Anyone tried a skimmer neck cleaner?

[rcmike]

Hey guys, I have been thinking of getting a skimmer neck cleaner (Avast Swabbie) for my Aerofoamer. Has anyone tried one before? I would normally say it's for pretty lazy people but I have to loosen 8 thumb screws to take off the lid and 8 screws to take off the collection cup on this skimmer. Sometimes by the time I take it all apart and put it back together my fingers are sore from all the loosening and tightening. I also have to tighten them pretty tight because if I don't the O-ring leaks. The leaking isn't a big deal though since I moved it to my sump.The skimmer gets quite a bit of skimmate out the day I clean it but not much after that until I clean it again. It just builds up a huge amount of gunk on the sides of the neck.

Here is a picture of the skimmer to give you an idea of the size of it. It's next to an EV180.

 

[rcmike]

I guess I'm going to find out how it works. I odered a Swabbie kit yesterday during the Superbowl sale they had. Got 22% off.:clap2:

 

[Dowtish]

dude that skimmer is HUGE!

And I curse the guy who invented knurled thumb screws!

Good luck with the swabbie, I've heard good things about them.

 

[rcmike]

Yeah, I bought it used on Reef Central several years ago. It's rated for up to 1000 gallons I think so I think it's big enough for my 110.

I hate thumb screws too for things that need to be taken apart often. This skimmer builds up crud on the neck worse than any I have ever had. It pretty much would need to be cleaned every day but I'm not going to do that.

 

[Dowtish]

Its probably doing that because its on a 110 instead of something much bigger. Mine does it too because mine is rated for a 300 and its on a 100 gallon total.

 

[rcmike]

Could be. If I keep it clean it takes out a lot. After a while the foam moves to the top of the neck and pretty much just sits there.

 

[Spazdad]

The only thing I don't like about the swabbie is how flimsy it is and how hard it is to get lined up on the skimmer properly. When you center the wipe do not power it on. Rather spin the skimmer neck until you are happy. You want a little bend in the wipe but not much. Wait until 24hrs to energize the cleaner. I ran mine every 12 hrs for 30-60sec intervals and had excellent results. Make sure you keep the cord in an easy to access area because this thing gets filthy, even more so than the head itself.

 

[rcmike]

Thanks for the tips. I was thinking that the swabbie itself would probably get pretty nasty.

 

[Zack]

Lets see a pic of it installed!

 

[rcmike]

Will do.

 

[rcmike]

Well, I got it today and mostly got it put together pretty quickly. I have ran into a small snag though. The screws that hold the blade on the wiper are too short. If I push really hard I can get them to grab a thread on the nuts but they will pop right off easily. :squigglemouth:

 

[ToXIc]

That sucks.


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[NeveSSL]

That really sucks. Did they send the wrong ones?

Brandon

 

[rcmike]

That really sucks. Did they send the wrong ones?

Brandon

They might have. I managed to squeeze them together enough to get them to work for now. I'll probably see if there are any longer ones at Lowes the next time I go.

 

[ToXIc]

Where's the pics man!


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[rcmike]

Sorry for the delay. I've been busy for the last couple of days and just got around to taking a picture. This has been running since Wednesday night. It's hard to tell from this picture but the inside of the neck is clear. I can tell the swabbie itself is going to be nasty when I do clean it though. :squigglemouth:

 

[NeveSSL]

Wow! That's impressively nasty.

Brandon