Are you cleaning your skimmer neck & cup properly? It's pretty important right?

[Big C]

Once a week here. I do notice a drop in performance over the week (cup fill up slower on dry skimming).

Excuse for not cleaning more is I'm told (by my wife) it stinks up the mud room........

 

[anit77]

I have an MTC skimmer. With a neck cleaner and DIY 5 gallon skimmate locker I only clean the cup a couple times a year and dump the bucket when full. MTC is out of business now but Lifereef or any sealed top skimmer with the drain going to a bucket or down the actual drain is fine to leave it be as long as the neck is cleaned. It's nice not to have to deal with the soft serve baby poo as often. ;Yuck;Mask;Vomit

 

[Pntbll687]

When I remember. Half the time I forget to turn the skimmer back on after water changes, so it doesn't do much at that point.

So maybe every two weeks I will clean the cup. And maybe every 6mo or more I clean the body and pump.

 

[Conrad Noto]

Are you cleaning your skimmer neck & cup properly? It's pretty important right?

So every time I clean my skimmer cup/neck I wonder if I'm doing it like everyone else. Doing it good enough. Why is it that important to make sure the neck of the protein skimmer stays clean? Well a protein skimmer is one important tool we use as an exporter of nutrients and dissolved organic compounds (DOC) to keep the nasties (algae) out of our reef tank! So keeping the neck and cup of your skimmer clean helps by ensuring your skimmer is working as intended. Cleaning the intake pump as well but that's for another day!

"Consistently cleaning the neck of your protein skimmer will reduce the build-up of bio-organics. This build-up causes the foam to stick to the sides and can restrict the collection of skimmate in the skimmer's collection cup" - Reef Octopus

Should be pretty easy and straightforward right? That's what I think too. But today for the sake of conversation and to make sure we're getting it right let's talk about it and share how and why we clean like we do.

1. How often are you cleaning your skimmer cup and neck?

2. How are you cleaning the neck and cup of your skimmer?

I clean mine every 4th day. Usually 1/2 full by then.

 

[jordan10]

Just ordered a Red Sea skimmer with the built in neck wipe. Interested to see how well that works.

The neck wipe works great just walk by and give it a turn once aday I like it

 

[K7BMG]

Cleaning skimmers? we don't need no cleaning skimmers. LoL

Cup and neck are all in one for me.
Twice a week with tap water and paper towels.
The body and air pump every few months.
I do dump water down the air intake once in a while when I think of it to clear and salt creep.

 

[Billdogg]

Although I feel it is very important for good skimmer operation, I am often guilty of "forgetting" about it until I notice the smell coming from the sump area.

 

[SMB]

The neck (inside where the bubbles rise in the neck) is important. Inside the collection cup is for looks only.

 

[vlangel]

I had a skimmer for seahorses and I was pretty diligent about cleaning the cup and neck of the skimmer when I did 2Xs week Was.

 

[Hemmdog]

I do it a few times a week. Tap water and paper towels.

 

[Hersheyb]

I notice a major decrease of performance on the skimmer if the inner part of the cup had gunk build up, an automatic neck cleaner has become an essential for me.

 

[Borg]

I clean my cup every three days

I clean my skimmer every six months
It seems to run better
Nyos 220

 

[aquavista99]

I clean the neck on my skimmer twice a week. Probably clean the cup once every two weeks.

 

[Pdash]

Just ordered a Red Sea skimmer with the built in neck wipe. Interested to see how well that works.

I've been using one of these it works good. I just turn the wiper everyday or 2 and pull the lid/blade off the cup and clean it 1 or 2 times a week.

 

[LRT]

My wife doesn't usually let it go for more than a few days. And she cleans it with vinegar and brush. I like to thoroughly clean my skimmer pump at least once a week. Make sure you turn pump back on before placing back in sump so you get all the nasties out.
Usually tear down frag rack and pumps every other week as well. Im kinda going through the uglies in my 4 month old system.

 

[chaoticreefer]

I have a Redsea skimmer now, but when I had other skimmers I would clean them once a week and used a toilet bowl brush (separate one of course, not the one I actually use on the toilets). The toilet bowl brush is the perfect diameter for most "in sump" skimmers, specifically for the the skimmer cup's neck.

 

[sandra smith]

Are you cleaning your skimmer neck & cup properly? It's pretty important right?

So every time I clean my skimmer cup/neck I wonder if I'm doing it like everyone else. Doing it good enough. Why is it that important to make sure the neck of the protein skimmer stays clean? Well a protein skimmer is one important tool we use as an exporter of nutrients and dissolved organic compounds (DOC) to keep the nasties (algae) out of our reef tank! So keeping the neck and cup of your skimmer clean helps by ensuring your skimmer is working as intended. Cleaning the intake pump as well but that's for another day!

"Consistently cleaning the neck of your protein skimmer will reduce the build-up of bio-organics. This build-up causes the foam to stick to the sides and can restrict the collection of skimmate in the skimmer's collection cup" - Reef Octopus

Should be pretty easy and straightforward right? That's what I think too. But today for the sake of conversation and to make sure we're getting it right let's talk about it and share how and why we clean like we do.

1. How often are you cleaning your skimmer cup and neck?

2. How are you cleaning the neck and cup of your skimmer?

 

[sandra smith]

Are you cleaning your skimmer neck & cup properly? It's pretty important right?

So every time I clean my skimmer cup/neck I wonder if I'm doing it like everyone else. Doing it good enough. Why is it that important to make sure the neck of the protein skimmer stays clean? Well a protein skimmer is one important tool we use as an exporter of nutrients and dissolved organic compounds (DOC) to keep the nasties (algae) out of our reef tank! So keeping the neck and cup of your skimmer clean helps by ensuring your skimmer is working as intended. Cleaning the intake pump as well but that's for another day!

"Consistently cleaning the neck of your protein skimmer will reduce the build-up of bio-organics. This build-up causes the foam to stick to the sides and can restrict the collection of skimmate in the skimmer's collection cup" - Reef Octopus

Should be pretty easy and straightforward right? That's what I think too. But today for the sake of conversation and to make sure we're getting it right let's talk about it and share how and why we clean like we do.

1. How often are you cleaning your skimmer cup and neck?

2. How are you cleaning the neck and cup of your skimmer?

Just once a week; with my fiancée’s toothbrush if he deserves it! (Just kidding!!!) with an old toothbrush in the sink with water.

 

[Treefer32]

Wow... O.k. So, interesting question, the skimmer has been my bane! But, one thing I find is I get a lot better of the airy skimmate if my skimmer neck is dirty. If it's shiny clean, then it doesn't tend to turn into the airy puffy water stuff. It's just water that fills into the skimmer cup then. It takes about two weeks after I clean it for it to get back to it's normal skimmy self. When the large film of green black crap forms on the inside of the skimmer cup (before it flows into the cup). Once that film is reestablished then it starts skimming like usual. So, I thought it needed to be dirty to function correctly. What's meant by " breaking the skimmer in."

I guess I'm wrong on that. I clean the inside of the neck once every 2-3 months, and the cup, maybe once a month, towards the end of the month is when I'm really getting good dark skimmate.

 

[andrewey]

I have the world's most dangerous toothrbush.

It gets used to clean the skimmer neck/cup every 2 days. It lives in the bathroom near the tank, which happens to be the bathroom where my normal toothbrush lives.

One day I will make a terrible mistake...