Skimmer just won't skim!

[D3NT]

I received my marineland 300 skimmer and I was impressed at how it seemed to perform... For the first 24hours... I decided to clean out the cup because there was a ton of dry foam and it was tough to see so i could adjust it. I turned off the pump, cleaned the cup and plugged it back in. This time, the water traveled about halfway up the neck (in the main body of the skimmer, not the collection cup). It just stops there, occasionally the water level in the neck will drop and try to travel back up. I pulled the pump, cleared out the air lines and cleaned everything out as well as I could. This time the pump pushed water up over the neck in the main chamber and eventually dropped back down. The water never really spins.

I know the pics are bad, but basically the brown is water traveling up the neck. It spins VERY slowly.

 

[Blufgan]

I know a few people that bought this same model and had issues with it too. Personally I think marineland makes awesome tanks but lack in the skimmer department both friends of mine returned their skimmers. One went with a ASM G series and the other Reef Octopus, I currently use I would suggest taking it back a Reeflo Orca

 

[Kbra]

And you can't adjust it up? It's not from breaking it in?

 

[D3NT]

It could be from break-in. Maybe I'm expecting too much too soon, but like I said the first 24 hours I was getting foam and skimmate. Now as you can see there's no foam and it's not even pushing water past that point. The pump seems to shut off from time to time too.

 

[cparka23]

It's been my experience that some skimmers won't skim for several hours after you clean it or for a couple hours after putting your hands in the tank. I'd stop messing with it, let it settle in, and then check on it tomorrow.

And be careful when setting the water/bubble level in the skimmer. I have overflowed my skimmers many times by setting the levels right after a cleaning. It will change once the pump hits its stride, so you'll have to make those adjustments later anyway. Good luck.

 

[D3NT]

I pulled the pump one last time and took a closer look. The impeller shaft and the magnet attached to the pin wheel had about a 1/8th in. gap from the base of the shaft to the magnet. I put a piece of plastic tubing on the shaft so it would sit flush with the magnet and the skimmer started up great. I have NO clue where the spacer went in the first place but I highly suggest that anyone having similar problems with this skimmer do the same. Thanks for all the helpful tips!

 

[Ron Reefman]

+1 for what cparka said. Cleaning even a well broken in skimmer can cause it to not work well for hours and even up to a full day depending on how you clean it. The best thing to do is just rince the cup in water (ro water is better (no clorine) and with clean, well rinsed hands. Wipe the slime off with your clean hands, rinse and put back on the skimmer. Tap water with clorine and other additives, as well as body oils and other contaminates on your hands can slow down the ability of the skimmer to work for awhile after you put it back on line.