#$&!@%!! Coralife 65G "super skimmer"!

[Waterjockey]

So I have a small (30 gallon) mixed reef, on which I have run a Coralife 65 skimmer for the past year and a half. Every few months, the skimmer would randomly stop producing any bubbles....I mean *any*.....and it wasn't a blocked air intake issue. I would take the pump assemby apart, clean it, give the skimmer a vinegar bath, and after a few assemble/reassemble attempts we would be back in business. Two nights ago, the skimmer quit producing bubbles, and nothing I could do would make it work again (although it foamed nicely in a vinegar bath). It would just blow huge bubbles up through it, like from an open airline. Stuck an airstone down it and left it running for tank aeration until I got it fixed or replaced. Priced around for new pinwheel impellers, spare motor, etc....expensive...for what they are. Decided to order a new reef octopus 110 space saver to replace it....got notification the new skimmer shipped today.
So of course, as I did a little tank maintenance before bed tonite, I noticed the Coralife working....better than it ever has since I bought it...and quieter than it has ever been! Grrr....

I guess I have a spare complete skimmer to put on the shelf for whenever the new one craps out

Just needed to vent....

Cheers!

 

[Lab_Adam]

You'll be happier with the new skimmer any ways.

 

[CodyRVA]

+1, if its behaving like that, its a matter of time before it bites the dust. Kudos if you can hold your wad, i'd be throwing that RO skimmer on my system as soon as it arrived.

 

[Bdog4u2]

Ive ran a reef octopus for 2 years with 0 issues anever needing to do any adjustments

 

[salttanklife]

How far do you have the valve closed after the pump? If it is closed more than halfway, it want produce bubbles. You could have it pretty close and something could have got stuck in the valve. It probably broke free while doing your maintenance and started working again. I have mine about a quarter turn and have never had a problem with it on this setting. I did have the same problem as you with closing it halfway.

 

[salttanklife]

Just so you're not confused, I'm not talking about the air adjustable red valve. It's the valve that adjusts the flow from the pump.

 

[Waterjockey]

How far do you have the valve closed after the pump? If it is closed more than halfway, it want produce bubbles. You could have it pretty close and something could have got stuck in the valve. It probably broke free while doing your maintenance and started working again. I have mine about a quarter turn and have never had a problem with it on this setting. I did have the same problem as you with closing it halfway.

Thanks for the reply!

Yeah, it requires a minimum flow to produce any foaming bubbles....this wouldn't do it even when I put a slight positive pressure on the air inlet (I have bled a small amount of air off an airpump in the past to assist with a few restrictions on the inlet in the past). Even with the pump outlet valve wide open, and good flow coming out the outlet....it was producing nothing. ....yet in the vinegar bath, it was producing foaming bubbles while only open 1/2 way....not great mind you, but they were there. I am beginning to wonder if somehow the tank itself got contaminated with some oils or something that just shut down the abilty to produce bubbles for a few days. Right now it is working better than it ever has...oh well, the new R.O. skimmer should be here by Tues or Wed....looking forward to a more reliable skimmer......unfortunetly there goes my $kitty$ for the auto waterchange pumps

Cheers!

 

[Goat33]

Trash it and get yourself an aquamaxx or reef octopus and thank me later ; )

 

[mcarroll]

(Yes this post is old....posting for posterity if nothing else. )

Wish I had the money to drop on replacement gear every time something acted up. As it stands I gotta make things work.

In that spirit, I offer this free advice....guaranteed to be worth every penny.

If you hated the skimmer when it was working properly, then you shouldn't spend any more money to keep it.

However, if you liked the skimmer when it worked properly, replacing it make little sense.

• Most commonly it's blockage of the airline.
  It may not be visible – and it's likely to be vinegar proof.
  I've had too many people go back on a second or third cleaning to find blockages so I have to tell you the same. Give it a shot.
• Check around the air intake hose on the pump-end and poke around with a toothpick and make sure it's clear all through it, all openings. It's fairly common for that air:water interface to build up some hard deposits....and they're not always in view.
• Or it's an impeller that's lost it oomph. This is much less common than blockage, but much more common than a dead pump.
  Around $30 seems to get you a new impeller. No contest compared to the cost of a new skimmer.

I'd recommend some other different skimmers for the potential replacement, but you're ahead of that already.