Skimmer neck cleaner slowing things down?

[milonedp]

I've been running the same skimmer for years with a neck cleaner on it. I can get a pretty stable head for the first few days after I clean everything off but once some gunk starts to build up on the wiper, foam production really slows.

The point of the neck cleaner is to go longer between cleaning (I also have the skimmer drain to a locker) but then it doesn't seem to skim as well. Has anyone else noticed this? Thoughts on how to improve the consistency?

 

[Ron Reefman]

I wouldn't even consider using a neck cleaner as I get a very good build up of green 'gunk' on the neck and I'm happy to remove that 'stuff' from the tank.

 

[DanH86]

Yep I’ve noticed the same With my Red Sea skimmer - when the neck cleaner is turned the foam head will drop into the main body for a few hours. I try and only turn it once a week.

 

[milonedp]

If you are only turning it once a week aren't you dropping a lot of gunk back into the skimmer?

 

[CuzzA]

Mine stays consistent and production is equal to my cup without the neck wiper. I did have to drill out bigger holes in the lid as for some reason the manufacturer made them smaller than the original lid. Once I did that it eliminated the back pressure preventing good production. Perhaps you have something similar going on.

For those who have never used one, no gunk gets dropped back in. Dry skimmate is sticky. It will build up on the wiper until manually removed.

 

[milonedp]

Do you mean back air pressure? Never considered that I might need to play a bit.

As for the gunk yes it builds up on the wiper and doesn't fall off but if you run only once a week some must fall back in when it's dialog and I have a 450 system so once a week is a potential lot of production buildup. So I was curious as to really world experience cause I've been turning mine twice a day for a minute. You?

 

[CuzzA]

Do you mean back air pressure? Never considered that I might need to play a bit.

As for the gunk yes it builds up on the wiper and doesn't fall off but if you run only once a week some must fall back in when it's dialog and I have a 450 system so once a week is a potential lot of production buildup. So I was curious as to really world experience cause I've been turning mine twice a day for a minute. You?

Yes, air back pressure. I am hypothesizing that the built up gunk may be bottle necking and perhaps drilling larger holes in the lid will allow more air to flow freely and overcome the tighter restriction in the neck. If you leave the lid off a skimmer you will get a lot more production, and a mess. With mine it turns every 6 hours. Perhaps turning it more often will reduce the build up of gunk as it will still be slightly wet and perhaps some of it will get pushed up and out or fall back and re-skimmed out. I'd tinker with it and see if you can fix the problem. They are great. My skimmer is valved to a drain so skimmer maintenance is nothing more than turning the valve once a week and every few months I pull it and clean the whole works.

For me, production is equal to having no neck cleaner.

With a neck cleaner I have a cleaner neck, consistent production, however, the obstruction reduces skim.

Without a neck cleaner you have greater production at first, but it falls off with the build up in the neck, thus reducing production.

So they're about equal, but the neck cleaner does not require as much user intervention.