My CSS skimmer started going mad tonight, overflowing all over.
Well, the bubble trap box had become blocked up badly. I'd been putting off cleaning it for about a week because a nudibranch had moved in (still waiting for a positive ID over in that forum category). I gave up waiting on him after the small flood tonight. Luckily, he had moved up to the output hose on the skimmer, so I was able to pull that off and set it in the fuge, where I coaxed him into moving to the glass (without touching him).
Anyway.
The filter pad and the sponge in the bubble trap box were awful. Took 5 minutes of rinsing under a heavy stream of water, and I was still getting brown stuff out when I squeezed it. I gave up. I re-attached the output hose to the skimmer, and fired it up without the bubble trap.
Guess what? No more bubbles than before. I guess once these things are broke in, its not a big deal. I do have baffles setup as a bubble trap in my sump, so I'm sure that's helping, but the box apparently was doing nothing for me, except to clog occasionally and making the skimmer overflow.
I'm positive there was enough crud in that sponge and filter pad in the bubble box that it was contributing to my constant nitrates levels I'd struggled with in the past.
I know people have created mods to avoid the use of CSS bubble trap boxes, but has anyone just ran without one at all?
Well, the bubble trap box had become blocked up badly. I'd been putting off cleaning it for about a week because a nudibranch had moved in (still waiting for a positive ID over in that forum category). I gave up waiting on him after the small flood tonight. Luckily, he had moved up to the output hose on the skimmer, so I was able to pull that off and set it in the fuge, where I coaxed him into moving to the glass (without touching him).
Anyway.
The filter pad and the sponge in the bubble trap box were awful. Took 5 minutes of rinsing under a heavy stream of water, and I was still getting brown stuff out when I squeezed it. I gave up. I re-attached the output hose to the skimmer, and fired it up without the bubble trap.
Guess what? No more bubbles than before. I guess once these things are broke in, its not a big deal. I do have baffles setup as a bubble trap in my sump, so I'm sure that's helping, but the box apparently was doing nothing for me, except to clog occasionally and making the skimmer overflow.
I'm positive there was enough crud in that sponge and filter pad in the bubble box that it was contributing to my constant nitrates levels I'd struggled with in the past.
I know people have created mods to avoid the use of CSS bubble trap boxes, but has anyone just ran without one at all?
