Skimmer not working properly

Bustyraker · Jul 13, 2017

I've been having issues with my skimmer. It pulls out some nasty gunk the first 2 days after I clean the cup and then almost nothing until I clean it again. It is a bit oversized for my system but I feed heavy and I also carbon dose (vodka). I'd rather not have to buy a smaller skimmer to see if that's the issue because I do like this one a lot. It's a SRO 3000 sss. I'm wondering if I just don't have enough of a load for this skimmer and maybe running it part time would help. Like maybe 12 hours a day instead of 24? That would give the system time to build up junk for it to skim out. I've tried adjusting it to several different water levels and nothing helps. Is part time skimming an option since I carbon dose? I only dose manually at night.

Dr. Reef · Jul 13, 2017

Clean the silencer and force air down the tube attached to it till you see bubbles inside the skinmer. Sometimes their air intakes get clogged and cause the problem you are facing. Run some strong vinegar/water mixture through the skimmer and pump etc along with air intake to clean things up. Of course keeping skimmer off line away from tank for such cleaning.

Bustyraker · Jul 13, 2017

Dr. Reef said:
Clean the silencer and force air down the tube attached to it till you see bubbles inside the skinmer. Sometimes their air intakes get clogged and cause the problem you are facing. Run some strong vinegar/water mixture through the skimmer and pump etc along with air intake to clean things up. Of course keeping skimmer off line away from tank for such cleaning.

I've done this several times and I have actually used a pick to make sure the Venturi is completely clean. I agree that it can be a problem but even when it is 100% clean I still have this issue.