Remora Question

[mrpope]

So I started my 55 gallon about a week ago, and my remora has been doing great. But the other day something weird started happening, and It wont stop.
There is a little hole on the foam collection cup that gives the unit ventilation or something, and the foam doesnt settle anymore it comes up into the cup, heads straight for that hole, and plugs it up. Once this happens, foam no longer goes to the cup, instead it goes right back into the tank (where the pressure from the system is now escaping) through the water-output chamber.

This really sucks. I get literally 2 minutes of skimming before this happens, it is so annoying. Has this happened to anybody before. It is almost more efficent to turn the unit off at this point because all it is doing is creating waste ladden bubbles that sit on the water surface and stink up my house.

 

[snapcrackler]

It sounds to me like you got a lotta junk that needs to come out of the water LOL, your particular kind of foam must be very sticky.

(edited) oh also if you have additives or anything weird or oils or whatever like water conditioner in the water, it makes skimmers go nuts. (Edited)

Maybe try taking that lid off and just fabricate a little temporary gutter and drain system so when the cup gets full it overflows into the gutter and runs down a hose into a bucket or 1gal milkjug.

You gould do this with hotglue and pieces of acrylic (or similiar plastic) and a couple feet of vinyl tubing. Heck you could probably ductape something together until the excess skimmate problem subsides. Then put the cap back on.

Just my 2cents hope it helps a little, I am combatting microbubbles with my remora right now.

 

[reefrunner69]

So does the remora fill the cup? or does it simply plug the vetilation hole?

What water conditioners are you using? Are you curing LR? What is the SG of the tank?

 

[mrpope]

Reefrunner: No water conditioners, Yes I am curing live rock (to cycle system),
SG: 1.022
It plugs the hole without filling the cup - Its like the foam wont break down into its liquid gunk form. But the foam does seem to have a magnetic like attraction to the little hole (ie There is empty space where the foam could have shifted to, but instad it heads right for the hole) Its time for me to do one of those 50% every other day water changes - so maybe that will help. The die back is probably kicking into high gear and giving me sticky foam.

But, besides this inconvienience, the remora is awsome it pumps so much foam out of that water, better than any other HOB skimmer I have ever seen.

 

[reefrunner69]

Do some water changes, this will reduce the amount of gunk it needs to remove. I think your just experiencing some small glitch from the amount of waste it has to process.

 

[snapcrackler]

What about my cool gutter system!

then you would not have to empty it for a while until the water straigtened out.

Plus it would be very attractive and a smelly conversation piece for guests.

OK OK I give LOL

 

[captivereefs]

The curing LR will make any skimmer go "mental" Once the excessive organics are out of the water it should return to normal. I used to Wholesale LR to LFS in the area at times I had 1000lbs at at time curing; the top on my Eruo reef would actually get pushed off! After about a week it would settle down some. Aftyer 2 weeks it was fine. You probably just had a mass die off of something do a water change and run a little carbon.