What happened to my skimmer?

[Phyl]

It just stopped producing bubbles. It used to froth and foam and now it just produces microbubbles that don't get more than a micron thick at the surface of the water.

The skimmer is the in-sump venturi-style model that came in my wet/dry.

I'd like to get it up and running long enough to feel better about my tank while I'm replacing it. I guess people run skimmerless but it has me a little freaked out...

It doesn't improve at all if I completely remove the "valve" at the end of the airline. It didn't help when I took the tube and collection cup out and cleaned them, either. I'm not sure what else to try in order to get it functional again.

Thanks, gang!

 

[Serge]

Maybe everything is cleaned out and there is nothing left to skim out for the time being. Wait a couple of days and see what happens.

8)

 

[Phyl]

I've waited for about a week after I cleaned it out. I know there's crud in there that needs to be skimmed. I have a tang, lol. I took the pump apart, cleaned it all out and put it back in. Still not working. *sigh*

I was hoping there was some skimmer secret that I didn't know about that would just have it working again.