Protein Skimmer Help

[ctopherl]

I have an Ice Cap K100 skimmer. DT is 54g and sump is 11g.

Skimmer has been running for 8-10 weeks now so it should be “broken in”.

The skimmer is producing 0 foam. When I take the air tube off the air silencer, it produces foam and looks normal. As soon as I put it back on, it stops producing foam.

It seems like not enough air is getting into the body to produce results. I have already tried swapping the pump with a brand new one.

How can I investigate/fix why air isn’t getting through the silencer properly?

Edit: forgot to mention it is in 7” of water and the manufacturer recommends 6-8”.

Edit 2: picture and video of it running in comments below. If I keep turning the valve, straight water spills quickly into the cup. If I leave it as is, nothing goes into the cup. No foam to be found anywhere.

 

[ARAJEA]

Same boat. From what I've gotten on here it could just be too new. Try putting something under the base to raise the skimmer, or lowering it if you've already done the previous. Try turning it off and back on again. Try yelling at it and explaining it's not doing what you want...

 

[adobo]

I have an Ice Cap K100 skimmer. DT is 54g and sump is 11g.

Skimmer has been running for 8-10 weeks now so it should be “broken in”.

The skimmer is producing 0 foam. When I take the air tube off the air silencer, it produces foam and looks normal. As soon as I put it back on, it stops producing foam.

It seems like not enough air is getting into the body to produce results. I have already tried swapping the pump with a brand new one.

How can I investigate/fix why air isn’t getting through the silencer properly?

Pics please

 

[Pistondog]

Will it work without the silencer?
If so, maybe mod the silencer to be less restricted.
Or make your own silencer with pvc and foam.
I did this when I ran the tubing outside to reduce co2, increase ph.

 

[ctopherl]

Pics please

Here is a picture and video of it running

video:

 

[ctopherl]

Will it work without the silencer?
If so, maybe mod the silencer to be less restricted.
Or make your own silencer with pvc and foam.
I did this when I ran the tubing outside to reduce co2, increase ph.

It works without the silencer but it is QUITE annoying that way. I’d be willing to try a DIY thing but it’s annoying to have to hack something together for a new piece of equipment I paid for... I am also not handy at all so would need more direction on what would work to let air in but not be obnoxious.

 

[adobo]

It works without the silencer but it is QUITE annoying that way. I’d be willing to try a DIY thing but it’s annoying to have to hack something together for a new piece of equipment I paid for... I am also not handy at all so would need more direction on what would work to let air in but not be obnoxious.

Have you checked to see if the silencer is clogged? Is there a tuning knob where you can open the airway for the silencer?

The pic you shared is that of a skimmer that is getting no air at all.

 

[ctopherl]

Have you checked to see if the silencer is clogged? Is there a tuning knob where you can open the airway for the silencer?

The pic you shared is that of a skimmer that is getting no air at all.

I’m not sure how to check that other than looking into it. It looks clean? I could try to run water through it?

I did take off the tubing connected to it and the Venturi plugged into the pump and verified those were clean and unblocked. The skimmer works when I disconnect the tubing from the silencer.

I do not believe there is a way to adjust airflow-I can’t figure one out, and the manufacturer assembly/tuning instructions I looked up did not mention any.

 

[Pistondog]

It works without the silencer but it is QUITE annoying that way. I’d be willing to try a DIY thing but it’s annoying to have to hack something together for a new piece of equipment I paid for... I am also not handy at all so would need more direction on what would work to let air in but not be obnoxious.

Put some tubing on the silencer and suck air, if you can't its blocked, like maybe shipping film or something.
Email Icecap?

 

[ctopherl]

Put some tubing on the silencer and suck air, if you can't its blocked, like maybe shipping film or something.
Email Icecap?

So I was able to suck a little air through but it was tough.

There is a little screw in the top of the silencer that I took out exposing another hole and now it seems to be working fine with that added airflow? Odd, I’m not sure what the purpose of that screw is.

Am I correct in thinking that this is how it should look?

 

[adobo]

So I was able to suck a little air through but it was tough.

There is a little screw in the top of the silencer that I took out exposing another hole and now it seems to be working fine with that added airflow? Odd, I’m not sure what the purpose of that screw is.

Am I correct in thinking that this is how it should look?

The skimmer body (looks super white because of all the bubbles) is how it is supposed to look. Without looking at the silencer, its hard to see what the issue was but it definitely should not be that hard to suck air through the silencer.

In some silencer designs, there is a screw on the silencer that can regulate the amount of air that can get sucked in by the pump. Not sure about this particular skimmer.

 

[ctopherl]

The skimmer body (looks super white because of all the bubbles) is how it is supposed to look. Without looking at the silencer, its hard to see what the issue was but it definitely should not be that hard to suck air through the silencer.

In some silencer designs, there is a screw on the silencer that can regulate the amount of air that can get sucked in by the pump. Not sure about this particular skimmer.

Ah ok that must be what the screw is for then-odd no one mentioned that (ice cap who I exchanged emails with, my LFS who set up my tank for me).

If it seems like it is pulling too much air I will try screwing it in a tad and adjusting from there, but I agree it’s odd that there seemed to be no air going through at first.

Thanks for the help!

 

[IndianReefGuy]

I had the same problem.... I think it’s the silencer.... in my k100 it’s literally a tube to nowhere.... see pictures. Before I removed it there was zero foam... now it’s Normal since I removed the silencer.

 

[adobo]

Yeah, I think there might be a manufacturing defect on the silencer. Hard to say, even with these high def pics. Both tubes need to be able to flow air without additional restriction when the entire silencer is assembled.

I suspect if it is a defect where one of the tubes is obstructed, it would be relatively easy to remedy with some basic tools and some common sense.

 

[IndianReefGuy]

Yeah, I think there might be a manufacturing defect on the silencer. Hard to say, even with these high def pics. Both tubes need to be able to flow air without additional restriction when the entire silencer is assembled.

I suspect if it is a defect where one of the tubes is obstructed, it would be relatively easy to remedy with some basic tools and some common sense.

Usually i would agree, that with common sense and elbow grease it could be modified ... but I feel that the skimmer is pretty well built and for the life of me I can’t get that darn top off. It’s really solid ...In any case I’m happy bc it’s at least working now, and I can make adjustments. Plus it’s not loud, and it still looks good overall.

 

[IndianReefGuy]

To clarify... I can’t disassemble the silencer, at least not in this model. The k-100

 

[ctopherl]

To clarify... I can’t disassemble the silencer, at least not in this model. The k-100

I was unable to disassemble as well. I also noticed the tube “looked like it went nowhere” but it is actually all connected inside (take silencer off and try sucking on one end-you will get at least some air through).

What worked for me is removing the screw in the top of the silencer-I think that screw is supposed to help control how much air gets through the silencer as someone else mentioned. If you completely remove it, it exposes another hole. This got the job done for me.