Skilter 250 Pump Noise

[737mech]

I have an old skilter on my 38 gal tank. It came with the tank when I bought the used setup months ago. Lately, I've been hearing the pump getting louder than before. Has anyone had this problem before? Is it on it's way out? If it is, what do you recommend me buying to take it's place? The tank also has an undergravel filter w/ powerhead.
Thanks

 

[crashlk]

It souds like it is, but first thing to do is to tear down the pump section. You may have something in the section causing the sound, but most likely the pump is tearing itself apart.
Another possibility, is the vibration of the pump maybe increasing, which could be causing the increased sound. You might want to isolate the filter housing from the side of the tank.
How old is the unit?
I Had one for about a year before I gave it to a friend, who hasn't had any issues with the unit for over a year.

 

[737mech]

Thanks... I'll look into the pump section for FOD and/or try to isolate the vibes from the pump. I'm not sure exactly how old the unit is. I bought the setup used, but I think it's at least 3 yrs old.
How long do you think a pump will last? Any ideas for a replacement?

 

[crashlk]

2+ years. I think you can get replacement parts like other mag style pumps, but usually the parts are almost the same price as a replacement unit. You may want to wait for it to fail and replace the whole unit.
Another cause of the sound could be the alignment of the water column and the outlet from the pump. If the column is turned, the outlet could be restricted and cause the increase in sound.

 

[737mech]

Thanks again for all your feedback! The skilter has done a good job with keeping the h20 clean,but the skimming portion wasn't very good, just white foam and lot and lots of bubbles.
I just did a mod to the skimmer and it's so much quieter and not nearly as many bubbles in the tank. My tank is in hypo, so I don't expect the skimmer to pull anything out. I think it needs to have a higher salinity in the water.

 

[erozfish]

737, what did you do to your Skilter? I did a mod on mine once before, but had not had the tank set up in a while, and need to do something again. It's pulling nasty gunk out of the water, but it's so loud, and more importantly, it's putting way too many bubbles in my tank. I put a limewood airstone in the tube chamber before, and tried that. What do you suggest? Thanks for the help.

 

[737mech]

The mod that I used was with a 2" limewood airstone in a 35mm film plastic case. The case is supposed to keep the bubbles from getting back in the tank. It's run by an air pump.
I'm guessing that's what you did. There are still some bubbles, but it's so much better than before and a lot quieter too.
I can send you a link to this mod if you need it ....

 

[erozfish]

737, can you send me the link? I'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[737mech]

SKILTER 250 MODIFICATION

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By, Doug Coverdale
I didn't want to spend a fortune on a skimmer for my 10 gallon reef in my office. I could not justify the cost of a CPR BakPak for such a small tank with a low bioload. A Skilter was the most affordable alternative, but I was not happy with it's skimming capabilities, bubbles in the main tank and noise. The modifications I made eliminated these problems.
To enhance skimming and eliminate bubbles in the tank I removed the noisy venturi tube and replaced it with a limewood airstone. A 35mm film canister was added to prevent the bubbles from leaving the skimmer tube. Drill a hole in the center of the bottom of the canister large enough for the

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of the airstone. Insert the airstone,

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first, into the film canister and push

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through the hole at the bottom of the canister. Attach airline tubing and feed the tubing down the skimmer tube and out one of the holes at the bottom. the airline will exit the Skilter at the water output spillway. Attach the other end of the tube to an airpump with a control valve.
AIRSTONE AND FILM CANISTER ASSEMBLY
A Skilter with this modification will work very well on a small tank with a low bioload.
Here's the mod that I used. Sorry no pictures. I hope this helps you.