Skimmer help needed

[princess8077]

I have an in sump skimmer in a wet/dry system.
When I first set it up, I could hear the airhose noise pretty well when I would open the doors and check everything.
Now, for some reason I dont hear it so much anymore so Im worried it may not be getting air thru it as much. I've played with the knob that adjusts it, but I have to get my ear down close to it to tell whats going on. I really dont like the limited control, but that's the least of my worries at the moment. I just dont want a problem occuring. Is something maybe plugged up or getting there? What do I need to look for and where?
It's also not foaming as much as it did in the beginning....this is normal? I get some clearish brown liquid and it's never copious amounts in the collection cup.
Please help...tank has been set up since Sept 07 - 80 gal bow front

 

[fishermon]

What kind of skimmer is it?
Pic would help.
The first skimmer I had came with my wet/dry system & I had the same problems. It had a 90 degree pvc like piece that went up into the chamber. Where the air hose came into this piece, it had a small plastic elbow connected to the air hose & pushed into a small hole on the pvc piece.
That elbow would get salt clogged almost weekly.
If this sounds similar to your setup, take out the elbow (with pliers be careful not to break it, I did mine & could never find a replacement I had to rig it). When you get it out clean it with several toothpicks & hot water.
Irregardless of the setup it sounds like it's clogged somewhere (probably with salt). Take the whole thing apart & check it out.
I replaced my 1st skimmer aroud 5 months ago with a coralife super skimmer. I love it (other than a flood incident), it will suck the tank dry.
BTW Good Luck!

 

[nordy]

A couple of things to check here: see if the powerhead on your skimmer has reduced flow due to stuff in it's intake. Because air intake through the venturi connection depends on the amount of water that the powerhead is pumping it is something to look at. Not too likely as your overflow filter should keep stuff out of the sump, but you never know. Also, pull the hose out of the venturi connection on the powerhead to make sure it's not clogged or bent. Pull the bleed valve completely out of the air intake hose and see if you can hear the noise. Sometimes those plastic air blled screws (if that's what you have) can strip out plus their range of adjustment isn't very wide or accurate.
Depending on your bioload, you might not get all that much in the collection cup. Mine is usually a dark brown liquid, maybe a tablespoon or so each day. The amount of foam depends on skimmer setup as well as how much stuff there is in the water. Right now I am running carbon in one of my canister filters and skimmer production is down. This happens because the carbon is pulling out some of the DOC's.
Hope this helps!

 

[princess8077]

also, does everyone run carbon? I've never had it in my sump. What does it do for ya? I guess I should add some?
Thanks for replies on the skimmer issue, I'll def look everything over!