HELP ... Protein Skimmer Acting Funny

specialk · Dec 27, 2016

twilliard said:
you can blow air easily into the air tube (no force at all)?

Extremely easily. ... no problems at all. Air bubble flow right into the main chamber when I do it

specialk · Dec 27, 2016

Cleaned the pump .. seems to be fine. Its obviously moving water into the chamber, just not the super fine bubbles anymore

twilliard · Dec 27, 2016

specialk said:
Cleaned the pump .. seems to be fine. Its obviously moving water into the chamber, just not the super fine bubbles anymore

That now is sounding like pump speed.

jenreefer · Dec 27, 2016

Have you added anything to the tank in last 24 hours? additives, hands, supplements?

specialk · Dec 27, 2016

So I took the pump off and took the venturi off as well .. put it in a bucket to make sure it was still moving some water -- it for sure is. So there is nothing wrong with the pump. It clearly has something to do with the venturi I would think because the minute I put the venturi on and put the pump itself back into the bucket of water, I notice that the air bubbles are larger and not like they should be and have been in the skimmer when it was working. (I am hoping this is logical thinking in trying to figure this out)

specialk · Dec 27, 2016

jenreefer said:
Have you added anything to the tank in last 24 hours? additives, hands, supplements?

Did not do anything differently ... maybe my hands were in the tank very briefly, but that is nothing new. Otherwise nothing else new

specialk · Dec 27, 2016

twilliard said:
That now is sounding like pump speed.

I have another pump .. should I try it with another pump.

And although I said in my last post that it was still moving water, I must say that I dont have anything to compare it to in terms of how fast or how much water it WAS moving before as this is the first time I have the pump in water by itself and have felt the flow. So while it MAY seem like it is moving water, it may in fact be slower then it was working before -- I just dont know

jenreefer · Dec 27, 2016

specialk said:
Did not do anything differently ... maybe my hands were in the tank very briefly, but that is nothing new. Otherwise nothing else new

In that case, I would soak skimmer pump in vinegar, clean entire skimmer and work on it at sink to try to determine where the issue is. whole skimmer needs to be cleaned in vinegar in my opinion.

specialk · Dec 27, 2016

jenreefer said:
In that case, I would soak skimmer pump in vinegar, clean entire skimmer and work on it at sink to try to determine where the issue is. whole skimmer needs to be cleaned in vinegar in my opinion.

Ok, if I go ahead and do this (and I probably should have anyways a long time ago) will my tank be good without a skimmer for 2 days? (I have a 125 gallon with 45 gal sump)

twilliard · Dec 27, 2016

specialk said:
I have another pump .. should I try it with another pump.

And although I said in my last post that it was still moving water, I must say that I dont have anything to compare it to in terms of how fast or how much water it WAS moving before as this is the first time I have the pump in water by itself and have felt the flow. So while it MAY seem like it is moving water, it may in fact be slower then it was working before -- I just dont know

Did the magnet look ok? No swelling or visible signs of rubbing?

twilliard · Dec 27, 2016

specialk said:
Ok, if I go ahead and do this (and I probably should have anyways a long time ago) will my tank be good without a skimmer for 2 days? (I have a 125 gallon with 45 gal sump)

This is a tough call depending on how much the skimmer was providing for O2 exchange.

specialk · Dec 27, 2016

This is what I'm looking at

twilliard · Dec 27, 2016

Ya that is not acting right

specialk · Dec 27, 2016

This may be a dumb question ....but where the male piece for the pump goes into the female pice on the body of the skimmer ...if this is not ULTRA TIGHT will this effect anything? (Right now it slides in and out without having to put a ton of muscle into it)

specialk · Dec 27, 2016

twilliard said:
Ya that is not acting right

Yah and Im at a loss ....cant seem to crack this

twilliard · Dec 27, 2016

specialk said:
This may be a dumb question ....but where the male piece for the pump goes into the female pice on the body of the skimmer ...if this is not ULTRA TIGHT will this effect anything? (Right now it slides in and out without having to put a ton of muscle into it)

No that will not affect much. Pump speed is still what I am thinking.

kashman100 · Dec 27, 2016

Have you checked salinty. Low salinty can cause less bubbles

twilliard · Dec 27, 2016

Also might want to check that the magnet spins freely on the shaft

jenreefer · Dec 27, 2016

You should be able to complete cleaning in a couple hours. Place an air stone in the tank to help with O2 during this time if you are worried about it. I would not leave it out for two days though.