A Clean Skimmer is a Happy Skimmer!

[NanoKat]

Okay, it may seem pretty basic, but sometimes I think we get carried away with all of our very technical specific ways we maintain our tanks. I have relearned lately that basic maintenance has the most dramatic results. The most recent example being cleaning my skimmer...a few months back it was water changes, believe it or not!

Recently my skimmer just hadn't been "skimming" much. It seemed that the performance just wasn't what it used to be. My usual maintenance (it's a CPR bakpak, by the way) was to remove the pump, clean it in a bath of vinegar, and then reinstall it. I did that last week, and it just stopped moving water altogether. I shut it down and it was a couple of days before I could get to it, as I knew I would have to remove it and most likely disassemble it to figure out the problem. I pulled it off last night to clean the box and plumbing out. It was a pain to clean around the bulkheads, so I removed them from the box. They seemed heavier than they should be, so I started cleaning them and couple pieces were almost completely blocked with buidup...no wonder it wasn't working anymore! And no wonder it gradually lost performance over the last 2 years that I've neglected to clean out the plumbing! The collection cup filled completely and was overflowing within an hour after reinstalling it! I had to set it way up so that it would not fill so quickly again.

So now my maintenance schedule consists of...
-Do a water change (which I've become addicted to doing at least every two weeks)
-Clean the skimmer (more often than every 2 years!)
Amongst my many other menial tasks!

And my recommendation to all that have skimmers and haven't cleaned it in a while..."Clean Your Skimmer!"

 

[nyvp]

ya I agree I clean my skimmer cup twice a week.

 

[Rockblast]

Wel I do a general clean up of all my equipments every 6 months.
Some I do every 3 months.
My skimmer cup has to be 2 times per week or it will overflow :S

 

[NanoKat]

Yeah, the skimmer cup is one thing...I do that at least once/week...depending how fast it fills up. Cleaning the entire skimmer itself...well, that's a different story!

 

[compulou]

This is funny, I had been meaning to do a huge cleaning to my AquaC EV-120 for a bit now and when I saw your post I was inspired,

And I'm glad I did, boy was there some gunked up stuff in there. Now it's working like new again!!!

 

[jessp]

i second the cleaning of aqua-c's, I a urchin, if i don't clean mine every couple days it won't work very well at all

 

[ReefWreak]

people with auto drains that empty into a separate container especially have to remember to clean their skimmer necks now and then, because the buildup on the neck significantly decreases the efficiency of their skimmer. I would imagine thats what made the AquaC EV run so well, but it can be with any skimmer. Any time I empty the cup of my ER, I just rinse out the neck and run my fingers along every part, pulling out a narsty pile of gunk.

 

[Ryanqk]

yup it makes all the difference, i clean my skimmer cup every few days and clean out the pump and tube every month or so it keeps it working great