Skimmer question...

[h8z2luze]

Ok can someone help me figure this out cause me and 2 of my buddies are stumped. I got a Red sea berlin triple pass skimmer ( I know they suck) I got a Rio 2100 pump to run it. It hardly makes any bubbles in my sump but get this... I take to it my buddy who I got it from. Put it in a bucket of water he just did a water change. It worked perfect! TONS of bubbles. Take it back home put it in mine and only about half as many bubbles. Nothing changed... Does it only make a lot of bubbles if the water is really dirty or shouldnt it no matter what? I just dont understand....

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

I would just let it run for a few days. If you recently put your hand in the tank recently, fed your fish, etc... These can inhibit bubbles sometimes, kind of like swiping your finger on your nose and de-foaming your beer. Skimmers generally have to break in too. I don't know about needing to break in to a new tank, but I could see why it would be a possibility. Also, did you try to unplug the pump and plug it back in? Sometimes when I turn my skimmer off for maintenance and plug it back in it only produces about 50% bubbles until I unplug it and plug it back in...

 

[h8z2luze]

Ya I messed with the impeller and all. Its just weird it didnt produce many bubbles in my tank, took it to his and it worked like crazy brought it back to mine and its not working the same lol.

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

Is it an in sump or HOB? Are you setting it up the exact same way?

 

[h8z2luze]

In sump. Well at his house it was just in a bucket of his dirty water change water. But I tried it in my sump at the same water level and still wasnt even close to the same. Is it possible that my water is to clean? lol I am also running a HOB AquaC Remora in my sump. I was just using it until I got the pump for this one. I only have a small sailfin tang and a bangji cardinal. Plus a bunch of corals and some inverts...

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

Put up a pic of the skimmer... Is it not bubbling in the chamber, or are the bubbles not make their way into the collection cup?

 

[h8z2luze]

It is bubbling but not nearly as much as it was in his water...

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

Did you try unplugging it like i said? Or maybe prime it by blowing into the exhaust tube... That gets mine goin sometimes.

 

[h8z2luze]

Yep I messed with it for like an hour. Its pumps as much water as it did over there just doesn't produce as much bubbles.

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

Well what happens when you blow into the exhaust tube? It should naturally produce more bubbles, as if you block the tube with conversely
choke the air and produce less bubbles...

 

[h8z2luze]

The pump just sucks to much air and stops pumping water.

 

[z_dano]

It is bubbling but not nearly as much as it was in his water...

It looks like it is not getting enough air bleeding in. Does you skimmer have any way of adjusting the bleed air?
Priming it might get things going also like benamyer mentioned.

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

Hail Mary but what's your salinity?

 

[h8z2luze]

The air intake is all the way open and I have tried priming it. I messed with it at his house a bunch doing stuff trying to get it to stop working as good and it worked great no matter what. I even put water down the air intake lol. It makes zero sense to me.

Salinity is 1.024

 

[Keithhjs]

Water chemistry can affect a skimmer too. If you dose stuff your friend doesn't, feed different foods, vitamins, etc it may need an adjustment period just how sometimes a new skimmer needs. I have a skimmer by Red Sea (albeit a different one) and it is very finicky with water chemistry. If I change a filter or reactor media, feed, etc it stops foaming for a period then catches back up. Having stated that, of course all this is predicated on you having checked and made sure it isn't a mechanical issue.

 

[h8z2luze]

The water is the only thing I can come up with because at his house it immediatly started making skimate. I do dose more than him. Could be it... I am tempted to try it in my roomates tank and see what it does...

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

I would just let it run for a few days... Seems like it needs an adjustment period.

 

[h8z2luze]

Wonder if I should turn off the other skimmer.

 

[Sniperhank]

There is another skimmer? If you have 2 skimmers running there just might not be enough stuff in it to pull out, hence why you aren't seeing good results and why it works fine in a bucket if water full of debris from your buddy.

 

[h8z2luze]

Yea there is a HOB aquaC Remora that I had until I got this one going but I didnt wanna take it off till I was sure this one was working right....