Remora Not Skimming -- Barnacles?

[bjlled]

My Remora is not skimming like it should. It used to skim 2 cup fulls per day! Now I am lucky if I get 1 cup full in 3 weeks. I took it off the tank yesterday and noticed that the inside of it has these "barnacle" like things on it. The Powerhead had it all over it too. Its like large sand particles, and its stuck really really good. It covered the powerhead. Its white in color and very rough. The specks are here and there inside the skimmer, and I think that it might be breaking the surface tension, therefore no skimming. What is this sandy-gritty stuff?

 

[symon]

your skimmer will not skim as much after time, ( it means there is less in the tank for it to take out! ) Take that as a good thing, the things groing in your skimmer are little feather dusters , just like the ones growing on you live rock! That too is a good sign! Grats!

 

[dragonzim]

You should clean your skimmer every so often anyway, so this would be a good time to do it. Get yourself a jug of white vinegar and in a large pot mix up a solution of half water and half vinegar. Take the skimmer off your tank and soak the whole thing in the vinegar solution for a few hours. You can also take apart the powerhead and let that soak for a while as well. After soaking, I'd put the powerhead back together and then run it in the pot for a while. You can use a stiff bristled brush to knock off any thing on the skimmer and pump at this point as the vinegar should have softened everything. Give it all a very thorough rinsing with fresh water, put it back together and throw it back on the tank.
I usually do this every 3 months or so on my Remora...