Olliesshop
Love to learn
This is an FYI, to anyone interested.
Over the last 6 weeks, I've been trying to figure out why my Macro Algae and Green Hair Algae keep growing. My Nitrates and Phosphates have been reading zero for months, but part of that is because I have Chaeto in my Fuge and some algae in my display tank. So I've been perplexed, since none of the "normal" things I would adjust wouldn't work (e.g. less feeding, increasing flow in GFO/GAC reactor and the Biopellets). Also, I had noticed the 9004 was producing less skimmate, but I was thinking maybe there are actually less nutrients in the water.
Well, finally I thought I should check the skimmer. I hadn't really thought of this before, since it had only been 7 months since I installed it and the guideline was to clean it annually. I'm sure glad I did, though, since the air inlet to the Pump/Foamer was completely clogged. Plus the pump and the rest of the unit needed cleaning. FYI, it took me and hour.
It's been 2 days since the cleaning and it's working pretty good again. It will probably take a few more days for it to be fully effective, since I think I cleaned it too well. There's lots of bubbles, but the skimmate is very watery so far.
Anyways, I thought this might be some good insight for someone.
Also, just to make it clear, I really like the 9004. It's compact, and get's the job done. Now I think I'll schedule a cleaning every 4 months.
All the best!
Over the last 6 weeks, I've been trying to figure out why my Macro Algae and Green Hair Algae keep growing. My Nitrates and Phosphates have been reading zero for months, but part of that is because I have Chaeto in my Fuge and some algae in my display tank. So I've been perplexed, since none of the "normal" things I would adjust wouldn't work (e.g. less feeding, increasing flow in GFO/GAC reactor and the Biopellets). Also, I had noticed the 9004 was producing less skimmate, but I was thinking maybe there are actually less nutrients in the water.
Well, finally I thought I should check the skimmer. I hadn't really thought of this before, since it had only been 7 months since I installed it and the guideline was to clean it annually. I'm sure glad I did, though, since the air inlet to the Pump/Foamer was completely clogged. Plus the pump and the rest of the unit needed cleaning. FYI, it took me and hour.
It's been 2 days since the cleaning and it's working pretty good again. It will probably take a few more days for it to be fully effective, since I think I cleaned it too well. There's lots of bubbles, but the skimmate is very watery so far.
Anyways, I thought this might be some good insight for someone.
Also, just to make it clear, I really like the 9004. It's compact, and get's the job done. Now I think I'll schedule a cleaning every 4 months.
All the best!
