skimmer

[mary]

How long should one depend on a skimmer lasting? I clean the pump and entire body including the plastic aerator balls once a month. Thursday morning I cheked as I always do the system and the large pail collecting the proteins had flooded all through the bottom of the tank. The skimmer has been very well maintained. I took everything out which will be the second time in 4 weeks, cleaned it again and then as usual had a terrible time getting the pump to start up. The magnetic propeller suctions well and that seems fine. From the time it was new I had that problem after cleaning it. It is an ETSS AETech. It is on and seems to be running fine but of course am turning it off at night. It is producing many fine white bubbles and staying low in bottom column at this point. Why would it overflow as such. The catch-all did have sighns of thick brown residue at the top but the water was clear in the pail. Would appreciate any info.
:help:

 

[robchuck]

If the skimmate collected in the pail was clear, it's likely that something caused the skimmer to go crazy (accidental over-adjustment, dead fish, additives, etc.).
Also, the pump powering the skimmer is the only part of the skimmer that will show any wear; otherwise, a skimmer should last until the plastic deteriorates. But if you are having problems with the pump restarting, try soaking the impeller in white vinegar overnight and then scrub it with a brush. It sounds as though calcium may be building up on the impeller. It also might be worth the effort to scrub the impeller housing in white vinegar as well.

 

[mary]

You are correct about the impeller. It is always filthy, but I had already brushed it clean. The difficulty in starting is always a problem but this time it took much more patience. At least with several tries, it does start. Pain in the ---it is. Good to hear that about the skimmer. I am very curious as to why it did that. With the new lights being the only change in the system. And, I have cut back feeding schedule and additives for corals and such. On another forum have discussed my terrible phosphate problem, which I thought was getting better, but alas, it has worsened. Warmer water, three degrees higher, could have triggered something. Think I will return the sea cucumber to the LFS. Now being unable to keep a constant 75 fdegrees, I worry about it turning its inwards outwards. That would be awfu;. The LFS keeps nice cool tanks. Chiller Thanks for the good news about skimmer.

 

[mary]

The skimmer is working but shooting up completey white bubbles, column is filled with them . Am playing with the adjustment to get it to slow down. Never had this problem. No dead fish or anything else, except for newlynhatched clowns again, of which I have not seen any of. This occurred last month also. Not the skimmer, the fry hatching. Hmmmm. I am not going to feed today. Just maybe they have all been enjoying the fry.