skimmer help

[CNGH]

i have an sca-301 that has a recurring problem. after i clean it, it skims really well. tons and tons of little skimming bubbles in the body, looks nice and milky white, great foam, very dirty dark tea skim.

then, after a couple weeks, the amount of bubbles drops off significantly. to where it looks mostly watery, just hazy with bubbles, but watery. not milky white. barely any to zero foam.

i got it used and it ran really well for many months. then the venturi got plugged with salt creep and it stopped. i cleaned it out, cleaned out the pump, the needle wheel, scrubbed what i could reach of the body with a toothbrush, cleaned the collection cup and neck, called it good and put it back together and back into the sump.

it ran great again...for a couple weeks when it went hazy and no skim. so, i took it apart again to see if somehow the venturi got plugged and it was clear. so i cleaned the needle wheel again and put it all back together and put it back in the sump. ran great again...for a couple weeks. now it's doing the hazy water thing again with barely any foam.

pump looked good, no cracks in the magnet or rust that i could see... what's going on with it? water's plenty dirty...got 5 fish in 50gal total water volume, feed 2x/day. thanks for any suggestions/help

 

[Panzerbjorne39]

skimmer help

What's going on with it? It's a piece of junk skimmer with a junk pump. Replace it with an Aquamaxx or Tunze and problem solved. I'm sure this isn't the answer you are looking for based on the post you want to be told there's some little trick you can do or small thing to replace and it will be great. Not the case here sorry.


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[hersheyb]

hmmm... panzerbjorner39 might be right... steady operation and steady foam is part of a good skimmer. Tons of good skimmers out there, but if your looking for something on a budget you might want to looking into aquamaxx, quiet, reliable and affordable.

 

[CNGH]

What's going on with it? It's a piece of junk skimmer with a junk pump. Replace it with an Aquamaxx or Tunze and problem solved. I'm sure this isn't the answer you are looking for based on the post you want to be told there's some little trick you can do or small thing to replace and it will be great. Not the case here sorry.


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oof, no pulling punches here, haha. ok, i get it :hammer:

soooo....anyone got an aquamaxx co1 for sale near 91601 or 90808? :lolspin:

 

[moondoggy4]

Get a pot of water boiling, then bring over pot to tank, remove airline from silencer put that part of the airline in the pot of boiling water and wah la it will clean out your venturi.

 

[dodgerblew]

oof, no pulling punches here, haha. ok, i get it :hammer:

soooo....anyone got an aquamaxx co1 for sale near 91601 or 90808? :lolspin:

Sent you a message Mike

 

[five.five-six]

Sent you a message Mike

Not to step on Rik because his skimmer is great but for anyone else looking for a great deal on a tried and true skimmer on a budget, Richard is selling a euroreef recirculating skimmer that will blow the doors of anything under $500 and will probably last another 20 years ( not the pump but the rest of the skimmer 20 years)