Sea clone 100 help

[54seaweed]

Just picked up a sea Clone 100
Got it all set up
Getting it to work is another thing
I get the frothy stuff coming up intake tub but nothing is collecting in the collection cup
What am I doing wrong other than buying a cheap skimmer
These directions are like reading a foreign language
Anyone know how to get this stupid thing to work
I'm at my last wits


John (HelPPPPPP)

 

[Sergie]

It'll take awhile for anything to collect. You have to keep in mind that every bubble offers very little liquid to add to the collection cup. I used to have the same skimmer you do and sometimes I'd have to wait days for anything to start to collect. It obviously works, I've had my collection cup halfway full in the span of a week before, but the amount of tinkering I'd have to do was not really worth it.

 

[Saratj1]

I modified mine by drilling a small hole in the cap on the collection cup then dropped an airstone down into the main body of the skimmer. Now it produces more bubbles. Just make sure you put a regulator on the airstone and use that as adjustment along with the air intake on the pump. The air intake on the pump is not as effective because if you want more or wetter skimmate then you increase the airflow into the pump, which in turn decreases the water flow . With this mod you can change the airflow independent of the water flow. Be careful though, you can crank it way up on the bubbles and it will overflow, it's not that bad it just drips some foam, but still keep and eye on it. I set mine where it takes about 2 minutes for the bubbles to reach the top of the inner tube on the collection cup.

 

[54seaweed]

got it to start working but still slow going to have to try the air-stone trick

 

[Saratj1]

I also cut down the inner tube of the skimmer, the small one on the inside . I don't reccomend this one though, while in theory it makes sense (more contact time between bubbles and water) its too much work and definite possibility of fubar'n your skimmer (although most would say the skimmer is fubar'd from the beginning) is worth the slight increase in effectiveness.

 

[Saratj1]

I also tried the bioball impeller mod, but didn't seem to help.