degibson84
New member
This is about 30 hours after cleaning and a water change. This is as high as the bubbles have made it. Nothing has made it to the collection cup.
9410 skimmer questions
- Thread starter degibson84
- Start date
I don't see anything unusual their, especially with a water change, a skimmer can be set back, if this persists for a few days, I might get more concerned. If the water change was more than 10% or some sediment was suspended or stirred up, I would expect this result for about 2 days.
degibson84
New member
well it wasn't skimming very well for a few days before the water change. This is what led me to cleaning the pump out again.
The skimmer is currently sitting in 7 inches of water with the booster ring level with the top of the pipe and the airline all the way opened. before the first issue i wasn't able to open the airline but maybe halfway
The skimmer is currently sitting in 7 inches of water with the booster ring level with the top of the pipe and the airline all the way opened. before the first issue i wasn't able to open the airline but maybe halfway
degibson84
New member
Beyond confused. Now I went down to take a look at it and it is back to over foaming like the day it was new. Had to cut the air almost completely to keep it from over foaming. I just don't get it. And am ready to give up on it
I really think the water change is the culprit, any colloidal/surfactant substance and many salt mixes have added colloids, will cause a skimmer to do nothing for a couple days and then foam over for a few days after that, it will then settle down.
In general the most you will be able to open the air is about 3/4 open, 1/2 open is about the least. I might lower the booster ring a little below the top, make sure the pipe is fully in the skimmer base, and possibly lower the water level 1/2" 6.5-7" is the ideal water level in my experience.
In general the most you will be able to open the air is about 3/4 open, 1/2 open is about the least. I might lower the booster ring a little below the top, make sure the pipe is fully in the skimmer base, and possibly lower the water level 1/2" 6.5-7" is the ideal water level in my experience.
degibson84
New member
I never had issues after water changes before.
I hate for you to be frustrated and give up on the product but I am fairly limited by not having a full overview of the tank, installation and having the skimmer here to test and inspect. I do believe in this price range that the 9410 is one of the best skimmers you can get but I am at a loss as to the exact cause, I can only go from my observations and having a skimmer act up after a tank cleaning is not uncommon. I am happy to try to resolve this but I would need a lot more info, the best start would be some overall photos of the set up and some info on all additives used and maintenance schedules, water quality etc. You are welcome to email me at Tunze at sbcglobal dot net.
degibson84
New member
So my setup is a 220 gallon display tank the sump is a eshopps RS-300 refugium.
http://www.eshopps.com/?page=R_300
I have one drain line going into the filter sock with an extended PVC pipe going under the water level not to disrupt the water surface since the skimmer sits in that chamber.
my second chamber has one piece of live rock with the second drain line running there but i made that line a gravity fed algae turf scrubber. I clean the screen about every two weeks or as the growth requires cleaning. Also in this chamber sits a BRS dual reactor with carbon and GFO. I recently switched from ROX carbon back to lignite and from normal GFO to high capacity. the last chamber is the return pump. Each media is changed out once a month.
As far as livestock goes I have 2 small clowns, one medium Tomini tang and a brackish green spotted puffer. I have assorted snails and hermits as well as a tuxedo urchin, sand sifting star and 3 peppermint shrimps. Corals are mostly zoas, a few shrooms, a large bubble coral and a 4-6 headed frogspawn.
I dont add anything into the water as far as additives.
I usually feed a small amount of flakes daily and once a week I get frozen krill, mysis, brine etc.
My water change scedule is usually 15-20 gallons every two weeks.
EDIT: once the skimmer was broken in and tuned in after initial setup it was amazing. I did have to take the pump apart a few weeks back and clean it and that solved the problem I had then. Now it just doesn't want to push bubbles higher than in the picture I posted above. I did have it going crazy for about 20 minutes the oher day then it went back to not producing enough
http://www.eshopps.com/?page=R_300
I have one drain line going into the filter sock with an extended PVC pipe going under the water level not to disrupt the water surface since the skimmer sits in that chamber.
my second chamber has one piece of live rock with the second drain line running there but i made that line a gravity fed algae turf scrubber. I clean the screen about every two weeks or as the growth requires cleaning. Also in this chamber sits a BRS dual reactor with carbon and GFO. I recently switched from ROX carbon back to lignite and from normal GFO to high capacity. the last chamber is the return pump. Each media is changed out once a month.
As far as livestock goes I have 2 small clowns, one medium Tomini tang and a brackish green spotted puffer. I have assorted snails and hermits as well as a tuxedo urchin, sand sifting star and 3 peppermint shrimps. Corals are mostly zoas, a few shrooms, a large bubble coral and a 4-6 headed frogspawn.
I dont add anything into the water as far as additives.
I usually feed a small amount of flakes daily and once a week I get frozen krill, mysis, brine etc.
My water change scedule is usually 15-20 gallons every two weeks.
