Precipitant build up in skimmer venturi

[joeboots82520]

Anyone have a sudden build up of precipitant in their skimmer Venturi? My skimmer ran fine for two years with an annual disassemble and vinegar soak. Over the last few weeks I've had a build up accumulate every few days in the stem of the Venturi where the airline connects and flood my collection cup. I'm trying to put a finger on what has changed but I'm stumped. Could it be the angle the Venturi is in reference to the pump? Change in outside temp? (I draw air from outside directly into my skimmer) Any input would be appreciated

 

[Supurderek]

To cause precipitant, it would usually have to be an imbalance of alkalinity and calcium. Colder air can cause skimmer air intake to cause overflow or under flow of skimmer.

 

[TylerS]

Sorry I don't have any insight for you, but I was wondering if you could share the brand? I'm looking at buying a venturi driven skimmer.

 

[reef lover]

The blockage is usually caused by salt creep. I've solved this problem by attatching to a timer and allowing the skimmer to shut off and the water to back up and dissolve the salt. With my old corallife skimmer I had to shut off for two hours every night to prevent blockages and overflows. Hope this helps.

 

[reef lover]

The blockage is usually caused by salt creep. I've solved this problem by attatching to a timer and allowing the skimmer to shut off and the water to back up and dissolve the salt. With my old corallife skimmer I had to shut off for two hours every night to prevent blockages and overflows. Hope this helps.

 

[reef lover]

The blockage is usually caused by salt creep. I've solved this problem by attatching to a timer and allowing the skimmer to shut off and the water to back up and dissolve the salt. With my old corallife skimmer I had to shut off for two hours every night to prevent blockages and overflows. Hope this helps.

 

[reef lover]

That post shows 3 times on my phone...I hope it only posted once....

 

[joeboots82520]

The part that I don't get is the fact that it started happening after almost a full three years of operating. Wouldn't it have started happening a lot earlier on in the life of the skimmer if it were as simple as salt creep. I'm wondering if it has something to do with the aging of the pump? The skimmer is a reef octopus diablo xs 160 discontinued at this point. Great skimmer otherwise have had zero issues until now.

 

[joeboots82520]

And I have been running heated up RO water thru the air intake to try and clean it every few days and it helps for a day or two but once that build up takes hold it's only a matter of time until it clogs enough to raise the water level into the cup. Maybe I'm partly looking for an excuse to buy a new skimmer as well hahahaha.

 

[joeboots82520]

Side note I also adjusted to angle of the Venturi in reference to the pump intake I now have it pointing completely vertical as opposed to slightly on an angle which made routing the air line neater. I will update in a few days and see if that makes a difference

 

[Cory]

The pump has lost power some how is a possibilty causing less air suction. The only fix to that is a new pump or parts.

 

[TylerS]

Is it possible to replace the air intake (or connection)? Maybe the plastic has degraded somehow, or had micro-cracks that are promoting the formation of blockages? I really don't know enough about the mechanisms that can cause precipitation / salt creep, blockages to know if this is a realistic potential cause, but I would think it's easy and cheap enough to replace the tubing just as an experiment.

 

[joeboots82520]

Just an update if anyone is interested. Since I cleaned out the venturi and adjusted the angle it has been running perfectly. I have the air intake completely vertical. I will be removing it next WC day and inspecting for any build up.