Reef octo Regal 250 INT not drawing air?

[Rawsreef]

So a few months back I purchased this skimmer used. I kinda just set it and didn't pay much attention to it since it seemed to work fine (lots of bubbles). The only issue is the controller is faulty, may have been dropped in the water or something by the previous owner.

Yesterday while trying to fine tune it due to lack of skimming action pretty much since I got it. I noticed it's barely drawing any air from the silencer/air intake tube. I can cover both the holes on the plastic cap and not feel much suction, if any.


The skimmer body has lots of bubbles and it does produce foam but I feel like I am not getting proper skimming due to this lack of air intake. Today I cleaned the pump and air intake components thoroughly put it back together with no improvement.

What could be the issue here? The pump? Or the controller?

 

[TheDuude]

If the silencer, air tubing, venturi, and all connections are clear from debris and salt then I cant see anything else that would effect the skimmer drawing in air. I have a Octo EXT and the "pull" from the silencer intake is hard to feel. Did you replace the controller?

 

[Troylee]

They really don’t draw that much air.. if the body is milky white it’s doing its job! I’ve never had a skimmer suck my finger in when covering the air inlet lol..

 

[Rawsreef]

If the silencer, air tubing, venturi, and all connections are clear from debris and salt then I cant see anything else that would effect the skimmer drawing in air. I have a Octo EXT and the "pull" from the silencer intake is hard to feel. Did you replace the controller?

Thanks for the reply!

I am comparing it to my 150SSS I previously had, and the 150 pulled in a significant amount of air compared to this 250. You could actually feel some suction on the 150 while on the 250 I can't even tell if it's taking in air just by feeling. Obviously it's getting some air because it is producing bubbles, but I feel like the bigger skimmer should draw more than the smaller skimmer, no?


Also no, I didn't replace the controller it does work, but has some issues.

They really don’t draw that much air.. if the body is milky white it’s doing its job! I’ve never had a skimmer suck my finger in when covering the air inlet lol..

Should I not feel anything when covering both holes? I assume you should at least be able to tell it's drawing some air?

 

[Troylee]

Thanks for the reply!

I am comparing it to my 150SSS I previously had, and the 150 pulled in a significant amount of air compared to this 250. You could actually feel some suction on the 150 while on the 250 I can't even tell if it's taking in air just by feeling. Obviously it's getting some air because it is producing bubbles, but I feel like the bigger skimmer should draw more than the smaller skimmer, no?


Also no, I didn't replace the controller it does work, but has some issues.



Should I not feel anything when covering both holes? I assume you should at least be able to tell it's drawing some air?

Any pictures of it running? And to answer your question, no bigger doesn’t always draw more! I have a huge skimmer and I barely can feel it pulling air cause the neck is bigger and the body is bigger for more contact time.

 

[Rawsreef]

Any pictures of it running? And to answer your question, no bigger doesn’t always draw more! I have a huge skimmer and I barely can feel it pulling air cause the neck is bigger and the body is bigger for more contact time.

Looks to be working just fine from a visual perspective. I wish I had someone with another 250 to compare the amount of air being pulled .

 

[Troylee]

Looks to be working just fine from a visual perspective. I wish I had someone with another 250 to compare the amount of air being pulled .

Doesn’t look bad.. have you pulled the needle wheel out of the pump and cleaned it? That helps a lot if it’s dirty.

 

[Joe31415]

Put your finger over the air intake and watch the bubbles dissipate and the skimmer start filling with water, take your finger off and the water will drop back down and it'll start bubbling again*. Unless the silencer is cracked or the lid isn't snapped on or the hose is otherwise broken (above the water), there's no other way for air to get in, even if you can't feel it. I can say that on my skimmer, there's a very light amount of suction when I do that, but what's more noticeable is the air rushing back in when I move my finer.

Another way you could test it is to put some water in the silencer. It's not going to hurt anything, but you'll be able to see/hear it get inhaled.

*I'll sometimes use that trick if I need/want my ATO to kick on since it'll drop the level in the sump for a few seconds while I'm doing it.

 

[Rawsreef]

Doesn’t look bad.. have you pulled the needle wheel out of the pump and cleaned it? That helps a lot if it’s dirty.

Yes I gave it the whole pump a good cleaning along with the silencer, line and Venturi. I also raised the entire skimmer 2 inches. It was at about 9 and 7/8 inches so now it's sitting at about 7 and 7/8. The difference in height seems to help

 

[Troylee]

Yes I gave it the whole pump a good cleaning along with the silencer, line and Venturi. I also raised the entire skimmer 2 inches. It was at about 9 and 7/8 inches so now it's sitting at about 7 and 7/8. The difference in height seems to help

I’ve found personally that 7” is the sweet spot for most skimmers! It reduces head pressure and wattage usage on the pump! Makes everything more efficient and less turbulence in the body.