CPR Bak Pak question - Aquarium Advice

dolphinsfan · 07-27-2005, 11:45 PM

I have been using a cpr bak pak skimmer on my 26gal [acronym:0c4cf8bdc1="Fish only with live rock"]fowlr[/acronym:0c4cf8bdc1] for about 8 months. It doesn't really collect that much skimmate and when it does, it is usually green tea colored.(Not the black stuff I keep reading about). I clean it about once a month and the collection cup never gets more than about 1/10 full. Also, when it collects, it usually only foams up at night. I've had the same 3 fish forever. An occelaris clown, 6 line wrasse and watchman goby. They are perfectly happy and all of my water parameters are in check. I do 20% water changes every 3-4weeks. Should I look at replacing the skimmer or is it working correctly based on my bioload and maintainence? i.e. " If it ain't broke, don't fix it"???

vertex · 07-28-2005, 02:53 AM

I would guess that all is well. My skimmer was the same for quite a while when I had little to no corals and just a few fish. It never pulled out much gunk and it was usually green. Now I have about 20 corals in the 33 gallon and it pulls at about 3 times as much and very black in color.

So, I would think you are probably fine and its just the bioload.

malkore · 07-28-2005, 09:47 AM

how often do you pull the pump on hte skimmer and clean the inside, where hte impelleer sits?
is it a rio or maxi-jet pump?

it could be that you don't have much to skim, or maybe you just need to clean the pump to improve it's performance. if you have a rio pump, i'd replace eit with a maxi-jet and the adapter kit for it.

dolphinsfan · 07-28-2005, 10:55 PM

I have cleaned the pump on a couple of occasions. It is a maxi-jet. Like i said, my fish have always seemed healthy and happy. I have about 30lbs of liverock and coraline everywhere. Maybe my tank is just really healthy and there is not much to skim.

07-27-2005, 11:45 PM	#1
dolphinsfan Aquarium Advice Apprentice Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Cincinnati Posts: 45	CPR Bak Pak question I have been using a cpr bak pak skimmer on my 26gal [acronym:0c4cf8bdc1="Fish only with live rock"]fowlr[/acronym:0c4cf8bdc1] for about 8 months. It doesn't really collect that much skimmate and when it does, it is usually green tea colored.(Not the black stuff I keep reading about). I clean it about once a month and the collection cup never gets more than about 1/10 full. Also, when it collects, it usually only foams up at night. I've had the same 3 fish forever. An occelaris clown, 6 line wrasse and watchman goby. They are perfectly happy and all of my water parameters are in check. I do 20% water changes every 3-4weeks. Should I look at replacing the skimmer or is it working correctly based on my bioload and maintainence? i.e. " If it ain't broke, don't fix it"???

07-28-2005, 02:53 AM	#2
vertex Aquarium Advice Activist Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Calgary Canada Posts: 143 Images: 11	I would guess that all is well. My skimmer was the same for quite a while when I had little to no corals and just a few fish. It never pulled out much gunk and it was usually green. Now I have about 20 corals in the 33 gallon and it pulls at about 3 times as much and very black in color. So, I would think you are probably fine and its just the bioload. __________________ Equipment: 33G [acronym:140c8ae565="Saltwater"]SW[/acronym:140c8ae565] Reef tank (pic), 192W Coralife [acronym:140c8ae565="Power compact fluorescent"]PC[/acronym:140c8ae565] lighting, [acronym:140c8ae565="power heads"]PHs[/acronym:140c8ae565] for H2O circulation, Red Sea Berlin Classic Skimmer Aquascaping: 3" [acronym:140c8ae565="Deep Sand Bed"]DSB[/acronym:140c8ae565], 50lb live rock (~35 lbs home made Cement Base Rock) Clean Up Crew: Blue Leg hermits, Cerith snails, Astrea Snails, Stomatella snails, Brittlestar, banded brittles. Critters: Hawaiian feather duster, Coral Banded Shrimp, Emerald Crab Corals: Open Brain Coral, Cabbage coral, 4 RBTAs, Melon mushrooms, green Zoos, yellow polyps, finger Leather, orange Zoos, Brown Zoos, Chocolate Zoos, Xenia, GSP, Kenya Tree Coral, 2 acropora [acronym:140c8ae565="Small Polyped Stoney"]SPS[/acronym:140c8ae565], blue sponge, candy cane Fish/Inverts: Maroon Clownfish, Scooter Blenny, Coral Beauty dwarf angel, Sea Hare

07-28-2005, 09:47 AM	#3
malkore Aquarium Advice Addict Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Nebraska, USA Posts: 6,540	how often do you pull the pump on hte skimmer and clean the inside, where hte impelleer sits? is it a rio or maxi-jet pump? it could be that you don't have much to skim, or maybe you just need to clean the pump to improve it's performance. if you have a rio pump, i'd replace eit with a maxi-jet and the adapter kit for it. __________________ Visit my aquarium pages - see specs on my tanks, and photos of how they've evolved My other passion: TheNinja 500R - updated 9/18/05

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07-28-2005, 10:55 PM	#4
dolphinsfan Aquarium Advice Apprentice Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Cincinnati Posts: 45	I have cleaned the pump on a couple of occasions. It is a maxi-jet. Like i said, my fish have always seemed healthy and happy. I have about 30lbs of liverock and coraline everywhere. Maybe my tank is just really healthy and there is not much to skim.