Coralife Super Skimmer Troubles

[pechausm]

We have a Coralife Super Skimmer that just doesn't seem to want to work correctly. Sometimes it works great and pulls out alot of crud, but most of the time it doesn't produce enough bubbles (as in almost none so no proteins/organics can be pulled out of the water). We have tried cleaning the pump and that wasn't the problem. We checked all the connections and they are all fine. We looked through everything in the troubleshooting section of the manual and nothing helped. So we were hoping someone else has/had one and could give some advice about possible solutions (Hopefully without having to buy a new skimmer ) Thanks so much

Oh, and we will be out of town at the F&S frag swap this weekend so if I don't reply until Sunday/Monday night, just know that we appreciate any help you offer

 

[Peter Eichler]

Sadly, probably the biggest problem is that you bought a Coralife Super Skimmer. Hopefully someone here can help you figure out a way to get it to work more consistently, but a lot of people have had problems.

 

[TropTrea]

Having had one for a while I will say I ran into simular issues. fortunatly I also had a precision marine skimmer and started to make comparisons in the bubble creation method. What I found is if I swapped the section that sucks air into the water column between the two skimmers the problems switched from the Coralife skimmer to the other brand. At that point the Coral klife skimmer even worked better that the other brand because the adjustments for output flow were much much easier to make.

Several companies offer replacement parts for there skimmers. I'd shop around and find the best part to replace that small peice. The one I'm using now is made by Precision Marine however I have been told that it is important to have a match between your pump (pressure and volumn) with this valve assembly. Also various companies have different aproaches to this and there are even better valve assemblies out there then I'm using.

Now this brings up another interesting idea. Can someone have an excess in bubbles in there skimmer? If not then there could be some interesting alternatives. What if you put actual air pressure on the air inlet to force more air into the system? Would you get more fine bubbles or would the excess are cause the bubles to simply get larger?

Experiment time.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10237639#post10237639 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Peter Eichler
Sadly, probably the biggest problem is that you bought a Coralife Super Skimmer. Hopefully someone here can help you figure out a way to get it to work more consistently, but a lot of people have had problems.

 

[sero]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10237639#post10237639 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Peter Eichler
Sadly, probably the biggest problem is that you bought a Coralife Super Skimmer.

Really! Than maybe you can explain to me why I've had my nitrates tested at a local univ to be under 1ppm. I've never had a problem with my css 220 on my 90 gal reef that gets fed twice a day! Don't run around blaming Coralife for something that's almost always user error, they work well if you set them up right.

:mixed:


Pechausm, is your tank in burlington or eau claire? I'd be glad to stop over and take a look at it for you if you're in burlington. If not please send me an email.

 

[mistermikev]

have the sm cs220 on a 75mixed reef. read sev threads about modding it... one thing I did was to throw an air pump on the air intake on the pump... this works ok... but once in a while I have to actually release the air pressure via a valve to get the thing working again... yes too much air pressure causes the air to escape right by the air intake instead of making it's way to the skimmer. I think the orientation of the pump is part of the prob... I notice that if I stand it up it always starts working better(ie the intake facing down) - perhaps cause of the propeller sits more naturally in the powerhead. I have tried a gen x on this baby too... that didn't work. You are not alone in having this prob and I doubt anyone is going to set mine up so that it works consistently as if you break a certain threshold of air intake the thing stops working and if you raise the powerhead speed the damn thing overflows uncontrollably. and that threshhold is a very fine threshhold. keep in mind there are only two places to make adjustments and believe me -I have tried and tried.
Please give us some helpfull info sero: like...
how long have you had yours?
are you using yours HOB or insump?
how is your powerhead oriented?
what length feed tube are you using on the powerhead? -makes a big dif in pressure.
are you using the cs220?
thanks in advance
mv

 

[TropTrea]

Yes that is the key to get them set up properly. Where the difference between many skimmers is how easily they are to set up properly, and how tight the adjustments are between to much and too little. Now depending on what type of pump your using it can realy change the characteristics of the skimmer and how well it adjusts in.

Dennis

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10256697#post10256697 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sero
Really! Than maybe you can explain to me why I've had my nitrates tested at a local univ to be under 1ppm. I've never had a problem with my css 220 on my 90 gal reef that gets fed twice a day! Don't run around blaming Coralife for something that's almost always user error, they work well if you set them up right.

:mixed:


Pechausm, is your tank in burlington or eau claire? I'd be glad to stop over and take a look at it for you if you're in burlington. If not please send me an email.

