Coralife skimmer 65g need help… Micro Bubbles are attacking… AHHAHGHGHAHG

[Thebutcher]

Hey everyone, I have a question and was hoping that the boards would have an answer. I recently installed a brand new Coralife 65G HOB/in sump skimmer and installed it in my sump. I have had it running for a week or so and it’s been working great. Lots of dark nasty stuff collecting in the cup and pretty quiet. I don’t hear it under there at all so no problems there. The problem i have is that it is FLOODING my sump with Micro bubbles from the outflow of the skimmer and subsequently ”clogging up” the bubble trap in my sump where i have the sponge and Floss to trap anything before it goes to the return pump. When the sponges and floss ”clogs up” the level on the refugium side of the sump nearly over flows and the pump side water level lowers to the point that it triggers my ATO. I have to manually go in and move the floss around to release the bubbles, once i do that the level on the PUMP side rises and now I have to drain that side…….

I’ve installed the diffuser cup, added sponges to the diffuser cup, tried extending the outflow pipe, shorting the outflow pipe, raising and lowering the diffuser cup and adjusting the flow rate and bubble rate on the knobs and tubes.

Does anyone here know of a fix for this skimmer and the micro bubbles? Or should i just go get a new one? Why did I get this one Vs. The Aquamaxx i was going to get? The Coralife was basically free from a guy who had a bunch of his kids stuff that he was getting rid of.
Please help. A pic of the tank and micro bubble situation is attached..

 

[kharmaguru]

Looks like freshwater. What is your salinity at after all the ATO/draining episodes you described? Also looks really new and clean and microbubbles are common when there's nothing to skim - although that's over the top.

As I recall those skimmers are bad for that. Can you post picture of the sump setup?

 

[reefing102]

It seems this is a common issue with coralife skimmers. Many say it will reduce after getting broke in but still some remain. That said, I found this - Coralife 220 Skimmer - Microbubble Hell :(

Also, I agree that appears to be a freshwater tank. Generally skimming is not as effective on freshwater as it doesn’t foam up as much as saltwater.

 

[Thebutcher]

Looks like freshwater. What is your salinity at after all the ATO/draining episodes you described? Also looks really new and clean and microbubbles are common when there's nothing to skim - although that's over the top.

As I recall those skimmers are bad for that. Can you post picture of the sump setup?

The salinity drops a bit from the 33 to just under. The ATO has an overfill sensor so if it senses it overfilling it shuts the pump off an an alarm sounds. I’ll get a pic of the sump set up when I get home tonight. Basically it’s a three chamber set up. Water enters on the right chamber (skimmer is in this section) then fills into the center refugium (bikini bottom in the pics) and then flows into the bubble trap into the left chamber where the return pump is.

 

[Thebutcher]

It seems this is a common issue with coralife skimmers. Many say it will reduce after getting broke in but still some remain. That said, I found this - Coralife 220 Skimmer - Microbubble Hell :(

Also, I agree that appears to be a freshwater tank. Generally skimming is not as effective on freshwater as it doesn’t foam up as much as saltwater.

I have read that. I thought maybe it hadn’t broken in yet but the skimmer is producing a waste and it’s not the watery diluted stuff. I am getting the darker nasty stuff. I haven’t gotten a full cup yet but I would say after it started producing waste i got about an inch or so of the dark stuff after 2 days skimming. I may give it some more time or set up another “bubble trap” in the line and see if that helps.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

Any skimmer needs a cleaning BEFORE the cup fills in days.
A dirty neck is less efficient @skimming, it needs to be clean for optimum results.
If the lower section is dirty give that a wipe with a paper towel to remove it too.
Coralife skimmers can be a horror.

 

[Thebutcher]

Just an update.. I gave up. I put in a CPR insump skimmer i had in storage and it's working great. I ordered a Aquamaxx skimmer from BRS and it should be here next week.

The Coralife was just not cooperating. When i have more time I'll set up a system and see if i can get it to work for a future project.