Skimmer not Skimming

[Bry17nyc]

i have a Reef octopus extreme xs 160 for about 3 months now...its sitting in a water level of 8 inches and nothing...the bubbles go all the way to the top of the neck but dont go over to the collection cup..only like a 20% make it through ive raised and lowered the water level and it still the same...if anybody has or have had this skimmer what was the water lever you had it in?
what else can i do to start making that machine work like a monster?
i feed heavily and i noticed my nitrates are starting to go up

ive heard about the algae scrubber...i think im gonna make one of those for my system

 

[masterswimmer]

Is the water level in your skimmer chamber CONSTANT at 8"? Or does the water level fluctuate? If it's steady at 8", see what happens if you can possibly raise the water level to 8.5". It is meant to run best somewhere between 8"-9.5", so you should be ok at 8", but yours might be best at a bit higher.

Is the airline tubing from the pump to the silencer clear (no blockages)?
If the airline is clear, the venturi could possibly need cleaning. The best way I've found to do this is the following:

- boil a cup of RODI water (yes, boiling hot)
- remove the airline tubing from the silencer and with the skimmer running, put the tubing into the cup of boiling water.
- you'll see the water sucked right out of the cup and drawn into the pump cleaning the venturi & impeller

Hopefully the above will shed some light and help your skimmer perform.

Russ

 

[Bry17nyc]

ill raised it to 8.5..ill do the hot water in a sec...lets see if it works... i dont think its the tubing ... and everything should be where its suppose to

 

[E.intheC]

after trying the above advice by Russ, I'd also try lowering the level where the bubbles break. This sounds counter intuitive, but once you let the foam head form and the interior sides of the skimmer slime up, you should see an increase in performance.

Also, what's your tank size and bioload like?

 

[Bry17nyc]

but arent you suppose to clean the inside of it every once in a while and keep it clean for best results?

i have a 90 gallon with a 30 gal sump..
130 something pound of LR and like 80 lbs of ls
right now i have 8 fish including a yellow tang a just a couple of corals
i feed 2 cubes per day

 

[Bry17nyc]

^

 

[E.intheC]

but arent you suppose to clean the inside of it every once in a while and keep it clean for best results?

Yes. I clean my skimmer cup at least weekly, if not more. Still though, the slime coat will need to build. This is usually a pretty quick process, depending on bio-load, etc.

i have a 90 gallon with a 30 gal sump..
130 something pound of LR and like 80 lbs of ls
right now i have 8 fish including a yellow tang a just a couple of corals
i feed 2 cubes per day

That should be enough bio-load to get things working. Hmm.. I'd try lowering the bubble level and see if that works. Give it a day or two. Good luck.

 

[mbg75]

What size tank? Is the skimmer oversized?

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[Bry17nyc]

What size tank? Is the skimmer oversized?

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

its a standard 90 gallon
the skimmer works up to 160 gallons
i read really good feedback about this skimmer ..i dont know what im doing wrong:banghead:

 

[Bry17nyc]

Yes. I clean my skimmer cup at least weekly, if not more. Still though, the slime coat will need to build. This is usually a pretty quick process, depending on bio-load, etc.

but isnt that enough fish for that size tank...i mean like i said ...everything looks fine because the bubbles go all the way to the top but it just that they dont go into the collection cup..im guessing the pop before

That should be enough bio-load to get things working. Hmm.. I'd try lowering the bubble level and see if that works. Give it a day or two. Good luck.

i lowered it down to where the skimmers neck starts..lets see

 

[Bry17nyc]

i was thinking about making a algae scrubber...what you guys think?

 

[18oreefer]

do you add any supplements to your food for the fish?

 

[Bry17nyc]

do you add any supplements to your food for the fish?

no. i just melt the cubes in a small container with some tank water

 

[aznt1217]

Hey Dude,

You are talking about the Reef Octopus MSX 160 right? I have the same skimmer and it works like a champ. The best way to make sure if it's sucking air is to cover the air inlet and see if the water level inside the skimmer rises it should overflow the cup if you are holding it long enough. Check to make sure your impeller isn't started in reverse, that could be a reason why as well. Sicce's tend to do that especially if you have a Mesh Wheel (not sure if you do). Unplug and plug in the skimmer and it'll eventually spin the right direction.

How do the bubbles look in the body? Is it nice and white? Please take a picture if you can so we can further assist.

 

[Bry17nyc]

the bubbles go up to there

idk how the bubbles are suppose to look...smaller or bigger than that...the pics were taken with my phone so theyre not that good

 

[rookie07]

Looks good to me. Id leave it and test for nitrates, nitrites, and amonia....if levels are good, not need to change anything.

I had a oversized skimmer on my 120 and almost never had any build up in the skimmer cup, just the chamber woild get dirty.

 

[Bry17nyc]

Looks good to me. Id leave it and test for nitrates, nitrites, and amonia....if levels are good, not need to change anything.

I had a oversized skimmer on my 120 and almost never had any build up in the skimmer cup, just the chamber woild get dirty.

you think?

my nitrates did increased and ammonia its a bit high....
ive seen ppl that change their collection cup every 2 weeks because it fills up
mines in two weeks it doesnt fill not even half or half the cup

 

[masterswimmer]

my nitrates did increased and ammonia its a bit high....
ive seen ppl that change their collection cup every 2 weeks because it fills up
mines in two weeks it doesnt fill not even half or half the cup

Now this is a problem you need to address, much more serious than your skimmers' operation (which doesn't appear to be as bad as you've been saying). After 3 months a tank should have zero ammonia. Why are you getting ammonia readings? Did you just recently add rock to the tank? Have you had a major die-off of a large fish and not remove it? In a cycled tank there will be no ammonia.

One other thing that might affect your skimmer. The first picture shows the skimmate in your collection cup is totally out of level. Is your skimmer sitting in your sump tilted? It needs to be level to run efficiently.

Russ

 

[Bry17nyc]

the only fish that died in my tank and i didnt take you was a small clownfish ....it died in the night im guessing and when i saw him in the afternoon the snails were almost finished with them..that happened like 2 month ago

 

[aznt1217]

Looks fine to me you are just running a really dry skim. But to what Russ said, if the skimmer is tilted you have to straighten it out. Also just as an FYI, you need like 1 more inch in water height for it to work more effectively