Skimmer problem! Help!

RyvBoy · 08/23/2019, 04:52 AM

As you can see in the video the skimmer just stops doing bubbles...

I try as you can see in the video to reboot it, but it makes bubble just for 10/15 seconds and than it stops and just "push" water

https://youtu.be/yTaKnNFw-24

Vinny Kreyling · 08/23/2019, 08:06 AM

Try cleaning the venturi out.
You can do 3 things.
1 -soak in hot water or run hot water through while running.
2 - soak in vinegar then a hot water flush.
3 - using your fingers twist a drill bit the correct size into the venturi to ream it out.
MY preferred method is #3
Also clean the pump while your at it.

mcgyvr · 08/23/2019, 08:11 AM

I'm not all that familiar with that one and the video is pretty darn short to see whats really going on there
But are you sure its not in too deep of water?
Seems like the water level is rising too high causing it to go into shutdown..

slief · 08/23/2019, 09:18 AM

To me it looks like the pump is shutting down. I also hear what sounds like a clicking in the background and if that is coming from the pump, then you definitely need to inspect the motor. I would suggest taking the pump apart and inspecting the impeller and motor. It could be that there is something caught in the impeller or buildup in there causing the motor to go into a protection mode. Depending on the age of the skimmer and pump, it could be there is an issue with the motor block. Also, as Vinny mentioned, make sure to inspect the venturi port for salt buildup inside the port where the airline connects to the motors intake. Buildup in there will restrict the airflow causing the pump to push more water than it should. While I don't think that is your issue, it's something to check while you are in there.

RyvBoy · 08/23/2019, 11:01 AM

sorry for the short video.... i explain myself better...

the first part is how I found the skimmer... if i pause and restart it ( which i did in the video- the clicking is me rebooting the pump) it starts for a moment to work properly (as you can see in the second part of the video) but after a bit it goes back as in the first part

i already tried to disassembly it and it seemed all ok. i'll try with the venturi

the skimmer has 5 months

slief · 08/23/2019, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyvBoy

sorry for the short video.... i explain myself better...

the first part is how I found the skimmer... if i pause and restart it ( which i did in the video- the clicking is me rebooting the pump) it starts for a moment to work properly (as you can see in the second part of the video) but after a bit it goes back as in the first part

i already tried to disassembly it and it seemed all ok. i'll try with the venturi

the skimmer has 5 months

I think your issue is the motorblock. While it may "look" OK, there could be some buildup that is causing resistance and making the motor go into protection mode. I would take the pump completely apart removing the impeller from the motor and soak the motor, impeller and pump cover in vinegar for 10 minutes. Then scrub it inside and out, rinse and reassemble. if that doesn't solve it, I'd contact the place where you bought it from because it could be that you have a faulty motorblock.

RyvBoy · 08/23/2019, 04:33 PM

maybe here you can understand better. at second 0:21 it stop working properly

https://youtu.be/YNjBP7QzE90

Daddi0 · 08/23/2019, 04:53 PM

It looks like your skimmer is boiling over and causing the skimmer to eject out the overflow and shutting the air off. At about 4 minutes, the video shows theirs doing the same as yours. This is a safety feature.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=Upgep18Ox5A
cheers! mark

Daddi0 · 08/23/2019, 04:58 PM

Yea, you can see in your video that the skimmer works good until it hits the overflow max and plugs the line.

RyvBoy · 08/23/2019, 05:09 PM

boiling over? what do you mean

Daddi0 · 08/23/2019, 05:13 PM

Somewhere in your skimmer there is a device that determines that your skimmer is full of skim mate and this device somehow diverts water to the airline. This stops the skimming til you empty the skimmer cup. Does it show this in your manual?
You must figure out why it is flooding the air intake. (sorry, I don't have this skimmer or I could tell you exactly)
Cheers! Mark

slief · 08/23/2019, 05:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daddi0

Somewhere in your skimmer there is a device that determines that your skimmer is full of skim mate and this device somehow diverts water to the airline. This stops the skimming til you empty the skimmer cup. Does it show this in your manual?
You must figure out why it is flooding the air intake. (sorry, I don't have this skimmer or I could tell you exactly)
Cheers! Mark

