Venturi Air Intake Clogged

E_Aquatics · Mar 3, 2016

So today I came home to a overflowed skimmer. Water in the skimmer body had almost no bubbles and the water had risen to the top of the skimmer cup. I took the Venturi off and this is what I found. Why would so much salt creep get in there when the Venturi is submerged in water??

pondman · Mar 3, 2016

That's actually calcium buildup I have to clean mine at least once a week just part of my maintenance routine.

E_Aquatics · Mar 4, 2016

pondman said:
That's actually calcium buildup I have to clean mine at least once a week just part of my maintenance routine.

That makes more sense because it was hard as a rock.

pondman · Mar 4, 2016

Yea I use a small drill bit after I soak the Venturi in vinegar seems to work for me

NanaReefer · Mar 5, 2016

A good soak in some hot distilled white vinegar for about 5min will dissolve it completely.

ithk21620 · Mar 5, 2016

I see you have a RO skimmer by the intake. Here is a thread I started a while back about the same issue. RO Elite 220INT Air Intake Issues
https://www.reef2reef.com/index.php?threads/RO-Elite-220INT-Air-Intake-Issues.229206/

E_Aquatics · Mar 8, 2016

ithk21620 said:
I see you have a RO skimmer by the intake. Here is a thread I started a while back about the same issue. RO Elite 220INT Air Intake Issues
https://www.reef2reef.com/index.php?threads/RO-Elite-220INT-Air-Intake-Issues.229206/

Thank you for the link. I have my skimmer draw air from outside to keep the ph more stable so what they are saying about the winter months could be true to an extend. This never happened before when the skimmer was drawing air from inside the house so who knows.