noisy skimmer - Reef octopus Elite 200SSS

[NoVa Reefer]

Hi Everyone - I recently set up a Waterbox 220.6 a few weeks back and finally started up my skimmer (Reef Octopus Elite 200SSS) a few days ago. This is my first tank and skimmer so I am definitely a newbie. When I am running this skimmer it appeared to be making decent foam and not over flowing or anything but seems to make a constant popping/gurgling sound which is pretty loud and seems to come from the air intake at top of red pipe. Was curious if anyone else using this skimmer has a similar issue or knows if this is likely just part of a new skimmer having to "break in" and should resolve itself or if there is something I need to do to fix it. I have tried lifting it up a little bit but that seems to have no impact. I don't see any issues with the connections or assembly as far as I can tell.

 

[Montiman]

Firstly let me say, skimmers are often the loudest piece of equipment on an aquarium. The mixing of air and water is very hard to do in complete silence.

That being said the VarioS pumps on the elite skimmers are very quiet. If the the sound is an air sucking sound not a vibration or hum then the noise is coming from the sound of the air movement alone. if everything is connected correctly there isn't much you can do. Maybe add an additional aftermarket air silencer.

To make sure your expectations are correct. My skimmer is quiet enough I don't notice it while sitting on the couch watching my tank. If all other room noise is gone, ceiling fan off, refrigerator off, AC off, no one talking I might be able to notice it if I focus. As soon as I open the cabinet doors it is easily the loudest thing in the aquarium stand but still not very loud.

A video may help us know if the noise is unusually loud.

 

[NoVa Reefer]

Firstly let me say, skimmers are often the loudest piece of equipment on an aquarium. The mixing of air and water is very hard to do in complete silence.

That being said the VarioS pumps on the elite skimmers are very quiet. If the the sound is an air sucking sound not a vibration or hum then the noise is coming from the sound of the air movement alone. if everything is connected correctly there isn't much you can do. Maybe add an additional aftermarket air silencer.

To make sure your expectations are correct. My skimmer is quiet enough I don't notice it while sitting on the couch watching my tank. If all other room noise is gone, ceiling fan off, refrigerator off, AC off, no one talking I might be able to notice it if I focus. As soon as I open the cabinet doors it is easily the loudest thing in the aquarium stand but still not very loud.

A video may help us know if the noise is unusually loud.

Thanks Montiman. Here is a link to video of the skimmer so you can hear the noise I am referring to. Hopefully the video works.

 

[ksed]

Sound like a mechanical rattle.
Did you disassemble the pump and check for any abnormalities?

 

[Big C]

Agree it sounds mechanical. I would check all the fittings and make sure they are right. Also check the pump intake in case it sucked anything up.

Mine was a bit noisy and just pull a few baby snails out of the pinwheel.

 

[Montiman]

I agree as well. The pump is the only moving part so the issue has to be centered there.

 

[Potatohead]

Did you attach the hose to the barb inside the riser tube?

 

[PeterC99]

I have the Elite 150SSS. Did you lock (twist) the pump into the base of the skimmer when assembling?

 

[NoVa Reefer]

Did you attach the hose to the barb inside the riser tube?

Sound like a mechanical rattle.
Did you disassemble the pump and check for any abnormalities?

Sound like a mechanical rattle.
Did you disassemble the pump and check for any abnormalities?

Thanks everyone! The hose is attached to the tube at bottom of silencer as indicated by instructions. The pump is twisted in and seems to be tight and not rattling around. For what its worth all the noise seems to eminate from the silencer tube. If I cover the air intake with a finger I hear no noise.

 

[PeterC99]

Can you take a Video and move the camera around the silencer and skimmer cup? As I said, I have the 150SSS and it’s silent - no rattles.

 

[Potatohead]

From what I can see online there are a couple styles of the 200sss, the silencers are different, one is beside the wedge pipe and the other is on top. Which design is yours?

 

[Potatohead]

Judging by your video it looks like you have the second one. If you have the tube connected at the red circle, disconnect it.

 

[NoVa Reefer]

Judging by your video it looks like you have the second one. If you have the tube connected at the red circle, disconnect it.

Thanks for your response. Yes this is the model I have. I tried unhooking the hose as you suggested but it makes no difference unfortunately. I also took the skimmer apart and reassembled everything and still no resolution. I have reached out to my LFS and they are going to contact their coral vue rep to see what they recommend as my LFS played around with it but can't figure it out either.

 

[Jon's Reef]

I have a 150sss which made a noise like that when I first connected it. I think it has something to do with cavitation in the impeller area caused by excess organics. In the worst case it causes the motor to change speed. Once the bioload dropped it started making nice foam (no longer "boiling"... now foaming) and no noise.

A few more tips:
Make sure it is level (check that you have all of the feet). I was missing a foot (didn't notice) and it was running really odd.
Ensure you have it in the right depth of water (7-8" for the 150). This really effected foam production for me.

 

[NoVa Reefer]

I have a 150sss which made a noise like that when I first connected it. I think it has something to do with cavitation in the impeller area caused by excess organics. In the worst case it causes the motor to change speed. Once the bioload dropped it started making nice foam (no longer "boiling"... now foaming) and no noise.

A few more tips:
Make sure it is level (check that you have all of the feet). I was missing a foot (didn't notice) and it was running really odd.
Ensure you have it in the right depth of water (7-8" for the 150). This really effected foam production for me.

Thanks Jon - I have all the feet and also tried lifting it up but didn’t really change the sound. It makes foam fine just hoping the noise goes away eventually

 

[Jon's Reef]

Another observation. I took my CO2 scrubber apart yesterday (connected to the intake) and I noticed that the noise came back. When I put back the scrubber cartridge the noise went away. I think it is acting as a secondary silencer.

 

[NoVa Reefer]

Another observation. I took my CO2 scrubber apart yesterday (connected to the intake) and I noticed that the noise came back. When I put back the scrubber cartridge the noise went away. I think it is acting as a secondary silencer.

Thanks for the tip. I may try one to see if it makes a difference. Seems like it would since the popping noise goes away when I cover the intake hole

 

[NoVa Reefer]

Thanks for the tip. I may try one to see if it makes a difference. Seems like it would since the popping noise goes away when I cover the intake hole

Just an update in case someone else has this issue with this skimmer at some point. I finally got around to buying a CO2 scrubber and ran the airline tubing straight from the scrubber to the pump venturi at base of the skimmer by passing the red pipe on the skimmer altogether. This solved my issue as the noise was now at the CO2 scrubber which is in the utility room behind my tank so I no longer have to hear it in the room with the aquarium. Seems odd that we have to go to these lengths but at least it is solved. Tried many suggestions from customer support at coralvue with no luck and they were saying it was just because my tank was only three months old and thus needed to grow more bacteria to make the skimmer quieter which seemed odd to me.

 

[Brent Bohannon]

I appreciate this thread, I had the exact same problem. I fixed it by giving the air tubing more slack around the turns and then lowered the power of the pump one level. Once I increased the water level by the adjustment pipe, the noise dropped substantially. The clicking and burping sounds are gone.

 

[RKeenan]

Reviving an old thread but this is driving me nuts! Skimmer is on a stand in just short of 8" of water. Not dosing anything in a newer tank. Took it apart several times and everything looks good but still making the "popcorn" bubbling sound and water level is good one minute and the next it is either way low or way high and float shuts off. Newer tank but has been running for about 5 weeks now. Called Coralvue twice and they do not seem to know what the issue is and since skimmer over 2 years old of course out of warranty. It is the 150SS Elite in a RS 625. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!