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melev

Remember to clean your skimmer pump(s).

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4 Comments
by
melev
, 04-12-2011 at 02:03 PM (2244 Views)
My Euroreef skimmer has two Eheim 1262 pumps on it. When I have to clean the collection cup, I turn off one pump and leave the other running. I do the same thing if the cup is overflowing, because within the body of the skimmer, foam builds up with all kinds of dreck. Once the cup is clean, I start the second pump and all that stuff is immediately exported.

Today I did just that, I turned off one pump and noticed how the body of the skimmer was full of water and very little bubbles. That meant that Pump #2's venturi was clogged up with salt. My tank has been up 9 weeks, and I cleaned the skimmer very well during the set up, so the pumps weren't dirty at a mere two months. Upon inspection, that nipple on the intake side of the pump had a decent obstruction of salt, limiting air intake, even though every few weeks I run hot water through the venturi tubes to avoid this formation for happening. I cleaned it all out, cleaned both pumps again since I was already up to my elbows in water, and the skimmer is back to running as it should.

Don't put this stuff off, even though it's unpleasant.

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Comments

  1. Jnarowe's Avatar
    That wouldn't happen if you had an airstone skimmer!
  2. Midnight's Avatar
    What, no pics? I feel cheated!
  3. melev's Avatar
    An airstone skimmer needs the airstones replaced.

    No, I just wanted it fixed. I've got pictures from years ago when I talked about this in the past, but I didn't try to find them. There's probably nearly a gig of images on melevsreef to wade through.
  4. bleachandvomit's Avatar
    Just run airline tubing off of the ATO dispensing hose, that way a little spittle of RODI water gets pumped through the venturi to dissolve the buildup. It stops the foam production for 13 seconds which is nothing compared to reduced efficiency from buildup. Hands free too.