You might be onto something there. I think the way it works is that when the water level gets too high inside the body, the overflow chamber floods and blocks the air intake shutting the pump down (as the load on the pump would suddenly change) or at least blocking the air intake. It could be a case of the sump level being too high or the valve for setting the level inside the skimmer being closed too much.

aaronpentz · 08/23/2019, 05:38 PM

The water level in the skimmer is too high. Filling this smaller tube. Once it gets too high you can see the upside down air I let tube that is sucking water from the auxiliary tube with the water level sticker on it.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Daddi0 · 08/23/2019, 05:39 PM

https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/190fc...687948a634.pdf
You can remove the safety device and plug the hole at the base with the provided cap

RyvBoy · 08/24/2019, 01:35 AM

https://youtu.be/p1M6cW1HCR8

this is the situation when it works properly. the water in the sump is ok. 22cm (should be between 15 and 25)

I tried to disassembly it again and I don't know why now it seems to work, even if this already happened, reason why I expect it to fail again in 1/2 days

DENIZSEAMAR · 08/24/2019, 11:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyvBoy

https://youtu.be/p1M6cW1HCR8

this is the situation when it works properly. the water in the sump is ok. 22cm (should be between 15 and 25)

I tried to disassembly it again and I don't know why now it seems to work, even if this already happened, reason why I expect it to fail again in 1/2 days

I guess you misunderstood the answers. They probably were talking about the water level INSIDE the skimmer not in your sump. When the skimmer cup is full then your skimmer automatically shuts off airtake. At least I understood lile this.

RyvBoy · 08/25/2019, 02:25 AM

so my question is - why does the cup fill up? as you can see in the last video when the skimmer works properly the cup is ok

Daddi0 · 08/25/2019, 10:51 AM

I would recommend re-reading the set-up instructions and if you don't need the skim shut-off, set it up without it.
Cheers! Mark

Daddi0 · 08/26/2019, 10:15 PM

Any update?

08/23/2019, 04:52 AM	#1
RyvBoy Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2019 Location: Italy Posts: 104	Skimmer problem! Help! As you can see in the video the skimmer just stops doing bubbles... I try as you can see in the video to reboot it, but it makes bubble just for 10/15 seconds and than it stops and just "push" water https://youtu.be/yTaKnNFw-24

08/23/2019, 08:06 AM	#2
Vinny Kreyling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 7,206	Try cleaning the venturi out. You can do 3 things. 1 -soak in hot water or run hot water through while running. 2 - soak in vinegar then a hot water flush. 3 - using your fingers twist a drill bit the correct size into the venturi to ream it out. MY preferred method is #3 Also clean the pump while your at it. __________________ 250 gallon mixed reef, 2 Reefbreeder's Photon V 2, Deepwater BLDC 12, DAS EX-3 Skimmer, MTC mini cal, 2-3/4" Sea Swirls, Aquacontroller & 6 Tunze pumps.

08/23/2019, 09:18 AM	#4
slief RC Sponsor Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 14,173	To me it looks like the pump is shutting down. I also hear what sounds like a clicking in the background and if that is coming from the pump, then you definitely need to inspect the motor. I would suggest taking the pump apart and inspecting the impeller and motor. It could be that there is something caught in the impeller or buildup in there causing the motor to go into a protection mode. Depending on the age of the skimmer and pump, it could be there is an issue with the motor block. Also, as Vinny mentioned, make sure to inspect the venturi port for salt buildup inside the port where the airline connects to the motors intake. Buildup in there will restrict the airflow causing the pump to push more water than it should. While I don't think that is your issue, it's something to check while you are in there. __________________ Director Customer Support Royal Exclusiv USA For All Royal Exclusiv & Bubble King questions please refer to our Sponsor forum: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/fo...play.php?f=745 Current Tank Info: 480G display mixed reef, 90G sump, 90G refugium, 60G display refugium. Check out my build thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1783476

