

I may do that, eventually. Maybe I'll just switch to a reef octopus. I'm going to see what Ups tells me about insurance claim tomorrow.

Hillbillyreefer · Feb 6, 2019

That’s an easy fix, Weldon or even some acetone wicked into the cracks will fix that. Simply fit the piece back in and wick the chosen solvent in with a hypodermic. It won’t take you more than 5 minutes to fix it.

Philipgonzales3 · Feb 6, 2019

Hillbillyreefer said:
That’s an easy fix, Weldon or even some acetone wicked into the cracks will fix that. Simply fit the piece back in and wick the chosen solvent in with a hypodermic. It won’t take you more than 5 minutes to fix it.

Well I guess my thing is where can I get Weld on or the weld on 4? Seems to be like 15 or 20$. I paid $110 for the skimmer. I'm pretty low on funds until pay day so won't be for a few days at least.

Reef of Fillory · Feb 6, 2019

Philipgonzales3 said:
Well I guess my thing is where can I get Weld on or the weld on 4? Seems to be like 15 or 20$. I paid $110 for the skimmer. I'm pretty low on funds until pay day so won't be for a few days at least.

Hey Philip,

If you want to give the Weld-on a shot [i've fixed broken skimmers that i've received in the past this way as suggested] and then we'll see what UPS can do, that'd be great. I don't want you to feel like you've been screwed on this purchase!

I specified to the UPS rep that I wanted it packed with lots of packing material so that it would not break during transit, and had them pack it for me. I am not positive of insurance/covered amounts on the shipment but we'll see what they say about it.

The skimmer works great, and was not finicky at all for me so I'd highly recommend at least trying to weld the acrylic back together in order to use the skimmer.

Edit: Similar to USPS, UPS has an automatic $100 shipping insurance on every shipment [according to their website]

Since you paid $110 for it, i'd claim for the entire $100. I was not asked about additional insurance, and didn't think to add any additional, so the $100 would be it. If we're able to get that payment from UPS, i'd be happy to pass that on to you and you could keep the skimmer and fix it if you'd like.

Matthew Frost · Feb 6, 2019

^That right there is solid good Karma.

Hillbillyreefer · Feb 6, 2019

Acetone is cheap. I’ve built entire tanks and sumps using it as the only solvent. Not nail polish remover but acetone.

Some plastic model cements have methylethylketones (MEK) in them, that will work.

Oatey brand clear PVC solvent will also work, but it’s more viscous and won’t wick as well, the repair won’t be as pretty but it will work.

Just spit balling things you may have on hand already.

Claiming the insurance is the best route, then fix it and have a really inexpensive piece of kit, lol!

Good luck.

cracker · Feb 6, 2019

Hello Phil, Iv'e repaired a skimmer worse than that with weld on. Try a local hobby shop . They should have some weldon .Might not be the same name. The stuff I got at the hobby shop is called Plastruct ,plastic weld. Same stuff.

Philipgonzales3 · Feb 6, 2019

Reef of Fillory said:
Hey Philip,

If you want to give the Weld-on a shot [i've fixed broken skimmers that i've received in the past this way as suggested] and then we'll see what UPS can do, that'd be great. I don't want you to feel like you've been screwed on this purchase!

I specified to the UPS rep that I wanted it packed with lots of packing material so that it would not break during transit, and had them pack it for me. I am not positive of insurance/covered amounts on the shipment but we'll see what they say about it.

The skimmer works great, and was not finicky at all for me so I'd highly recommend at least trying to weld the acrylic back together in order to use the skimmer.

Edit: Similar to USPS, UPS has an automatic $100 shipping insurance on every shipment [according to their website]

Since you paid $110 for it, i'd claim for the entire $100. I was not asked about additional insurance, and didn't think to add any additional, so the $100 would be it. If we're able to get that payment from UPS, i'd be happy to pass that on to you and you could keep the skimmer and fix it if you'd like.

Thanks @Reef of Fillory. I'll call UPS tomorrow and see what they say. I might try to see what I can find local, if not it will likely be a while before I fix it, but no biggie. I know it's not your fault and you've been more than helpful. I just found out I will be moving on about a month, so likely won't worry about this until after the move. My SCA 301 is working OK so just going to let that be for now.