help with aqua c urchin skimmer

[jaydm93teg]

ok my CPR bakpak has a hose that connects to the pump in the tank and then the other end has a valve that you screw open/close to let more air in or out depending on how wet/dry you want to skim..........i have an aqua c urchin skimmer on my other tank and it didnt come with any type of hose just a pump that sits in the tank and sucks in water, i havent found anyway to adjust how much air is coming in with the water and it really hasnt been working that well. I asked the person i bought it from and they said thats how it was made.....how do you adjust how wet or dry you skim with the aqua c urchin skimmers??

these are both hang on back model skimmers. any help would be appreciated

thanks

 

[rostato]

Your only adjustment is the height of the collection cup. the pump just brings water up to a spray nozzle that creates bubbles and works them around a weird little chamber and up to the collection cup. Thats about the best I could do for you. Just use the rubber band around the collection cup to raise or lower it. If it is skimming too wet, raise it up. If it is too dry lower it. Really the most simple skimmer ever! if it is too loud for you you can stick a piece of plastic or something over the left chamber where the spray nozzle is, and it will make the skimmer almost completly silent.

 

[jaydm93teg]

well I have the cup as low as it can go and I'm getting. Nothing to come up into the cup any ideas why that would be?

 

[rostato]

Unplug it, and removed the collection cup. of the left side you'll see the spray nozzle. take out the little screw...(don't drop it!), and clean out the nozzle with a small plastic wire brush or something that can get in there.

Other than that I would say your pump maybe needs to be cleaned so it puts out more power. Also how long has it been running?

 

[jaydm93teg]

ok i will clean it out and see what it does for me....i bought it used and it has been running on my tank for prob. 4 months now i mean it gets a tiny bit every now and then in the cup but i know its not doing what it should....also what pump should be on there?? like i said i bought it used so i just wanna make sure i have the correct or equivalent to the correct pump

 

[rostato]

A maxi jet 1200 is fine, but I recomend the mag 3 over that.

 

[dakota9]

If the cleaning it doesn't help the problem, then it is probably due to an under powered pump. A MJ 1200 would do the job.

To the cleaning instructions above, I would at that you should check for gunk built-up/obstruction in the flexible tubing running from the pump to the Aqua C. (When you remove the collection cup, you should see, and hear, a jet of water creating foam within the skimmer)

Because of the design of these, there's really just a few things that can go wrong and even fewer adjustments that can be made.