08/23/2019, 04:53 PM	#8
Daddi0 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Redwood City Posts: 1,354	It looks like your skimmer is boiling over and causing the skimmer to eject out the overflow and shutting the air off. At about 4 minutes, the video shows theirs doing the same as yours. This is a safety feature. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=Upgep18Ox5A cheers! mark __________________ 2x 65g displays with a 30g cryptic refugium and 30g sump - 55g reef 30g Bio-cube reef - I.M. 30g reef - 45g freshwater

08/23/2019, 04:58 PM	#9
Daddi0 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Redwood City Posts: 1,354	Yea, you can see in your video that the skimmer works good until it hits the overflow max and plugs the line. __________________ 2x 65g displays with a 30g cryptic refugium and 30g sump - 55g reef 30g Bio-cube reef - I.M. 30g reef - 45g freshwater

08/23/2019, 08:11 AM	#3
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	I'm not all that familiar with that one and the video is pretty darn short to see whats really going on there But are you sure its not in too deep of water? Seems like the water level is rising too high causing it to go into shutdown.. __________________ Who me?

08/23/2019, 11:01 AM	#5
RyvBoy Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2019 Location: Italy Posts: 104	sorry for the short video.... i explain myself better... the first part is how I found the skimmer... if i pause and restart it ( which i did in the video- the clicking is me rebooting the pump) it starts for a moment to work properly (as you can see in the second part of the video) but after a bit it goes back as in the first part i already tried to disassembly it and it seemed all ok. i'll try with the venturi the skimmer has 5 months

08/23/2019, 04:33 PM	#7
RyvBoy Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2019 Location: Italy Posts: 104	maybe here you can understand better. at second 0:21 it stop working properly https://youtu.be/YNjBP7QzE90

08/23/2019, 05:09 PM	#10
RyvBoy Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2019 Location: Italy Posts: 104	boiling over? what do you mean

08/23/2019, 05:13 PM	#11
Daddi0 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Redwood City Posts: 1,354	Somewhere in your skimmer there is a device that determines that your skimmer is full of skim mate and this device somehow diverts water to the airline. This stops the skimming til you empty the skimmer cup. Does it show this in your manual? You must figure out why it is flooding the air intake. (sorry, I don't have this skimmer or I could tell you exactly) Cheers! Mark __________________ 2x 65g displays with a 30g cryptic refugium and 30g sump - 55g reef 30g Bio-cube reef - I.M. 30g reef - 45g freshwater

08/23/2019, 05:38 PM	#13
aaronpentz Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Pingree Grove, IL Posts: 952	The water level in the skimmer is too high. Filling this smaller tube. Once it gets too high you can see the upside down air I let tube that is sucking water from the auxiliary tube with the water level sticker on it. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk __________________ "Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling it brings" Current Tank Info: 67 Long

08/23/2019, 05:39 PM	#14
Daddi0 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Redwood City Posts: 1,354	https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/190fc...687948a634.pdf You can remove the safety device and plug the hole at the base with the provided cap __________________ 2x 65g displays with a 30g cryptic refugium and 30g sump - 55g reef 30g Bio-cube reef - I.M. 30g reef - 45g freshwater

08/24/2019, 01:35 AM	#15
RyvBoy Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2019 Location: Italy Posts: 104	https://youtu.be/p1M6cW1HCR8 this is the situation when it works properly. the water in the sump is ok. 22cm (should be between 15 and 25) I tried to disassembly it again and I don't know why now it seems to work, even if this already happened, reason why I expect it to fail again in 1/2 days

08/25/2019, 02:25 AM	#17
RyvBoy Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2019 Location: Italy Posts: 104	so my question is - why does the cup fill up? as you can see in the last video when the skimmer works properly the cup is ok

08/25/2019, 10:51 AM	#18
Daddi0 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Redwood City Posts: 1,354	I would recommend re-reading the set-up instructions and if you don't need the skim shut-off, set it up without it. Cheers! Mark __________________ 2x 65g displays with a 30g cryptic refugium and 30g sump - 55g reef 30g Bio-cube reef - I.M. 30g reef - 45g freshwater

08/26/2019, 10:15 PM	#19
Daddi0 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Redwood City Posts: 1,354	Any update? __________________ 2x 65g displays with a 30g cryptic refugium and 30g sump - 55g reef 30g Bio-cube reef - I.M. 30g reef - 45g freshwater