EuroReef not foaming?

[MandarinFish]

My EuroReef churns out water, but not foam.

In the past, I have fixed this by soaking the pump in a solution of water and white vinegar. This got the scum out and got the skimmer rolling again.

This time, it worked, but only for a minute... I poured out the vinegar/water bath, refilled with fresh water to run the pump clean, then plugged it in....

and no foam.

So I looked and the little white plastic washer (or is it a riser? - help me out here) had fallen out. I replaced it, no dice.

The pump is driving water, just not foaming.

My little washer piece was grimy before a couple times and I bored it out a little. I am wondering if this was a big mistake. It sits on the impeller shaft very loosely now.

Do you think that's it? If it is this washer piece, do hardware stores carry it? Is it a standard size or do I need to pay extra to go through Euro-Reef?

If not, what else might it be? :?:

 

[Arch01]

When you say you refilled with fresh water, do you mean fresh water or fresh salt water? If it's fresh water then it will not foam. Just a thought. If its fresh salt water, do you not get any bubbles at all?

Alex
_________________
current state of us economy recession

 

[MandarinFish]

I gave the pump a bath in fresh water after letting it soak in vinegar-water.

It did spit out air bubbles a little.

Last night when I plugged it in once it was in my sump, it seemed to produce air bubbles for a while.

Then, this morning it was just churning out water.

I wonder how it would be taking water in the air tube, if that's what is wrong?

 

[Anonymous]

Jake,

It sound like the air intake tube or the thinggy the tubs slides on to connect to the pump is clogged.

 

[MandarinFish]

That hit the nail on the head, Rich.

So I took a tall glass of RO/DI water, microwaved it for 40 seconds, then let the air intake venturi tube suck it through...

then I blew air through the tube myself.

I noticed an improvement.

I repeated the process, only this time heating the glass of water for 2 minutes... boiling hot... and let the tube suck it through.

Then I blew air through it twice.

*GOOD AS NEW*

That's the best I've seen the Euro-Reef run in the couple of years I've owned it.

Now I know how to fix it when it stops bubbling, without pulling the whole pump out of the sump (it's a PITA with all the other stuff I have in there).

Soooooo much lower maintenance. Now I also know why when I did this cleaning, it didn't work - I didn't clean the venturi piece like I have in the past.

HUGE improvement in my reefkeeping... one of the most important fixes/discoveries/maintenance improvements yet.

Thank you for your help.

 

[MandarinFish]

I just wanted to add that the president of EuroReef, after reading these threads, personally emailed me to ensure I was satisfied with the performance of their product.

I did not solicit nor email him originally, he just read this and went out of his way.

Just when you think you really love Euro-Reef.... they take it to another level. 8)

God I love EuroReef. Best product, best service, and all other skimmers are junk.

 

[Anonymous]

You can also let it suck up some vinegar and usually get the same effect.

Glad its working!

 

[dtiedke]

I repeated the process, only this time heating the glass of water for 2 minutes... boiling hot... and let the tube suck it through.

8O 8O 8O

Caution should be taken when using the microwave and RO/DI water....

There is a chance the water can "explode" if heated too hot and then impurities are introduced (like when you dip the tube in). You can "super" heat pure H20 in a microwave past the point of boiling without the water actually boiling because of the purity. Then, when any impurity is added the water will instantly (and violently) boil with extreme force.... 8O 8O 8O

Thought you should know….


Dave

 

[Anonymous]

IIRC, the superheating of the water has nothing to do with the purity of the water - there is no difference between heating RO water and tap water; you can get an 'explosion' with either.
The problem is a smooth container in the microwave, like a glass bowl of a mug. In such a container there are no nucleation sites for the bubbles to form (in a tea pot there are plenty), so you get superheated water with no boiling bubbles, and if you move the glass or break the surface tension you create nucleation sites and get the 'explosion'. Most microwave manuals suggest putting a wodden chopstick into any liquid being heated in the microwave, so the bubbles have a place to form and avoid super heating.