Hang On Skimmer = TOO MUCH air in my tank...

agent707

Member
:help:
I have 2 tanks (75 and 56) both having a SeaClone 100 hang on skimmer.
I've had them for about 3 to 4 weeks and can't seem to get them adjusted where they don't create so much air in the output.
The main thing to adjust is to get the bubbles to bring the gook up into the cup, which I have it adjusted right. If I turn the air down, I don't get any foaming. If I turn it up any, the cup just fills up with water too fast...
BUT!!! With the air seemingly adjusted correctly, it creates WAY TOO MUCH tiny air bubbles that escape back into the tank. My tanks look like a MASS of tiny air bubbles.
Is this just a byproduct of a cheap $80 skimmer that I have to live with? Or hang-on's in general?
OR.... Is there any way to "rig" these things where I don't have so much air in my output?
Any advice from SeaClone owners welcome please (or ANYONE with advice).
BUYING NEW ONES IS NOT AN OPTION... I just got these and they DO remove gook from my water, so they stay. If there's no way to get rid of the air, so be it.
:help:
 

brucoh

Member
Your skimmers are probably not fully broken in yet. My advice is to keep them set where you are collecting stuff in the cup and ignore the bubbles for now. I know its hard to ignore them, but I think they will eventually stop once your skimmers slime up a little more. My skimmer didn't stop spilling bubbles into my tank for a couple of months. I was ready to pull my hair out too. Just have a little patience for now.
 

vanrynd

Member
I have a Seaclone 100 for about 7 months.
Still with Proper adjustment (collecting waste) bubbles still POURING INTO TANK>
I am finally giving up in it.
In fact, I have a skimmer left over from my 90- that was knocked down...Seaclone 100....IT is too small anyway to pusht the upgraded 150 tank.
I am selling the Seaclone on ---- and bought an Octopus and a Prizm to share the 150 Duties...
There is a Modification Page on DIY on this sight about how to increase the effectiveness of the SC100....however, I just bailed on it and rather have other units to try...
Good Luck, My Bubbles NEVER went away.
 

jj_harrison

Member
I have a seaclone 100 on my 15 and for the first day or so it poured bubbles then just one day it stoped. now i dont get any bubbles at all in the DT. I think that my SG had something to do with it. the higher it was the finer the bubbles were.
 

reefforbrains

Active Member
Usually sea-clones push bubbles into the tank because the flow is too fast, not because the venturi is leting in too much air.
Turn back the flow and allow more time for air to escape, If with mj1200, switch to mj600 or equiv. and you shouldnt have the problems. Also you can increase to max air and you will get a more dryskim that you want anyways. JMO and for the record Sea-clones are not my favorite, but they do perfomr fine and get a bad rap..
 

agent707

Member
OK, so "Break in" means.... letting "slime" build up inside it? I kept seeing "break in" and couldn't figure out what that was meaning. I mean, what it there to "break in"? LOL.
OK, I'll be patient. We'll see.
I'll dig this thread up after a few more weeks and report.
 

tlubinski3

New Member
I have that same problem so one day I decided to try and put a Infant sock over the output and sure enough it worked. Just be careful and watch to make sure it isn't flowing over the back of the tank. It takes a few minutes to get it right. Another thing I did was put foam in the sock. Either way, it worked for me.
 

njf4i

Member
Just be patient. I've had mine up and running for about 3 months now and the bubbles are minimum. If you do a search on this board, there was a guy with a sea clone 150 that had a good detailed explanation on how to set them up right. I followed his instructions and mine works great.
 

networkguy

Member
I messed with my SC100 for about a week to try to get rid of the bubbles, finally I just opened the Venturi as far as I could. It's working great now and I'm dumping between 1/4 and 1/2 (closer to 1/2) a cup full of gunk a day. One thing I can tell you once it starts working I always make sure I get the collection cup super clean especially inside the chamber where the bubbles fizz up into it. It's gross and I use my fingers to do it but I think it's pretty important step when emptying the cup.
 
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