EDIT: once the skimmer was broken in and tuned in after initial setup it was amazing. I did have to take the pump apart a few weeks back and clean it and that solved the problem I had then. Now it just doesn't want to push bubbles higher than in the picture I posted above. I did have it going crazy for about 20 minutes the oher day then it went back to not producing enough
degibson84
New member
another edit. Went down just now to check on it and it is overfaoming like crazy again.
this to me is better because I can shut the air down all the way until the bubbles are slightly under the top of the neck before it flows into the collection cup
this to me is better because I can shut the air down all the way until the bubbles are slightly under the top of the neck before it flows into the collection cup
degibson84
New member
During feeding shouldn't the skimmer start bubbling more? I just fed my fish one cube of frozen krill and i went around into the other room and checked out the skimmer and it was barely bubbling at all. during the last few days I have not touched any adjustments. and it just keeps doing its own thing. I did notice when it isn't bubbling that much there is a lot more water in the silencer and when it is bubbling like crazy there is no water in the silencer. I have not pulled the silencer out to check for leaks because i didn't want to put my hands in the water to add skin oils or disturb anything
Different foods have different effects, oily foods like frozen mysis or krill cause a skimmer to momentarily stop producing (oils), dry foods with a lot of cellulose like nori or freeze dried krill cause them to foam heavily.
I don't see anything unusual in your description, is their any existing algae problem?
I don't think the silencer leaks, what you describe is the normal anti overfoaming system, when the skimmer is going to foam over, water fills the intermediate chamber and is drawn in to plug the air and stop the foam over. If you disconnect the hose at the top from the intermediate chamber, you would defeat this and it would foam over. In some cases it can be best to defeat this, remove the material causing the foam overs as watery skimmate and dispose of it and then reconnect the hose when things get back to normal. You will have to secure the hose somehow so it doesn't fall over into the sump.
I don't see anything unusual in your description, is their any existing algae problem?
I don't think the silencer leaks, what you describe is the normal anti overfoaming system, when the skimmer is going to foam over, water fills the intermediate chamber and is drawn in to plug the air and stop the foam over. If you disconnect the hose at the top from the intermediate chamber, you would defeat this and it would foam over. In some cases it can be best to defeat this, remove the material causing the foam overs as watery skimmate and dispose of it and then reconnect the hose when things get back to normal. You will have to secure the hose somehow so it doesn't fall over into the sump.
degibson84
New member
No existing algae problems. Tank is still fairly young. I do have normal brown film that I scrub off every week to every other week. And an occasional diatom bloom.
I am at a loss, I would be happy to go over the skimmer with a fine tooth comb if you sent it in, I would check every detail and make sure it was not a defect. You could also try what I suggested with bypassing the intermediate chamber short term and just letting it overfoam and remove any substance that might be causing this.
degibson84
New member
I dont think it was a defect as I was in love with the thing from month 2-5. but once I hit the 6th month it all went down hill. I would not object to having you look over the skimmer but I would be scared to go skimmerless while it is out. I am going to try and get it figured out by the end of the weekend though.
degibson84
New member
right now with the air almost all the way closed or all the way open it is running about the same as the picture above. Would you suggest taking it out and vinegar soaking the entire thing?
Does the pump make any unusual noises? In the photo from what I can see it looks fairly clean. My approaches would be solely based on water level, insertion of the pipe and height of the adjustment ring and the silencer not being kinked and possibly trying having it disconnected from the skimmer body.
In general a week or so without a skimmer is not a huge issue, just keep up with your carbon and a 10% water change after 7-10 days and don't add any new livestock and you should be fine.
I will be offline until Monday, I want to help you so please bear with me and be patient, I think we can figure this out.
In general a week or so without a skimmer is not a huge issue, just keep up with your carbon and a 10% water change after 7-10 days and don't add any new livestock and you should be fine.
I will be offline until Monday, I want to help you so please bear with me and be patient, I think we can figure this out.
degibson84
New member
The pump makes no unusal sounds. Water immersion is currently 7 1/4 inches. The poster ring is even with the top of the pipe. I will try disconnecting the silencer from the skimmer body when I get home. Does the booster ring need to come up just slightly?
I would try lowering the water level a bit, up to 3/4" The booster ring being raised, will raise the water level in the skimmer.
In general, if the skimmer is foaming over, lower the ring, even a bit lower than the top of the pipe, flush still means surface tension and resistance are restricting the exit a little bit. Also lower the water level, the lower the water level, the harder the pump has to work to fill the skimmer so it pumps a bit less air and water. 6.5-7" is generally the ideal water level. Of course closing the air also is an adjustment but you have to keep in mind, less air, means more water.
If the skimmer is not foaming enough, open the air, possibly raise the adjuster ring but a small adjustment is a lot more than you would think, I would not raise the water level past 7.5"
The first thing I would do is look at the intermediate chamber under the cup and see if water is up to the silencer and being sucked in, if so, it is just a surface tension issue and disconnect the silencer so it will skim out the substance causing this, after dumping a few cups, even if they are very watery, this should improve.
In general, if the skimmer is foaming over, lower the ring, even a bit lower than the top of the pipe, flush still means surface tension and resistance are restricting the exit a little bit. Also lower the water level, the lower the water level, the harder the pump has to work to fill the skimmer so it pumps a bit less air and water. 6.5-7" is generally the ideal water level. Of course closing the air also is an adjustment but you have to keep in mind, less air, means more water.
If the skimmer is not foaming enough, open the air, possibly raise the adjuster ring but a small adjustment is a lot more than you would think, I would not raise the water level past 7.5"
The first thing I would do is look at the intermediate chamber under the cup and see if water is up to the silencer and being sucked in, if so, it is just a surface tension issue and disconnect the silencer so it will skim out the substance causing this, after dumping a few cups, even if they are very watery, this should improve.
degibson84
New member
It's not over foaming anymore. It is only foamin up to the pic I posted on the last page. The foam will stay at that height whether the air is all the way opened or almost all the way closed
