Good god!!!!

[Alysiak00]

i cleaned my HOB skimmer today and holy crap i couldn't believe the crud that came out of it and the sponge on the end. i bet this was part of the algae problem i've been having

 

[tkeracer619]

Sponges need to be cleaned regularly as do skimmers.

If the sponge is not required I would leave it off.

No sponges in my tank other then the live stuff on the rocks.

 

[Alysiak00]

i have a white sponge on the back of one of my rocks. i realize now that i must keep up on that darn sponge until i get time to hook up my overflow sump. ugh theres never enough time in the day

 

[DustinB]

You think that's bad, try cleaning a large skimmer after 3 months when you do carbon dosing. That was the highlight of my wednesday evening.

 

[Alysiak00]

o jeez i didn't think of that. how bad was it? lol

 

[tkeracer619]

My skimmer has about a 1/4" of poo on the neck and about a gallon of thick sludge each week that needs cleaning

 

[Alysiak00]

eeeewwwww

 

[DustinB]

My skimmer has about a 1/4" of poo on the neck and about a gallon of thick sludge each week that needs cleaning

No kidding. Just for reference, imagine cleaning a 150g rated skimmer and collecting enough crap just from the neck to form about 3 golfball size nuggets. (no I haven't done this) After 4 weeks I have more than that plus about 4" of the blackest water you have ever seen. I don't even know how to describe the smell.

 

[Alysiak00]

mine was pretty bad but i noticed it wasn't creating the "sludge" like when i first got it. it was skimming really wet so i decided to give it the vinegar bath over night.

3 golf balls is pretty nasty. plus i second the putrid stench of the skimmate. it could wake a mummy!

 

[Pickupman66]

no kidding.. my Mr2 is cleaned every 2 weeks and talk about the stinkiest nastiest funk. smells like a giant fart when I dump it. I get about 2-3 gallons of liquid weekly.

 

[tkeracer619]

Put some baking soda in your collection container. It will reduce the smell to almost nothing.

 

[Alysiak00]

Put some baking soda in your collection container. It will reduce the smell to almost nothing.

holy smokes....why didn't i think of that

 

[Alysiak00]

no kidding.. my Mr2 is cleaned every 2 weeks and talk about the stinkiest nastiest funk. smells like a giant fart when I dump it. I get about 2-3 gallons of liquid weekly.

2-3 GALLONS!!!!!

WHATS IN YOUR TANKS.....WHALES?!? lol

 

[scubasteve06]

My modded ASM G2 pulls the nastiest blackest crap I've ever seen or smelled. I usually clean the neck every two to three days and I've always got easily a 1/4" of poo I have to scrape off. I just did it about 10 minutes ago and the smell is still lingering whenever I go near the tank. I don't have to dump my collection cup but about every week because I skim pretty dry. Here is a good poo picture, turn your smell-o-vision up for this one. This is 5 days of dry skimming.

 

[Alysiak00]

^oh my!

mine never pulls stuff out like but its also a hob odyssea ps75. just a baby compared to yours. i'm about to hook up a custom sump with a built in skimmer. i hope it pulls better than my odyssea

 

[scubasteve06]

Yea it's a pretty good skimmer, not the newest technology, but as you can see it gets the job done rather well. I think ASM should of made the G2 come with the G3 pump from stock and call it the G2x like they do with the G1x that has a bigger pump than the G1. The G2 has the same size body as the G3 and the 3500 pump that comes with it is a little underpowered IMO.

 

[rezaktp]

My question is where does this stuff come from? I am sure i pull out alot more volume every week than the food I put in. I guess there is alot more general die off/waste matter comming from the corals / live rock than I think!

 

[scubasteve06]

I think that half of it is waste material that our corals, fish and other inverts put off. I'd say the other 3rd comes from uneaten food, and the other third was talked about at MACNA being other organic compounds.

 

[scubasteve06]

EEK! Post count 66* sorry I had to do it to change that number....