 

[jeffgp]

i had a ccs65 for a a year before i upgraded ....
if you make the intake tube short it works the best ... it will also skimm the surafce better ... i have mine in a chamber that all ways had the same level of water in it at all times ... that helps ..
clean out the little back can with vinigar ... salt creep can get in there and plug the air tube ...


hope this helps ..

jeff

 

[Peter Eichler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10256697#post10256697 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sero
Really! Than maybe you can explain to me why I've had my nitrates tested at a local univ to be under 1ppm. I've never had a problem with my css 220 on my 90 gal reef that gets fed twice a day! Don't run around blaming Coralife for something that's almost always user error, they work well if you set them up right.

:mixed:


Pechausm, is your tank in burlington or eau claire? I'd be glad to stop over and take a look at it for you if you're in burlington. If not please send me an email.

Considering there are skimmers out there that push far more air and skim more efficiently than the Coralife for about the same or only a little more money. Those skimmers also require little more than plugging them in as far as setup goes and are made of higher quality materials. Coralife skimmers can be fine, but lets not fool ourselves here, they are anything but great.

FYI, I've had undetectable nitrates in skimmerless tanks, so just because yours are low does not mean it's your skimmer.

 

[mistermikev]

I'm not sure that is bonafied peter... I researched the hell out of skimmers whne I bought mine... closest in price is the berlin and it just as many say it sucks. Next closest is the remora... many ppul think those suck too.
I think the prob is def water level/pressure. Mine often overflows right after a top off. As HOB this thing fluctuates like madd... I'm guessing in sump works a hellofalot better. (and to think I got this cause I didn't wan't overflow issues with a sump - I know - I'm a dumb-BASS).

Bottom line: should have dbled the price and gone and got a deltec.

I swear one of these days I'm gonna go ahead and listen to the good advice ppul here give out for free.

 

[pechausm]

Thanks everyone for all the tips. Now we have a couple of things we are going to try to do to improve the functioning. I was at the frag swap this weekend and talked to a rep for the skimmer and he told me that it was a "dud" and he said that he will send me a replacement one (I don't know if that will actually happen, but I am keeping my fingers crossed). But until then we are going to try some things to get our current one working until then. I think I will try to shorten the intake tube and also turn the pump like some people suggested because that seems like a nice, simple place to start.
Thanks everyone for the tips so far!

 

[DragonFish]

I started my 33 cube with a CSS 65 but after a month of fighting it and working with Coralife to set it up correctly they finally gave in and told me to RMA the skimmer. My problem was different though. It would be skimming quite nicely for days and then for no reason it would fill the collection cup so fast that it overflowed. Luckily it never did any major damage. Don't try to tell me that the problem was backpressure either because the outlet tube was actually above the water line for a while. I replaced it with a used Remora and it was reliable but never really impressed me. Then I bought a $30 Odyssea PS75 skimmer and it blew my mind. dirt cheap, easy to set up and immediately started pulling nice skimate out unmodded. I tried the mesh mod but running in hang on mode that put out too many microbubbles for my taste.

 

[Peter Eichler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10259436#post10259436 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mistermikev
I'm not sure that is bonafied peter... I researched the hell out of skimmers whne I bought mine... closest in price is the berlin and it just as many say it sucks. Next closest is the remora... many ppul think those suck too.
I think the prob is def water level/pressure. Mine often overflows right after a top off. As HOB this thing fluctuates like madd... I'm guessing in sump works a hellofalot better. (and to think I got this cause I didn't wan't overflow issues with a sump - I know - I'm a dumb-BASS).

Bottom line: should have dbled the price and gone and got a deltec.

I swear one of these days I'm gonna go ahead and listen to the good advice ppul here give out for free.

I'll admit, all three of the skimmers you mentioned are pretty mediocre compared to others on the market. However, the Octopus skimmers are about the same price or cheaper than the Coralife and they will easily blow the Coralifes out of the water. There are a couple other brands that I'm spacing on the name that are getting great reviews and seem less trouble free than the SS and are made of better materials. It's a good time in the hobby since we can get very efficient skimmers for reasonable prices. I just don't feel the last generation of bargain skimmers can compare to the more recent ones in terms of efficiency. I don't think you need to fork over the dough for a Deltec, I just think people need to seek out some of the new breed of bargain skimmers.

 

[mistermikev]

well aware of the octo. thought about the dbl remora style one. gets the same kinda reviews as the remora. big downfall - two powerheads in my tank instead of one = 2x the ugly. I've also read that the intake tubes tend to crack. Keep in mind this is the only HOB octo they make. the others one... the needlewheel - is an in sump model. (believe me I checked). Yeah, I'll agree that that one seems to get pretty solid reviews, but it is also in sump... ie constant water level. no coincidence there. any skimmer will work better if it's being fed by more 'affluent' water(overflow). I am sure my prob would be somewhat solved with a sump.
PS: thanks everyone for the advice.

 

[sero]

Peter, we'll just have to agree to disagree. That skimmer is the only added nitrate export in my tank besides cheato; they do work, well.

