Skimmer issues

[hnguyen]

Hey guys, I need some help. As some of you may know, I just switched from a bio cube to a 60 cube about 2 days ago. Now I'm having problems with my skimmer. It's not making a lot of micro bubbles like it should in order to skim right. It's make bigger bubbles which hovers just above the waterline. I though the impeller could be dirty since I haven't clean it in a few months so I pulled the skimmer out and clean everything even the pump and impeller. Then I put it all together and dropped it in a bucket of water mixed with vinegar. I ran it in there for about 5 minutes just to knock anything else off the insides of the pump. While in the vinegar bucket it was make MAD micro bubbles just like it should. So I thought great problem solved. so i removed it and rinsed it with tap water. I then pulled it out and put it in a bucket of old salt water I had removed during my tank move to rinse off any reminding vinegar. I ran it in the old salt water for a few minutes and it was still make mad bubbles, great!!! I thought. After that I put it back in the sump and nothing!!! Same old thing from the get go. It was make big bubbles again just like before. So I pulled it back out and put it back in the old salt water bucket to test. Mad micro bubbles in there, then back in the sump and no more micro bubbles. I'm lost and have no idea why it's doing this.

Could it be that my water is too clean for it to create micro bubbles and skim properly? I have about 75 gallons of total water volume and I used about 45 gallons of new water and all new dry sand that has been rinsed very well during my move.

My skimmer is a bubble Magnus nac7. Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[picoreefguy]

it is possible for your water to be too clean but very very unlikely if you have anything living in the tank. but just leave it running and wait a couple days maybe there is something in the water thats not allowing the bubbles to form properly, idk what i could be but its a possibility.

 

[snowmansnow]

are you getting water in the airline some way ? Blow through that airline until you see bubbles and see if it jump starts it..

 

[hnguyen]

Nothing is blocking the airlines and I did blow into it. Hard enough to have water jump out the skimmer. Like I said, I'm moving it from one water source to another and it skims with one and not the water.

 

[ichthyoid]

You should see small bubbles. Even if you strip much of the organics and lipids from the water.

What's your specific gravity and calcium?

That the skimmer works in one tank, but not another, points to water parameters, IMO.

 

[snowmansnow]

Water level?

 

[snowmansnow]

What about where you have it plugged in.?? Not getting a decreased current is it???

 

[ichthyoid]

Also, if you've had your hands in the tank, added chemicals, food, etc., those will affect skimming.

If nothing else, do a ~20% water change, and see if that helps. It won't hurt.

 

[hnguyen]

ichthyoid;871091 wrote: Also, if you've had your hands in the tank, added chemicals, food, etc., those will affect skimming.

If nothing else, do a ~20% water change, and see if that helps. It won't hurt.

I did have my hands in the tank for a long time moving rocks around. Then last night I was glueing a bunch of corals to rocks so there's a bunch of CA and epoxy in the tank. Other then that, I only added a little bi of prime after the move and some microbateria7. I use the microbateria7 weekly and my skimmer has never acted funny with it. Only thing I can think of is the prime, CA and epoxy and my sweaty arms in the tank all night. Ill try and do another wc tomorrow night to see if it helps.

 

[merkywater]

Is the venturi attached right? Hold your finger over air intake for few seconds then let go. You should have micro bubbles no mater what in salt water, if the pump is working right.

 

[hnguyen]

merkywater;871102 wrote: Is the venturi attached right? Hold your finger over air intake for few seconds then let go. You should have micro bubbles no mater what in salt water, if the pump is working right.

I have it in there correctly. It skims find with my old salt water I still have in the brute trash can but it won't skim when I put it in my sump. Move it back to the brute with old water it skims, back to the sump it won't skim. If my skimmer was out back together the wrong way ( which is hard to do) then it shouldn't skim no matter what I put it in. Heck it even skims like crazy in tap water mixed with vinegar but refuse to skim in my sump.

 

[hnguyen]

Skimmer started to work great again last night after I dumped a crap load of phyto in the tank.

 

[kzoo]

Hnguyen;871099 wrote: I did have my hands in the tank for a long time moving rocks around. Then last night I was glueing a bunch of corals to rocks so there's a bunch of CA and epoxy in the tank. Other then that, I only added a little bi of prime after the move and some microbateria7. I use the microbateria7 weekly and my skimmer has never acted funny with it. Only thing I can think of is the prime, CA and epoxy and my sweaty arms in the tank all night. Ill try and do another wc tomorrow night to see if it helps.

I bet it was the epoxy

 

[ichthyoid]

+1 ^

 

[hnguyen]

ichthyoid;871447 wrote: +1 ^

kzoo;871411 wrote: I bet it was the epoxy

At first I thought so too. But normally when I go epoxy and CA crazy, my skimmer would over skim. In this case it was under skimming so I didn't think it would have been the epoxy. But then again in wrong a lot.

 

[kilralpine]

If its lower salinity that could have an effect; in freshwater skimmers wont work at all.

 

[hnguyen]

kilralpine;871454 wrote: If its lower salinity that could have an effect; in freshwater skimmers wont work at all.

Salinity is at 1.27 or 1.027. However it's read.

 

[ichthyoid]

Not to argue Kilr, but ion flotation (skimmers) have been used for around 100 years and were originally developed for use in fresh water.

There are some special requirements that make them work. So, the ones we use, run the way we use them, won't work in fresh water.

 

[hnguyen]

I don't know anything about that but when I out mines in a bucket with tap water mixed with vinegar, it skimmed like crazy. Maybe it's the vinegar?

 

[ichthyoid]

Yes, vinegar is an organic acid, also known as acetic acid, and will send a skimmer into overdrive.