asm g2 driving me crazy

[eric b 125]

this thing has pulled out next to no skimmate in the 2 months it's been running. i know skimmers have a break-in period, but i've never heard of a 2 month dry spell. i've tried different water levels and only had luck one time when i skimmed real wet. after i emptied the collection cup, nothing else was pulled out. i had better luck with a seaclone. it's so frustrating because i was expecting such better results from this skimmer, especially since it got such good user reviews.

 

[jubbin2001]

Did you pull the pump apart and check the impeller shaft? I had a skimmer that did the same thing, when I took the pump apart to clean it, the shaft came out in 2 pieces. Just an idea. Maybe your tank has found a way to rid itself of organic compounds....omg share!!!

.

 

[florida joe]

post a pic of of your skimmer in action

 

[eric b 125]

joe, i cant get a decent picture. i got a new camera and broke it the day after while snowboarding. my phone cant get enough exposure to take a good enough picture. the skimmer is full of microbubbles. i mean it produces bubbles in the skimmer chamber that make me think it would pull out some real nasty stuff. it sits in a constant 8.5" of water. the neck of the collection cup gets pretty nasty, but no skimmate. its really weird to me.

 

[black cobra]

When your water level is in the neck, is it really violent? Sounds like you might be getting too much air into it if so. I never messed with an ASM skimmer so I am not sure how the air control is. Definitely post a pic if you can.

 

[geckoxp]

I have one myself and have never had a problem with it. I sometimes adjust the neck on it depending on water level in the cup neck but other then that the skimmer works great. It sounds like the water level in the sump maybe a bit too high? The higher you raise the neck the more air you let into the skimmer. You can only raise it so high so you might want to try dropping the water level in the sump.

 

[eric b 125]

8" is the recommended water depth for the asm g-2. i could try putting the skimmer on a stand to raise it up, but i dont see how that would help

 

[scotts]

Have you tried adjusting the water level of the outlet of the skimmer? Sounds like you need to raise it up so that the skimmate reaches the level of the cup.

 

[eric b 125]

scotts, i've tried relentlessly to adjust the water level to no avail. i'm at such a loss. i'll try to get a decent picture of it in action. the skimmer body is full of bubbles, like i said, and i would expect it to pull some real nasty stuff out. strange

 

[scotts]

E, sorry if I am stating the obvious, I don't mean any disrespect, but how have you been adjusting the water level inside of your skimmer?

 

[eric b 125]

no sweat scotts. maybe i'm explaining this wrong. i've tried adjusting the water level of the outlet, and that changes how wet/dry i would be skimming- thus changing the water level in the skimmer

 

[eric b 125]

florida joe- here's a picture of the skimmer. hopefully it will help figure this out.

 

[scotts]

Eric, OK good! That is exactly what I trying to ask. It seems to me if you are not getting anything in the cup the water level should be the problem. It looks like you are getting enough bubbles. Did you buy this new or used? Here is what I would recommend
1. Raise the exit tube all the way up. When I say this I mean the plastic tube, not just the foam covering. In theory this should give you the wet skimmate and then you can slowly adjust down. Although every one in a while mine would just go crazy and go from working perfectly to making lime kool-aid.
2. Make sure you have the right pump for this thing and that the impeller looks OK.
3. If these don't work I am thinking something wild. I am wondering if you are getting enough flow through your pump. It is kind of a tight area you have it in and I am wondering if you are kind of choking off the flow of the inlet of the pump, not necessarily choking it off, but restricting it so you can't get a full flow through there. Think of it this way, if you have a shop vac going you have a lot of air the shop vac is sucking up. Now if you have a shop vac going and hold your hand an inch in front of the nozzle the shop vac will not be pulling in as much air. Anyway this is just something wild and I hope I am wrong. I hope #1 will fix it for you.
Scott
Edit: I just saw where the inlet of your pump is and it looks like that will rule out #3. I thought your inlet might be closer to wall of your sump.

 

[posiden]

Originally Posted by Eric B 125
http:///forum/post/3235180
joe, i cant get a decent picture. i got a new camera and broke it the day after while snowboarding. my phone cant get enough exposure to take a good enough picture. the skimmer is full of microbubbles. i mean it produces bubbles in the skimmer chamber that make me think it would pull out some real nasty stuff. it sits in a constant 8.5" of water. the neck of the collection cup gets pretty nasty, but no skimmate. its really weird to me.

This makes me think you have too much air. A skimmer will dry up if you run too much air into it. Have you tried cutting the air input down a little bit?

 

[eric b 125]

posiden, youre back! that's awesome!
the skimmer was bought new with the sedra pump on it. i havent adjusted the airflow on it. it didnt come with a valve on the airline; or it did and i accidentally tossed it out. i just figured that's how it was designed. i'll get one today and see if it changes anything. i didnt think you could have too many microbubbles in a skimmer but now that i think about it, it makes sense. its really strange because the neck of the collection cup, and the top of it (right above the reaction chamber) are filthy, but nothing collects.

 

[posiden]

Originally Posted by Eric B 125
http:///forum/post/3238281
posiden, youre back! that's awesome!
the skimmer was bought new with the sedra pump on it. i havent adjusted the airflow on it. it didnt come with a valve on the airline; or it did and i accidentally tossed it out. i just figured that's how it was designed. i'll get one today and see if it changes anything. i didnt think you could have too many microbubbles in a skimmer but now that i think about it, it makes sense. its really strange because the neck of the collection cup, and the top of it (right above the reaction chamber) are filthy, but nothing collects.

How did that valve work out?