Skimmer not working right

Reef Devils · Sep 4, 2023

So my tank is 4months old and the skimmer had not been skimming anything. I know the bio load is probably pretty small my tank. I have two clown fish for Kupang damsels in to skunk cleaner, shrimp. The skimmer bubbles are not very frothy. It’s just very small little bubbles. Should I order a new skimmer? And return this one? It is a Red Sea skimmer. Should I get a different brand skimmer That might be a little bit better.

Pickle_soup · Sep 4, 2023

Reef Devils said:
So my tank is 4months old and the skimmer had not been skimming anything. I know the bio load is probably pretty small my tank. I have two clown fish for Kupang damsels in to skunk cleaner, shrimp. The skimmer bubbles are not very frothy. It’s just very small little bubbles. Should I order a new skimmer? And return this one? It is a Red Sea skimmer. Should I get a different brand skimmer That might be a little bit better.

Is your skimmer just as old? What size tank do you have?

Reef Devils · Sep 4, 2023

Reef Devils said:
So my tank is 4months old and the skimmer had not been skimming anything. I know the bio load is probably pretty small my tank. I have two clown fish for Kupang damsels in to skunk cleaner, shrimp. The skimmer bubbles are not very frothy. It’s just very small little bubbles. Should I order a new skimmer? And return this one? It is a Red Sea skimmer. Should I get a different brand skimmer That might be a little bit better.

Pickle_soup said:
Is your skimmer just as old? What size tank do you have?

Yea skimmer was brand new. It is 4 months old. Tank is 90 gallons. I am starting to think that there is something wrong with it because it is not making those frothy bubbles. Should I order a new one or get a different brand?

Pickle_soup · Sep 4, 2023

You would think that in 4 months it would pull something out. I never had a Red Sea skimmer, so I am not sure how finicky they are, but unless you have something terribly set up, it should not be an issue. Unless it is running really dry and all the waste builds up on the way to the cup. Is that happening?

Reef Devils · Sep 4, 2023

Pickle_soup said:
You would think that in 4 months it would pull something out. I never had a Red Sea skimmer, so I am not sure how finicky they are, but unless you have something terribly set up, it should not be an issue. Unless it is running really dry and all the waste builds up on the way to the cup. Is that happening?

No there is not one speck of waste in the skimmer or before it reaches the cup. There is just not frothy bubbles to spill into the cup and no waste. I also went through the ugly stage and nothing was in it.

jphilip813 · Sep 4, 2023

Is it possible for you to upload a video of your setup to include the skimmer?

Reef Devils · Sep 4, 2023

jphilip813 said:
Is it possible for you to upload a video of your setup to include the skimmer?

Reef Devils · Sep 4, 2023

Pickle_soup said:
You would think that in 4 months it would pull something out. I never had a Red Sea skimmer, so I am not sure how finicky they are, but unless you have something terribly set up, it should not be an issue. Unless it is running really dry and all the waste builds up on the way to the cup. Is that happening?

What is a skimmer that you recommend? I might need to return this one.

00W · Sep 4, 2023

I don't quite understand how many fish you have in your post.
I'm assuming 6 small fish in a 90 gallon, 4 month old tank? Correct.
If so, that's a small bioload. Cool, I like that. Might just not be enough in there for it to skim.
Looks like too much water not enough air.
Remove the air silencer from the air line and see if you get more bubbles. You can adjust it later.
What model is it 300?

Reef Devils · Sep 4, 2023

00W said:
I don't quite understand how many fish you have in your post.
I'm assuming 6 small fish in a 90 gallon, 4 month old tank? Correct.
If so, that's a small bioload. Cool, I like that. Might just not be enough in there for it to skim.
Looks like too much water not enough air.
Remove the air silencer from the air line and see if you get more bubbles. You can adjust it later.
What model is it 300?

2 clowns and 4 Kupang damsels. 2 cleaner shrimp. 4 month old tank. It is a middle 300. How do I remove the air silencer what is that?

reefadam · Sep 4, 2023

It appears it’s not getting enough air, could be a clogged intake or Venturi. Double check and clean everything, I’ve had baby snails get stuck in the intake before. And as recommended above remove the air tube from the silencer too and see if that helps. Also, what’s the water depth?

Reef Devils · Sep 4, 2023

reefadam said:
It appears it’s not getting enough air, could be a clogged intake or Venturi. Double check and clean everything, I’ve had baby snails get stuck in the intake before. And as recommended above remove the air tube from the silencer too and see if that helps. Also, what’s the water depth?

I don’t have any snails in the tank. How do I remove all of that?

00W · Sep 4, 2023

Reef Devils said:
2 clowns and 4 Kupang damsels. 2 cleaner shrimp. 4 month old tank. It is a middle 300. How do I remove the air silencer what is that?

It pulls right off.

Reef Devils · Sep 4, 2023

00W said:
It pulls right off.

What piece is the air silencer I don’t what to pull something off that it’s going to mess things up.

00W · Sep 4, 2023

Follow the airline to the pump. Where it is is the venturi. It should pull right off on most newer skimmers.
I've never had that model but if you give pictures, I'll help anyway I can.

00W · Sep 4, 2023

Follow the airline to the pump. Where it is is the venturi. It should pull right off on most newer skimmers.
I've never had that model but if you give pictures, I'll help anyway I can.

Reef Devils · Sep 4, 2023

00W said:
Follow the airline to the pump. Where it is is the venturi. It should pull right off on most newer skimmers.
I've never had that model but if you give pictures, I'll help anyway I can.

Take this off?

00W · Sep 4, 2023

The red thing on the outside of the skimmer that has airline going from it down to the pump.
If that doesn't make sense,there should be an online manual to download.