Why is my skimmer not working???

[Jake622]

I have a tall, probably 4.5 ft high, downward draft skimmer. It gets feed water from the sump through a flex line and travels down a 1.5 inch PVC filled with bioballs that leads the water to the bottom of the skimmer. It doesn't seem to produce any bubbles. Am I missing soemthing here? I thought the bioballs were supposed to create the bubbles.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[gweston]

Sounds like an ETSS skimmer. They need to have a strong 'pressure rated' pump to drive it. The ETSS 800 model, for example, requires a ~1100gph pressure rated pump to drive it.

You should be able to identify the skimmer model through the 'superskimmer' website, and find a list of rec'd pumps for that model. You can also email/call them and they'll may be able to point you in the right direction.

 

[reefsforme]

First of all, remember that when installing protein skimmers, it usually takes at least a week to break in. So don't expect any bubbles for at least a week. If you don't see any bubbles or so after a week, adjust the air flow, and experiment to see what works best. If still nothing, I suggest getting a different protein skimmer.