skimmer never foams

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lamaseta17

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Dec 27, 2006
Messages
70
Location
brooklyn ny
ever since i got my skimmer which was 7 months ago it has never foamed so is that bad or is it not working. i think it an aquaclear brand any thoughts?
 
Any adjustments to a venturi type hose? What type skimmer do you have anyway and tell us something about your tank. What's in it? What size?
 
There should be an adjustment somewhere. Moved to General hardware and equipment discussion.
 
Heres My Skimmer Its A Hang On CAN YOU SEE NO FOAM AT ALL
 

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IS there any air being injected into the skimmer body at all? It doesn't look like it from the pics. Do you have the venturi valve open all the way?
 
Well I CanT Really See, The Body Is So Full Of Algae Is That Normal And The Valve Is Open All The Way
 
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I think it's time to take the skimmer off the tank and clean it. Something has that airline blocked because the skimmer should look white from all the bubbles in it.

Take the skimmer off the tank and clean it out. Do not use soap!!

Clean the pump too! Make sure there is nothing blocking the airline that goes to the pump.
 
Use vinegar and water (i usually let it soak for a bit) to clean it and rinse it out really well. well.
 
Is that air line tube with the black piece on it hooked to the pump? Are there two pumps on this skimmer the feed pump and a pump in it?
 
White vinegar is what you should use.
After you clean it, take pictures of it from all sides and post them.
If you can find a name and model, post that along with the pictures.
 
well i just took 20 minutes to clean this skimmer and let me tell you there were chunks of algae in there, but one more question----- for the skimmer to produce foam, should the valve e open all the way or less?
 
The valve should not be all the way open. Looks like you have a seaclone, which are notorious for either a) not collecting foam that well and b) being a PAIN to adjust. When I had one, I closed the valve all the way and then opened it up slowly until enough water was running through and I thought some foam would come up. That usually took like a full turn to two turns out.

You may have to fiddle with it for a few days to get it right, then it should produce some foam for you.

HTH (also, did you make sure to clean the pump too? The impeller is very important!)
 
I have a Turbo floater 5000 skimmer that won't start foaming until I inject air into the air line. You could try removing the valve from the air line.
 
i have a seaclone skimmer (100) and it is indeed a headache. I removed its air adjusting valve and bought one from home depot and it worked like a charm. Also, I have noticed that the airline somehow gets full of gunk. You can simply replace the tubing or blow through it. It takes tweaking but it well worth it.
 
i have the same one and thats what it was it was full of junk and i opened the valve less than half way so it can produce more bubbles and its working. now how many times do i dispose of the stuff in the cup
 
Are you serious? Its regular maintenance man do it once a week or at least unitil its half way up.
 
A good rule is just clean it once a week. Make sure to turn the skimmer off before you remove the cup or you could have a mess on your hands.
 
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