Could I have a bad protein skimmer?

Jordan berry · Jul 28, 2015

I have a bubble magus curve 7 in the sump of my 90 gallon. The first few days We're like everyone else. 10 inches of water flooding over the top. I ran it with the lid off for a few days to break it in and than moved it up a few inches in the water to get it to a place where it would skim. After a day the bubbles wouldn't reach the top on any setting. So I took the stand out and at the driest setting in 10+ inches of water it's hit or miss if the bubbles will reach the top. Should I exchange it and start over or am I missing something with the air line completely open and the line off the cup having a plastic cap in it?

hybridazn · Jul 28, 2015

You need to know what depth of water the skimmer needs to be in. Constantly moving it up and down wont help matters much. After you find out that info and it still overflows restrict the airflow going into the pump to slow it down until it fully breaks in.

redfishbluefish · Jul 28, 2015

Pull the pump apart and make sure nothing is clogging it up. Also check the volute to assure that is clean open.

Also, how old is your skimmer. If I'm not mistaken, the older version had an Atman 2500 pump which was known to stall. What I found helped the pump was putting 2 or 3 #10 nylon washers (found at HD), on the impeller side of the shaft. I believed the mesh protruding on the mesh wheel was rubbing against the front plate of the pump causing it to stall. Otherwise, I'm at a loss.

Jordan berry · Jul 28, 2015

Mine is new. It has the p2000 pump. Maybe it's clogged. Manufacturer says 10 inches users all say 6 to 7 inches. I have a replacement from amazon so maybe I'll just send it back. Guessing by the reviews it's probably user error I would prefer to correct so if it happens after my exchange period I'm not screwed.

tigerdragon · Jul 28, 2015

I had a curve 5 and and an nac 9 both run best at 8"

Breakthecycle2 · Jul 29, 2015

The same thing kept happening to me. It goes away after a few month break in period. Mine skins thick black stuff every day. I had the curve 7 in my 90. I'm using the curve 9 in my 200. It's in under 10 inches. Also, one thing to keep in mind is "maximum" is actually the lowest setting and "minimum" will overflow it. Not sure why it's like that, but it is.