Skimmer questions.

[tyler1503]

Hi everyone. I hope Santa was good to you all!
I'm having some issues with my Aquaone G220 skimmer.
I can't adjust the water level!
It's a HOB and an in sump skimmer, but mine is HOB at the moment. I tried turning the knobs to open and close the water output pipes but only one knob seems to change the water level, the other does nothing.
The water level is so low that it can't even rise up the skimmer high enough to skim at all.
I hope I explained that well enough.
Any help would be appreciated!

 

[Reefing Madness]

Ya gotta adjust the return flow nozzles really slow. Just a bit of turning amounts to a huge flow adjustment.

 

[tyler1503]

When I turn the nozzles it doesn't change the flow though, well one doesn't anyway. I turned them fast, slow, a small amount, a lot and got nothing. I thought it got clogged somehow, but it's not. There's definitely water passing through the return.
I raised the water level in my tank a bit hoping it would raise it in the skimmer too but it still can't skim.
I'm at a lost here.

 

[Reefing Madness]

Did you clean the skimmer with vinegar and water before setting it up? If not, then your going to have to let it ride out the break in period.
Usually when you adjust the water level, you do it, let it sit a second or 2 while the water raises a bit, then a bit more, so on and so forth, it won't just go up immediately sometimes. I know it can be a huge pain sometimes.

 

[tyler1503]

I gave it a really thorough vinegar bath when I first got it but it's been on my tank for over a year now. I pulled it out, gave it a good freshwater clean and saltwater rinse and it didn't help.
All the pipes are clear and clean and the pump and Venturi are working better than ever. It's cleaned up like new, with the exception of the water level not rising.
I think I may just need a new one!

 

[Reefing Madness]

Got me, doesn't make sense. Airline clear of salt creep?

 

[tyler1503]

Yep clear of salt creep. It had a bit of a calcium build up, but I cleaned that up.
All I can think of is a possible hairline fracture or something I can't see letting air through so it's not rising into the neck properly. I don't know if that actually happens though lol.

 

[tyler1503]

I left it off for a few hours and turned it back on. It's working a bit better now. It's skimming a little but the water level drops and rises on it's own.
This skimmer is doing my head in!

 

[Reefing Madness]

Pulsing, hmm, I wonder if the pump is messed up, or something is missing from the impellar maybe?

 

[tyler1503]

After a 2nd look at the pump and intake pipes it still looks all good. The impeller is in place and I let the pump sit in a bucket of tap water and it seems pretty consistent water flow to me, but it's only a 5gal bucket so it's really turbulent an difficult to see.
Ill grab a new impeller today if the LFS has any and see how it goes