Protein Skimmer Question

[Maho.B]

Hello. I have a Reef Octopus skimmer that has been running great for about 2 years now. A few days ago I noticed the bubbles in the chamber looked "thin" and not as full as usual. The next day I checked and it was running but with no bubbles whatsoever. I turned it off, cleaned the cup and main chamber as best I could, then cleaned the air cup "thing" and poured hot RO water down the air intake line. It fired back up and was producing bubbles and skimming as usual. Next day however, back to "thin" bubbles, then the day after, back to no bubbles.

Do you think this just needs a deep cleaning (like pump and break the whole thing down) or is this a particular failure of the skimmer? The bad part is the way the sump is set up, something crammed in every square inch, I will have to take everything completely out of my sump to get the whole skimmer out. Either way I will likely have to, but for planning ahead, is this symptom likely fixed with cleaning or should I be looking at a new pump/skimmer? Thanks in advance.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

When is the last time you deep cleaned it? If its been a year or so I would deep clean it. I just bought a reef octopus last week please don't tell me its only going to last 2 years lol

 

[landlubber]

Its tough to say exactly what the issue is but quite often its the intake or silencer being partially occluded to outright plugged.
None the less, it never hurts to pull it apart and give it a good once over. I usually do mine a couple of times a year.

 

[Maho.B]

Ha! No I think the Reef Octopus seems very well built and has worked great. I am thinking its plugged since it's been 2 years since a teardown deep clean. The only reason I haven't is the way it's crammed in (I didn't set it up) means I have to take the return pump, plumbing, reef mat and a divider out of the sump just to get the skimmer out...so it's likely due my laziness of not wanting to tear it apart. I'm a couple of months away from setting up a new system to replace my current tank and was hoping there were some tricks that I could get this to limp along until then! Thanks

 

[Tidal Gardens Verified Sponsor]

You should do routine maintenance on the pump. Every 6 months. Most often, you will find things stuck in the impeller or a blockage where the airline meets the plumbing of the pump.

 

[skey44]

Deep cleaning. Sounds like you have salt buildup in the airline or silencer to me.

 

[Maho.B]

Will do, thanks for the feedback.

 

[Dom]

Hello. I have a Reef Octopus skimmer that has been running great for about 2 years now. A few days ago I noticed the bubbles in the chamber looked "thin" and not as full as usual. The next day I checked and it was running but with no bubbles whatsoever. I turned it off, cleaned the cup and main chamber as best I could, then cleaned the air cup "thing" and poured hot RO water down the air intake line. It fired back up and was producing bubbles and skimming as usual. Next day however, back to "thin" bubbles, then the day after, back to no bubbles.

Do you think this just needs a deep cleaning (like pump and break the whole thing down) or is this a particular failure of the skimmer? The bad part is the way the sump is set up, something crammed in every square inch, I will have to take everything completely out of my sump to get the whole skimmer out. Either way I will likely have to, but for planning ahead, is this symptom likely fixed with cleaning or should I be looking at a new pump/skimmer? Thanks in advance.

What's your salinity?

 

[Maho.B]

I keep it steady at 35ppt.

 

[Dom]

I keep it steady at 35ppt.

Ok... we need salinity for protein skimmers to work. Its why we don't use skimmers in fresh water tanks.

 

[Uncle99]

I keep it steady at 35ppt.

You describe a blocked Venturi at the impeller housing. Calcium builds in that reducing (thin bubbles) to blocking (no bubbles).

Inspect that carefully, dip in some vinegar, use a small drill bit same size as hole by hand to ensure any material is gone.

 

[Maho.B]

Good info! Thanks.

 

[Rob A]

Blocked intake....mine did the same thing when a dead fish Blocked the intake and check the air line as mentioned above