Skimmer stalls itself within 1-2 days of cleaning

[provia]

Hi,

I've been tuning my skimmer to get a consistent skim but to no avail. The skimmer tends to stall itself after 1-2 days of cleaning inside the neck.

This is typically what happens:
1. The skimmer neck is cleaned and a stable foam head starts to form in the next few hours
2. Everything normal and the foam slowly spills itself into the cup.
3. In the mean time the foam leaves a thin layer of brown paste build up inside the neck.
4. New stable foam is more reluctant to travel up into places where there's build up
5. The build up grows lower and lower, eventually to where the foam starts to form.
6. Eventually, no foam are forming. The cup begins collecting splash from the fresh bubble pop, which is clear and has no smell.
7. Go back to (1) to make the skimmer work again.

Things I've made sure is:
1. The skimmer is installed at the manufacturer recommended depth.
2. The skimmer is broken-in (I believe) as it's been running for 2 months.

Anything I can do to make sure I get a consistent skim here? Thanks in advance.

 

[elysics]

Have you tried retuning instead of cleaning after 2 days?

And if theres brown paste, maybe clean and then dont tune it so it slowly spills over but quickly fills the cup over a few hours or days. Then keep emptying and retuning

 

[provia]

Have you tried retuning instead of cleaning after 2 days?

And if theres brown paste, maybe clean and then dont tune it so it slowly spills over but quickly fills the cup over a few hours or days. Then keep emptying and retuning

Actually i don’t re-tune the skimmer after each clean. What I’m trying to avoid is having to clean every other day.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

what kind of skimmer is it?

I rarely clean my skimmer cup, skimmate should still be able to climb. How old is the tank and how much livestock do you have? Skimmate will depend on bioload.

 

[provia]

what kind of skimmer is it?

I rarely clean my skimmer cup, skimmate should still be able to climb. How old is the tank and how much livestock do you have? Skimmate will depend on bioload.

The skimmer is a dalua gw7. There are 4 fish in the tank, feeding lightly 2 times a day. The tank is roughly 1.5 years old.

What your skimmer is doing is my dream. It’s hard for me to go on a longer trip because of my skimmer. Do you have build up inside the skimmer neck too?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Do you have build up inside the skimmer neck too?

yes, its pretty disgusting lol, I have a Curve 5.

I'm sorry I'm not familiar with your skimmer. Hopefully someone familiar with that brand can help you out.

 

[provia]

yes, its pretty disgusting lol, I have a Curve 5.

I'm sorry I'm not familiar with your skimmer. Hopefully someone familiar with that brand can help you out.

All good. I guess my problem shouldn’t be brand specific.

Another question is that does that solid build up grow thicker over time?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

All good. I guess my problem shouldn’t be brand specific.

Another question is that does that solid build up grow thicker over time?

I cleaned the tank and emptied the skimmer cup yesterday but I didn't rinse it, you can see in the pic how dirty the bottle neck is, and foam still climbs.

 

[elysics]

Actually i don’t re-tune the skimmer after each clean. What I’m trying to avoid is having to clean every other day.

Then try it out. Clean it now but tune it so it fills the cup in like half a day.

If a thick layer of dirt builds up that usually means you are tuning it too dry and the dirt doesn't make it all the way to the top.

Let it run wet and slowly turn it drier over time

 

[Snoopy 67]

How big is the tank?

 

[provia]

How big is the tank?

160L

 

[Borat]

Hi,

I've been tuning my skimmer to get a consistent skim but to no avail. The skimmer tends to stall itself after 1-2 days of cleaning inside the neck.

This is typically what happens:
1. The skimmer neck is cleaned and a stable foam head starts to form in the next few hours
2. Everything normal and the foam slowly spills itself into the cup.
3. In the mean time the foam leaves a thin layer of brown paste build up inside the neck.
4. New stable foam is more reluctant to travel up into places where there's build up
5. The build up grows lower and lower, eventually to where the foam starts to form.
6. Eventually, no foam are forming. The cup begins collecting splash from the fresh bubble pop, which is clear and has no smell.
7. Go back to (1) to make the skimmer work again.

Things I've made sure is:
1. The skimmer is installed at the manufacturer recommended depth.
2. The skimmer is broken-in (I believe) as it's been running for 2 months.

Anything I can do to make sure I get a consistent skim here? Thanks in advance.

It looks like it's done skimming and there is nothing more to skim? I empty my skimmer's collection cup once every couple of weeks - just because most of the time there is nothing to skim.

You should really clean the skim collecting cup once it's, perhaps, half full - but not worry if it's not getting filled quickly - i.e. foam does not reach the top of the neck..

 

[Snoopy 67]

160L, roughly 40 gallons.
No wonder you can't get it right. It's WAY TOO BIG!
PLUS, there is no bio load with only 4 fish.
It is doomed to work on and off. No way around it!

 

[Freenow54]

Hi,

I've been tuning my skimmer to get a consistent skim but to no avail. The skimmer tends to stall itself after 1-2 days of cleaning inside the neck.

This is typically what happens:
1. The skimmer neck is cleaned and a stable foam head starts to form in the next few hours
2. Everything normal and the foam slowly spills itself into the cup.
3. In the mean time the foam leaves a thin layer of brown paste build up inside the neck.
4. New stable foam is more reluctant to travel up into places where there's build up
5. The build up grows lower and lower, eventually to where the foam starts to form.
6. Eventually, no foam are forming. The cup begins collecting splash from the fresh bubble pop, which is clear and has no smell.
7. Go back to (1) to make the skimmer work again.

Things I've made sure is:
1. The skimmer is installed at the manufacturer recommended depth.
2. The skimmer is broken-in (I believe) as it's been running for 2 months.

Anything I can do to make sure I get a consistent skim here? Thanks in advance.

When cleaning do not play with adjustment. That is my experience. Now lately have that problem with my hob eshopps. I replaced the impeller twice one was original design one " new and improved " No change. I put it off to the pump itself. I have one coming in a couple of days. Also ordered new skimmer which arrived short a part. So going to find out

 

[mtfish]

You can purchase skimmer neck cleaner as an add-on to your skimmer. It is a squeegee that rotates and cleans the neck. Avast Marine makes one they call "the squabbie". When I ran a skimmer this was a big help for me.