If I can be of any help to those who currently are having problems with their CSS please email me a few good pictures of your skimmer. Also, how deep you have it underwater (assuming in sump) and the length of the tube connecting the pump to the skimmer body makes a big difference on how well it works. Do you folks top off water in your system by drip. Is it constantly added in or do you add larger volumes of top-off at once? Please send the picures to ryan@tankprofiler.com

Good advice shouldn't start with trash-talking the equipment you own.

 

[mistermikev]

I have new found respect for you sero... I appreciate your willingness to provide a comfortable atomosphere for qanda.

my cs220 is hob and I replaced the orig tube with one that placed my powerhead about as close to the bottom of my tank as possible. I was assuming this would add pressure but make things such that water level would affect pressure relatively less. WRONG! I wonder if I should shorten the tube. I have gotten rid of the bubble diffuser for now... as I would live with micro bubbles if it meant a better skim. I have my collection cup emptying through 1/2 inch to a 2.5 gal container (cause it overflows once in a while). I have an air pump set up on some valves and pumping air into the air intake on the input side of the powerhead. I don't really use this all the time... just once in a while when I stop getting air bubbles I get it started again with a little pressure.
I also have 3" of air tube off the output side where there is a nipple - to redirect any output back to the tank.
Other than that my skimmer is stock outta the box.
I don't have consistent top off being added... I add it in whenever possible.
But where I noticed the biggest overflow prob was when I added microvert.
The flow adjustment seems to be impossible to master. Either too high or too low. Any ideas?
thansk

 

[TropTrea]

For one thing lets keep in mind that the skimmer does NOT directly remove the nitrogen based chemicals from your tank. What the Skimmer does is reduces the proteins as well as several other chemicals from the tank which could decompose creating a nitrogen based spike. What actualy remov es theswe nitrogen based chemicals are the bacteria in your live rock, and live sand, as well as the macro algeas in your system.

This is where I get amazed when I here stories of a bare bottomed tank without a refugium, and claims that the nitrates, nitrites, and amonia levels are all at zero.

Now how good of a skimmer one uses is not 100% related to just the size of one aquarium. Some systems have worked great without skimmers when the bio load is low and there is good sized refugium. Yet other systems need extreme skimming with heavy over feeding and a heavy bio load and no refudium.

Dennis

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10259393#post10259393 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Peter Eichler

FYI, I've had undetectable nitrates in skimmerless tanks, so just because yours are low does not mean it's your skimmer.

 

[sero]

Thanks for that post Dennis! :thumbsup

my cs220 is hob and I replaced the orig tube with one that placed my powerhead about as close to the bottom of my tank as possible. I was assuming this would add pressure but make things such that water level would affect pressure relatively less. WRONG! I wonder if I should shorten the tube.

{Try a new new piece of tube and shorten it so your pump is 2" below the surface of the water. Make sure the airline nipple is pointing upwards, too. Your pump is fighting air pressure way down there. Also, make sure you clean said nipple on a monthly basis. Buildup will get in there and suffocate any air trying to get into your needle wheel pump.}


I have gotten rid of the bubble diffuser for now...
{I don't use mine either, but my skimmer is in a sump 20' behind a wall. I have not found it to degrade air intake so long is it's dry.}

as I would live with micro bubbles if it meant a better skim.
{I can't see how that would effect it, but I suppose anything's possible}

I have my collection cup emptying through 1/2 inch to a 2.5 gal container (cause it overflows once in a while)
{I do the same, because I don't like emptying it all the time}

. I have an air pump set up on some valves and pumping air into the air intake on the input side of the powerhead. I don't really use this all the time... just once in a while when I stop getting air bubbles I get it started again with a little pressure.
{You should not need this once you raise the pump close to the waters surface.}
I also have 3" of air tube off the output side where there is a nipple - to redirect any output back to the tank.
{This makes me think there's too much flow or the hose is plugged somewhere, not a normal thing from my experience}

Other than that my skimmer is stock outta the box.
I don't have consistent top off being added... I add it in whenever possible.
But where I noticed the biggest overflow prob was when I added microvert.
The flow adjustment seems to be impossible to master. Either too high or too low. Any ideas? {heck yes, my only complaint with the skimmer! What I did to remedy this; take a 1x2" piece of wood, say 8" long. Cut a notch in the wood to fit over your adjustment on the skimmer. Precision at last!}


thansk {my pleasure, I hope it helps! }

One last thing I'd ask you to check is when you add your topoff water pay attention to how fast your collection cup starts to fill up. Changes in the water level will effect the skimmer and you may need to throttle it, depending on how much the water level changes.

 

[sero]

About that bubble diffuser, I misread what you'd said. But yes, I don't use one only because of the sump diffusing the bubbles instead.