Urgent Help with skimmer!

[kravi]

I'm new here, but a friend of mine insisted that I join up. I apologize for not introducing myself more thoroughly, but it took an emergency to get me posting here.

Okay, so my skimmer isn't working properly.

It had run properly for two months previously, but as of today, it isn't running right.

It uses an induction process.

What's happening is that I am seeing large bubbles inside the main chamber.

I checked all of the connexions, and they are tight. I pulled off the pump and ran it in clean water. It is clear and pumping normally.

The air line is unobstructed and connected to the induction device firmly.

I pulled the skimmer itself out and ran water through it to see if maybe particle matter had blocked the flow. Basically cleaned it.

Still have the same problem, and I'm worried as heck. Don't know how long my fishies will survive with it not working.

Any ideas?

--Me

P.S. I can't remember what kind of skimmer it is. Sadly the box is no longer.

[Fly Guy]

I cant help you with the exact skimmer problem that you are having but i can tell you that if your system is healthy and your water flows through your rocks well it can live without a skimmer for a while with no problems. I had the gen x pump running my MR-2 go out on me a while back and i ran without a skimmer in that tank for 3 weeks. My nitrates remained at zero the entire time. It kind of surprised me and just goes to show what good water flow and a healthy system can do.

[kravi]

Originally Posted by Fly Guy

I cant help you with the exact skimmer problem that you are having but i can tell you that if your system is healthy and your water flows through your rocks well it can live without a skimmer for a while with no problems. I had the gen x pump running my MR-2 go out on me a while back and i ran without a skimmer for 3 weeks. My nitrates remained at zero the entire time. It kind of surprised me.

Whew, that is good news.

I have only a 30 gallon tank with 1 bi-colour blenny, 1 six line wrasse, and a cleaner shrimp (along with 3 crabs and one snail).

I'm not overloading the tank with life, so... I'm hoping that I can fix the problem before there is a "real" problem.

Just in case, I've put in an old-school particle filter and added some active carbon to help minimise damage.

Gah, I wish I knew what was going wrong.

--Me

[motorslave]

A pic would help but Ill take a try at it. First, where the airline connects, clean this portion with vinegar, actually any cleaning should be done with vinegar. The vinegar helps to remove the mineral build up that is common with salt water. I take it the pump draws in air and the impellor chops up the air into tiny bubbles? This is a venturi type skimmer if thats what it does. Do the needles or pins on the impellor look okay? Are there any missing?
Try to get us a pic so we have a better idea of what we are dealing with!

Robert

[kravi]

Originally Posted by motorslave

A pic would help but Ill take a try at it. First, where the airline connects, clean this portion with vinegar, actually any cleaning should be done with vinegar. The vinegar helps to remove the mineral build up that is common with salt water. I take it the pump draws in air and the impellor chops up the air into tiny bubbles? This is a venturi type skimmer if thats what it does. Do the needles or pins on the impellor look okay? Are there any missing?
Try to get us a pic so we have a better idea of what we are dealing with!

Robert

Okay, so I found the skimmer. It is a Nautilus skimmer by Kent Marine. It is not using hte venturi device, because the manual recommended the induction technique instead. What that means is that the air is sucked in before the pump gets it (the air device mounts on the intake of the pump).

Gah, it is frustrating, because it has been working fine since I got it two months ago.

--Me