Super Skimmer Trouble!

[ralexander99]

I've had my 120G running for about 6 weeks; it has a 40G sump below. I have the Super Skimmer 220 that has been running perfectly. Today I noticed the discharge level in the cup didn't change at all from early morning to almost midnight, so I nudged the red dial. Nothing happened. I cleaned the cup to see the bubble level and plugged it in again. The bubbles didn't get high enough to even reach the cup's neck. After about 5 seconds the bubbles disappeared. I can see the cyclone going in the main chamber. I unplugged and took a quick look at the intake, pump, cup, etc., and nothing seems wrong. Of course, I can't find the manual, so does anyone have any advice? I've got some really great stuff that I hate to lose. Many thanks.

 

[joeyf]

Take the pump apart, get an old toothbrush, and give it a good scrubbing. That usually works for mine.

 

[ralexander99]

That did the trick to a certain extent (which amazes me because I just cleaned it Wednesday). It is at least working now, although I definitely have to turn the flow control open a lot more now to get it to fill up the neck. But, I can live with that for tonight. Thank you very, very much. :rollface:

 

[joeyf]

Something else to try is blow some air in through the silencer really hard. They sometimes get clogged slightly, so that usually breaks anything loose. I keep my air intake and silencer hanging outside my sump to prevent salt creep and other junk from getting sucked in.

 

[joeyf]

Oh, and if you are having level problems, it could be that the little hole that is supposed to be pointed up on the start of the outlet tube is blocked.