More skimmer questions

[DaveJ]

The never ending friggin skimmer problem!!!! Okay.. the danged thing is plumbed, flowing, balanced, new pump for the venturi and I am still not getting foam on a constant basis. Here is what is happening. I turn it on, it flows great, but 8 to 10 hours later there is barely any froth in the chamber. I turn it off, let it settle and turn it on again and a bunch of foam builds up. I called the makers, Marine Technical, today and talked to them about it. They suggested that since it was used and in a large reef tank before, that it maybe buildup in the venturi feed system. They suggested using vinegar or muric acid to clean it out some. Have any of you had to do this with your skimmers?? I KNOW I need to disconnect it again and completely rinse it out, but I am a little hesitant to use the muric acid because of contamination fears. Any feedback on that?? I will be replacing the airhose that feeds the venturi on the inside too since it is simple and I will be in there. Want to get this right though because I am really starting to get irritated with this thing.

[Doug1]

Muriatic acid can be found at LOwes, etc
Not a big deal, its fairly dilute, just rinse well and use gloves and goggles when handling

[DaveJ]

Doug,

I'm crossing my fingers here, but the muratic acid seems to have done the trick. It cleaned it up so good, it almost sparkles. I ran it for about an hour on its own with about 4 gallons of water and about half a gallon of the muratic solution I got at Ace. Even the pump seems to be a bit quieter, even more than a normal quiet one can be. It is also producing fairly good quantities of foam and overflow right now and its only been up for 2 hours. Thanks for the help, maybe this will do the trick. I will know tomorrow morning