Leaky skimmer.

[GillMeister]

Ok, ok, ok! I know there are a gazillion threads on skimmers but I am way too lazy to go through them all. Don't blow up over this.

I have an old Kent Marine TE skimmer that has been just outstanding for me. I have it running a nice dry skimmate on my 240 g and I have to empty the cup every other day. I like this skimmer.

I turned it off for a while as I was running some medication. I just fired it back up today and it's leaking air bubbles all over the place. My tank looks like a snow globe.

Questions are, should I replace this skimmer and if I do will I be disappointed with the new one? I'm honestly not sure a new skimmer could beat this. Should I bother trying to fix it?

 

[xxkenny90xx]

What's leaking? Is the plastic cracked? Maybe you can find a used one with a bad pump for cheap. That being said of your up for an upgrade there are definitely some nice (and pricey) options out there

 

[Mical]

I'd pull the skimmer, give it a good cleaning and you'll probably find your source of the bubbles. It's usually something that accumulated in the skimmer came loose when you turned it off.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Before cleaning, try blowing through the tube or clear tube outlet to assure it is not blocked. That will cause it as will a drop/rise in sump water level

 

[GillMeister]

What's leaking? Is the plastic cracked? Maybe you can find a used one with a bad pump for cheap. That being said of your up for an upgrade there are definitely some nice (and pricey) options out there

I think it might be an o-ring. I am going to give it a tune up and see if it improves. I have looked at some of the new ones and they look nice, and expensive.

 

[GillMeister]

Before cleaning, try blowing through the tube or clear tube outlet to assure it is not blocked. That will cause it as will a drop/rise in sump water level

Definitely not blockage. The skimmer is working like mad but enough micro bubbles ate leaking out to make a mess of the DT.

 

[GillMeister]

I said the heck with it and bought a new one today. I'll be disappointed if it doesn't outperform my Kent Marine. It WILL be quieter. That I'm sure of.

 

[Water Dog]

I know you just bought a new skimmer, but what medication were you using? I would think that any excess trace of a medication would potentially seem to be a likely cause of a skimmer overflowing and producing excess microbubbles. I would’ve let it run with the output wide open until traces of the medication worked it’s way out of your system. Generally, the skimmer would settle down after a few days and you’d be able to adjust it back to its prior settings.

 

[GillMeister]

I know you just bought a new skimmer, but what medication were you using? I would think that any excess trace of a medication would potentially seem to be a likely cause of a skimmer overflowing and producing excess microbubbles. I would’ve let it run with the output wide open until traces of the medication worked it’s way out of your system. Generally, the skimmer would settle down after a few days and you’d be able to adjust it back to its prior settings.

I was using polyplab medic. However, the skimmer wasn't overflowing, it was leaking air bubbles into my sump. These bubbles were getting picked up by the return pump and my display tank. The leak appears to be somewhere near the water intake at the bottom of the skimmer. Either something is cracked or I have a bad o ring.

 

[GillMeister]

First things first. A HUGE shout out to Aquacave. I ordered a skimmer from them yesterday, they called me later to ask for a shipping address confirmation and said it could ship the next day. I told them I needed it soon since my old one had expired and it would be great if they could ship it right away. They checked with the shipper and confirmed they could get it on the truck. It arrived today. Overnight delivery, no added expedite fee. That's going above and beyond what I or anyone should expect.

Now for the bad. I knew the new skimmer was bigger but I measured to make sure it fit in the sump. And it would if I could physically get it in my stand. I failed to measure the gap between the rim of the sump and the opening in my stand. I can't get ot in the same way as my old one. I will need to pull everything out of the sump and replumb to make room in the last chamber of my sump. Frustrating.

 

[GillMeister]

After doing this hobby for several decades, let's just say another lesson learned this week.

Though I had been more or less satisfied with the performance of my old Kent marine skimmer it was likely well undersized. The reason I say this is even though my new, larger Bubble Magus doesn't necessarily remove more material it does have significantly more air exchange. My pH increased an amount that I truly wasn't anticipating. At this rate I might be able to maintain a pH over 8.2.

Lesson learned, make sure you have an appropriately sized skimmer for the system you're running. The gas exchange aspect cannot be overstated.