AquaC Remora Questions

[kparton]

OK,

I've got the AquaC Remora skimmer on my 50G tank and have been very satisfied with it. However, this week, it sems to have stopped skimming altogether and is not making many bubbles at all. I clean out the collection cup often and I've tried to clean out the entire thing a few times, but I'm having problems.

1) If you have this skimmer, do you clean the entire unit and if so, how do you go about scrubbing it? My hand won't fit in there of course and I'm not sure if I should be cleaning it. I looked in there last night though and it's got it's own little ecosystem, lots of featherdusters in there.

2) Has your skimmer ever just stopped skimming for a period of time? I've been lowering the collection cup, but nothing's been happening. My water conditions are all good right now, but I don't want to let them start creeping up while my skimmer isn't collecting.

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

i don't own the skimmer but i know that after cleaning one they often won't produce skimmate for awhile.

 

[kparton]

I have seent his happen to me before when I do a major water change or when I have cleaned the skimmer, but this time it seemed for no reason. Nothing changed and one day it wasn't collecting. Maybe I'll try cleaning it and see if it will get back to normal after a few days.

 

[Anonymous]

pretty much any time you disturb the tank it will stop skimming. dipping your hand in there, feeding time, whatever. if you don't think that's what your skimmer is doing then I don't know what to tell you. Perhaps the pump is not operating at full power. I'd suggest that you clean the intake but then again, if you've recently cleaned the whole thing, the pump intake is likely not blocked.... got a film on the snurface yet?

 

[pr0teus]

i have this skimmer. i've sort of developed a way to clean the insides. what i do is go outside to the garden hose, which has a nozzle attachment on it, and adjust the stream of water so that it has a strong spray. then i rinse out the inside of the remora. usually, the strength of the water moving around in the skimmer from the hose is enough to dislodge the dirt from my tank.

has my skimmer ever stopped skimming?
answer: yes, but i've left the collector cup in the same place and a few days later it started skimming again.

 

[kparton]

Thanks a lot for the comments. I actually think I'm going to try the garden hose approach and see if that can get it cleaner. I've cleaned it, but only the top that I can reach really gets clean. Right now there are lots of bubbles in the skimmer, but none are making it up to the cup. I don't have any film on the suyrface right now.

Thanks

 

[RustySnail]

My old Remora Pro would get salt creep buildup at the injector. You might check/clean the injector area. If yours has the threaded plug at the elbow above the injector you might unscrew it and clean the injector with a bottle brush to be sure there is no blockage also. But if it has stopped creating foam because you recently cleaned the skimmer, it may take a day or two to start working properly again (as stated by others).

 

[kparton]

OK, this was all a stupid mistake on my part. I cleaned every part of the skimmer, but for some reason, I have never cleaned the pump. I've cleaned all the other powerheads in my tank, but not that one. When I cleaned it, the flow increased into the skimmer and I have been back to regular skimming.

Thanks