Skimmer question

[mwebber28]

I have a SWC 160 cone that until now seemed to work fine. Recently I have had a hair algae problem and I wonder if it's related to my skimmer.

So, I have a 75 gal tank with 40 gam sump filled to 20-25 gal, or 8.5" per SWC's recommendation. Which I believe is 6-10???

I must admit to having very little knowledge when it comes to skimmers. However, they do state this one should be able to handle the "heavy" bio load of my tank.

I have to turn the valve as follows in the picture just to get the collection chamber to bubble up to the top of the collection chamber. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this? The skimmer is only 2 years old and I clean it every other month along with my sump and other equipment. Everything looks great so what gives? Do I need a bigger skimmer to allow more flow or am I looking in the wrong place?


Thanks.

 

[Skimmy]

how do you clean the pump? it is a 2 yr old atman pump, so it might just be getting sluggish, but its usually the impeller that gets sluggish. have you taken the pump apart and soaked in vinegar? and checked the air line and venturi for blockage? does the impeller look balanced and normal? its a mesh wheel needlewheel combo, so the mesh may be obstructing things in the pump if its falling apart.

 

[mwebber28]

how do you clean the pump? it is a 2 yr old atman pump, so it might just be getting sluggish, but its usually the impeller that gets sluggish. have you taken the pump apart and soaked in vinegar? and checked the air line and venture for blockage? does the impeller look balanced and normal? its a mesh wheel needlewheel combo, so the mesh may be obstructing things in the pump if its falling apart.

I disassemble and clean every nook and cranny. I even soak for a few hours in hot water. I have never tried vinegar though. I have never checked the air line, always assumed it was fine. I have another onew and will hook it up and see if it makes a difference.

I am right on my bio load though right?

Good advice, thanks.

 

[Skimmy]

that skimmer is fine for your bioload if its working properly...
and it sounds like you would notice if there was anything wrong with the impeller.
so check the muffler, venturi air line post, and hose of course.

otherwise, consider getting a new pump or new skimmer.
PH2500 Skimmer Pump for SCA-303
this cheap skimmer has the same pump as yours, so the same power.
SCA-302 180 Gallon Protein Skimmer

or if you wanted to upgrade to something nice? then try this:
RLSS-R6-I Premium Aquatics - RLSS-R6-I Aquarium Supplies
this is twice the power with a controllable DC pump, so excellent skimmer,
and good power for your size system.

 

[mwebber28]

Thanks for the advice. I'm either going to fix it or you will see the SWC for sale soon....

 

[Red C Aquarium]

skimmy your box is full , i was trying to be stealth likelayball:

 

[estanoche]

a skimmer alone is not going to 100% ensure you don't get hair algae....... what else are you doing to prevent it? Water changes, clean additives, quality lights, and good filtration all help you reach the no HA level, but it is very hard to stay there for even an experienced aquarist.

 

[senji]

i own the swc 160 as well and have to clean the air line and venturi cone every moth as this problem occurs to mine periodically as well. just a thought ur not looking at ur skimmer after u feet or dose because this will kill the bubble temporarily every time u add something to the tank FYI.

 

[Skimmy]

a skimmer alone is not going to 100% ensure you don't get hair algae....... what else are you doing to prevent it? Water changes, clean additives, quality lights, and good filtration all help you reach the no HA level, but it is very hard to stay there for even an experienced aquarist.

MEH... not hard to anticipate and build countermeasures in place to deal with GHA.
I got 4 words for you;

Skimmer,
GACrx,
Pellets,
Flow.

This of course assumes you do W/C's like a normal person...
And for the record I can officially say I think adding a "clean up crew" is stupid,
what a bunch of crap. sort your house out before you add more shyte producing/dying tenants.

 

[mwebber28]

a skimmer alone is not going to 100% ensure you don't get hair algae....... what else are you doing to prevent it? Water changes, clean additives, quality lights, and good filtration all help you reach the no HA level, but it is very hard to stay there for even an experienced aquarist.

I do 15-20 gallon water changes every 2 weeks and all my parameters are fine. I even have zero nitrates, nitrites and phosphates... lol... wonder why. I did just change my filters in my RO/ DI unit but I change them every year anyway.

The only thing I just changed lights to LED's Nova 4 from Barrier. I dont know if that has something to do with it.

 

[mwebber28]

i own the swc 160 as well and have to clean the air line and venturi cone every moth as this problem occurs to mine periodically as well. just a thought ur not looking at ur skimmer after u feet or dose because this will kill the bubble temporarily every time u add something to the tank FYI.

I'll add that to my cleaning routine. Thanks.

 

[mwebber28]

MEH... not hard to anticipate and build countermeasures in place to deal with GHA.
I got 4 words for you;

Skimmer,
GACrx,
Pellets,
Flow.

This of course assumes you do W/C's like a normal person...
And for the record I can officially say I think adding a "clean up crew" is stupid,
what a bunch of crap. sort your house out before you add more shyte producing/dying tenants.

GACrx????

I think my flow is good. I have 2 MP-10s running at 75-90% and there appears to no visible dead spot in the tank.


I was using bio pellets for the first time and didn't like the slim apperance I got on my rocks after a week so I went back to the two fishes phosban media. The slime is now gone and the GHA does not appear to be growing any taller.

I'm pretty convinced when the skimmer is back to normal my tank will turn around but if not then I'll look in to the last one you recommended.