Reef Octopus skimmer pump bad?

Jwheld · Jan 20, 2018

over the past couple days it seems the pump on my RO 110INT skimmer is intermittently making bubbles. The water level is staying at the correct level but there are no bubbles.

When I cycle the power it seems to be working fine for a few hours.

I took the skimmer offline yesterday and did full maintenance by disassembling the pump and soaking in vinegar for a few hours. Checking on it today, the issue still exists.

Any thoughts? Bad/weak pump, bad needle wheel?

Crabs McJones · Jan 20, 2018

Jwheld said:
over the past couple days it seems the pump on my RO 110INT skimmer is intermittently making bubbles. The water level is staying at the correct level but there are no bubbles.

When I cycle the power it seems to be working fine for a few hours.

I took the skimmer offline yesterday and did full maintenance by disassembling the pump and soaking in vinegar for a few hours. Checking on it today, the issue still exists.

Any thoughts? Bad/weak pump, bad needle wheel?

Have you checked the air intake tube for clogging? If the pinwheel is clean, and all the pins are there, I would check the air intake to make sure salt creep or something else hasn't clogged it up

Flippers4pups · Jan 20, 2018

If the water level is correct in the skimmer body when the skimmer is running, then the venturi is clogged. When was the last time you cleaned the pump?

Take apart the pump and clean all the parts in vinegar/water solution. Inspect the venturi (where the air tube connects to the pump) for calcium build up.

Jwheld · Jan 20, 2018

crabs_mcjones said:
Have you checked the air intake tube for clogging? If the pinwheel is clean, and all the pins are there, I would check the air intake to make sure salt creep or something else hasn't clogged it up

Just blew the line out, may have been slightly blocked even after cleaning. Time will tell! Thanks

Jwheld · Jan 20, 2018

Flippers4pups said:
If the water level is correct in the skimmer body when the skimmer is running, then the venturi is clogged. When was the last time you cleaned the pump?

Take apart the pump and clean all the parts in vinegar/water solution. Inspect the venturi (where the air tube connects to the pump) for calcium build up.

Cleaned yesterday, soaked in vinegar for 5 hours or so. Was still doing it this morning. Just blew out the airline. If it persists I will take apart and further inspect. Thanks for the tip!