Unhappy w/ ASM Skimmer

FSOL

FSOL

New member
Hey everyone,
I have a 180g tank and use a ASM G4X skimmer. It's been running for over a year now and I"m not too happy with it. It just doesn't pull much out. Not sure if there isn't much to pull out, or if it just SUCKS.
If any of you have a similar setup as mine please feel free to comment.

All I see is bubbles popping and nothing rising and collecting. It takes over a week to get half wet skimmate in the collection cup.
 
I am not sure which pump, but it came w/ the skimmer. I have two overflows that dump from the main pump into the sump, and the skimmer/pump is sitting right where the water gets dumped. The height of the water in the skimmer chamber is a constant 12".

I always run wet skimmate. I haven't measured exactly how many GPH of water dumps into the skimmer section. Would that have an impact?
 
I had an ASM G2 on a 58 gallon. I wasn't at all happy with it. Build quality and leaks aside, I performed the recirc/feed and gate mod which did significantly improve the skimmer but even after all that I still wasn't happy with it. I upgraded to a deltec and havn't looked back.

H&S and the new ER skimmers are good as well.
You could also go with a beckett which would give you the most bang for your buck.
 
what do you feed the fish? i recently started feeding arcti-pods and they shut the skimmer down so much, even feeding them just once a day has taken my skimmer from filled every other day to once a week at best.
 
I feed frozen foods, such as brine/mysis shrimp, ocean plankton, formula 1 and 2, krill, squid, marine algae, prime reef.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9292050#post9292050 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FSOL
I've seen in some setups a skimmer called GEO. How's that?
Click to expand...
Not sure what you mean, but GEO is a member here on RC who makes skimmers (needlewheels, etc.), calcium reactors, and other stuff. Not sure how to contact him, though.
 
i have mini G right now for 75gal, and it works pretty good for me, I have to clean it every 2days..
 
Even though I have modded my G4 with the recirc, gate valve and meshwheel mods, I'm still disappointed with it's performance. I'm currently looking for another skimmer.
 
Overall ASM sucks ..I have a g3 and I've done most of the mods. although it performs better it still sucks. I wish we could form a class action lawsuit aginst these skumbags for misleading consumers :D Then again this is a hobby and we take all the risks while they reap the reward
 
How many fish do you have in the tank, how often do you feed, how often do you do waterchanges, etc. All of these questions will help determine if its just a low bio-load or just a crappy skimmer. If you have 5 small fish in that size tank and you feed every other day then yes you will get very little skimmate.

It looks like you also have a decent sized fuge, 2 phosban reactors, and a UV sterilizer. These could also hinder your skimmate production. There are many things that could be affecting it.

Also, is everything in the tank doing alright? Are you getting good growth, good color, good polyp extension. If everything is doing great then I would not be worried.
 
I have an ASM G3 on a 150 heavily populated reef and it pulls out at least a cup of dark nasty skimmate a day. I have the bubble level just above the neck and clean the thing contantly. It is a great performing skimmer for me, and it is not modded.
 
I myself have 4 starki damsels,3 chromis, Lg purple tang, lg foxface, xlg sailfin, 2 lg clowns, 1 sm anthia. al feed very heavly 3x a day and 4x a day on weekends. No fuge or phosban. just a sump with a skimmer...so I would say it's a crapy skimmer. You are corrrect about if the growth color and pe is good not to worrie,but what happens if somthings goes wrong. I still have a piece of crap
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9294479#post9294479 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kodyboy
I have an ASM G3 on a 150 heavily populated reef and it pulls out at least a cup of dark nasty skimmate a day. I have the bubble level just above the neck and clean the thing contantly. It is a great performing skimmer for me, and it is not modded.
Click to expand...

Lucky you...I could only wish mine performed that well. I've had mine for over a year and it took about 2 weeks to fill the cup and now that I did the mesh mod it takes about 5-6 days
 
Look at the BM200 for your tank. Its a little pricey, but it performs as well as skimmers that are twice the price. Look into the threads about Bubble Master.
 
I would check out the asm thread there are lots of ppl there that can help. It sounds like to me you have the pump inlet to close to the overflow. IMO. There are tons of mods you can or should do if you like. For now I would move the pump away from the overflow to see if it changes anything.
 
Last edited:
NASO,
What is your bioload? How often do you do water changes? Do you add any additives (some of those can wreck havoc with skimming)?
I think the only way that you are going to see if your skimmer is the problem is to borrow another, working:), skimmer from someone and see if it pulls out more gunk than the ASM. I have seen many ASMs and all of them worked well, but I am sure there is bound to be a problem skimmer here and there. Maybe the pump is faulty?
 
NASO,
Sorry, just noticed that you posted the bioload and feeding regime. You should be getting more skimmate.
P.S. Cute kid!
 
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