Coralife Super Skimmer (CSS) question - Difficulty adjusting - Aquarium Advice

luckycat · 03-21-2006, 08:53 AM

I've had a CSS (125g for my 90g tank+about 60g in the sump/fuge) for at least 7 months. For many months it worked great, producing very, very thick skimmate. Every week I had to dump out the collection cup at least twice.

Now, however, I have had a hard time generating thick skimmate. It seems to be either very, very wet, sometimes when I adjust it it fills up the cup with clear water and overflows, or almost non-existent. I can't adjust it anymore to control the skimmate.

Anyone else have this issue, or any suggestions?

dskidmore · 03-21-2006, 06:14 PM

Have you cleaned it recently? It may need to re-build it's biofilm after cleaning.

Has the water level it sits in changed any?

luckycat · 03-21-2006, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dskidmore

Have you cleaned it recently? It may need to re-build it's biofilm after cleaning.

Has the water level it sits in changed any?

Just cleaned the collection cup to eliminate all of the slime..not anything else. I use my fingers to scrape off the build-up, and rinse with water and replace.

I used to get a lot of stuff in the cup, but now only water, very light green...but gunk does still build up in the tube leading up into the cup that I clean out.

dskidmore · 03-22-2006, 01:43 PM

Have you serviced the water pump lately? Maybe it's not pushing as hard as it should. Cleaning the motor shouldn't put you back to a break-in period. The Venturi air inlet would also be a place to look for buildup.

Does the main body of the skimmer seem to have as many bubbles as usual?

If you can't find anything wrong with it, you could try taking it apart for a through cleaning, but then you still have to wait for some biofilm to build up to see if that helped.

djsebbaseb · 03-25-2006, 01:15 PM

was having a hard time with that check the bubble catcher it may be to high or dirty. it the outlet tube is against the foam or the foam is dirty then the back pressure makes the water level in the skimmer rise. this causes less bubbles and the waste is alot less concentrated and looks just like water. so try lowering the bubble catcher or check the filter in it! good luck

03-21-2006, 08:53 AM	#1
luckycat Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Detroit MI USA Posts: 204 Images: 1	Coralife Super Skimmer (CSS) question - Difficulty adjusting I've had a CSS (125g for my 90g tank+about 60g in the sump/fuge) for at least 7 months. For many months it worked great, producing very, very thick skimmate. Every week I had to dump out the collection cup at least twice. Now, however, I have had a hard time generating thick skimmate. It seems to be either very, very wet, sometimes when I adjust it it fills up the cup with clear water and overflows, or almost non-existent. I can't adjust it anymore to control the skimmate. Anyone else have this issue, or any suggestions? __________________ 90g BB, basement sump/fuge; CSS 125; Tang, Clown, misc snails, peppermint shrimp, other smaller critters

03-21-2006, 06:14 PM	#2
dskidmore Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Genesee Valley Posts: 2,290 Images: 1	Have you cleaned it recently? It may need to re-build it's biofilm after cleaning. Has the water level it sits in changed any? __________________ 75 gallon freshwater Baby shrimp sighted! 2.5 Gallon unpowered freshwater now with high light 0.25 gallon palmtop doomed to an unlit end?

03-22-2006, 01:43 PM	#4
dskidmore Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Genesee Valley Posts: 2,290 Images: 1	Have you serviced the water pump lately? Maybe it's not pushing as hard as it should. Cleaning the motor shouldn't put you back to a break-in period. The Venturi air inlet would also be a place to look for buildup. Does the main body of the skimmer seem to have as many bubbles as usual? If you can't find anything wrong with it, you could try taking it apart for a through cleaning, but then you still have to wait for some biofilm to build up to see if that helped. __________________ 75 gallon freshwater Baby shrimp sighted! 2.5 Gallon unpowered freshwater now with high light 0.25 gallon palmtop doomed to an unlit end?

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03-25-2006, 01:15 PM	#5
djsebbaseb Aquarium Advice Newbie Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 3	was having a hard time with that check the bubble catcher it may be to high or dirty. it the outlet tube is against the foam or the foam is dirty then the back pressure makes the water level in the skimmer rise. this causes less bubbles and the waste is alot less concentrated and looks just like water. so try lowering the bubble catcher or check the filter in it! good luck