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gflat65
04/09/2004, 05:10 PM
I got a new skimmer a couple of weeks ago (3 actually). It is an HOB Red Sea Berlin Turbo. Since I put it on the tank, I have been able to get a maximum of three days of functioning without having to disassemble it. The bubbles reduce by about 2/3 to 4/5, so I'm not getting a whole lot of skimming done after those initial three days. Every time I have taken it apart, I haven't been able to find any accumulated materials inside the pump or in the venturi line. I even let it pull water through the air line to clean out anything that might be gathering there. When I put it back together, all of a sudden it works like a champ again. The pump always seem to be clean. Is there any known or suspected reason that it would behave like this? It's no big deal to pull it, take it apart and put it back in, but it's becoming a lot of work. If that's just what I should expect, I'll quit whining and get on with my life. Any ideas? Oh yeah, I just unplugged it the other day for about 30 minutes and it worked again when I plugged it back in (evening). By morning, almost no bubbles.

Sir Knight
04/09/2004, 05:33 PM
There could be to possible things happening.

1) The Venturi itself is getting clogged. You my need to take it out and give it a good cleaning. I had a Berlin skimmer that would not produce foam. All I did was take out the Venturi and clean it. You should clean it very 2 or 3 months min.


2) You have a lot of skimmet buildup with a heavy fish load. I have used these and other types of skimmers (beckett Types) and I always recommend cleaning twice a week so, your problem may not be a problem. But do check answer one and still clean your skimmer twice a week for best results

Hope this helps

gflat65
04/10/2004, 09:09 AM
Thanks Joe. I think it might have needed that break in period. I cleaned it last night again, and it started pumping some bubbles out. It actually overflowed the collection cup. I have had it turned completely up sinec I installed it and there has been no threat of flooding the cup. After the cleaning last night, I got a lot more response from it. It even made me watch ot for about 30 minutes to verify that I had the adjustment set correctly. I'll just keep up the cleaning regiment and see where that gets me. It's really only a 5-10 minute job.
I thought at first that maybe the pump was working too hard or something. What made me think that was the fact that when I unplugged it and let it rest, it would work again for a little while after the rest, then "everything below the waist is kaput." In the first three weeks, it hadn't even come close to filling the collection cup. I've only got two fish, but it had been six or eight months since I last ran a skimmer, so I thought/expected it might be over responsive in the beginning. After last night, I feel a little better about it's functioning.