Corallife super skimmer question

jeeptp75 · #1 02/04/2007, 11:55 AM

Im trying to set this skimmer up but I cant get it to produce any fine bubbles. I think I got water in the venturi air silencer thing. Is there anyway I can find out if thats definatly the issue? It seems like its on the tube pretty tight and dont know if its made to come apart.

Andrew · #2 02/04/2007, 12:00 PM

Drain all the water out ( blow on one of the ends ) and clean the airline tubing. If you want to increase the performance than you can wrap fishing line around the impeller and it will chop the bubbles up more. I did this to my 65 model skimmer ( sold it so don't have it anymore ) but it worked a lot better.

jeeptp75 · #3 02/04/2007, 12:08 PM

I did blow into it and the bubbles start but then they stop and I notice that water is in the line about half way up it. Also I noticed in the directions that the pump should be no more that 3" from the top of the water? How crutial is this? Im trying to squeeze the unitl into my small sump and needed to use the longer tube to get the pump lower and its further than 3" away from the top of the water? Could this be why it cant get any air?

owenb01 · #4 02/04/2007, 03:18 PM

I've got a 220 model ( had a 125 but the pump died and coralife gave me the 220 under warranty for some reason) and it sounds like your pump is dying as well. I don't know why, but when the pump starts going, the air doesn't get sucked in, probably due to the velocity required to get the venturi working. I did place the pump on my 220 about three inches below the water; I think the reason my old one died was because I had it 8in below water and it had to overwork itself. If I were you, I would go to wherever you bought it from and tell them you need a replacement. If they are a decent shop then they will contact coralife for you and get the replacement pump. I didn't have to hand over the old skimmer until I took delivery of the new one. The only other advice I can give you is to buy a new pump that has a needlewheel.

owenb01 · #5 02/04/2007, 03:25 PM

I've got a 220 model ( had a 125 but the pump died and coralife gave me the 220 under warranty for some reason) and it sounds like your pump is dying as well. I don't know why, but when the pump starts going, the air doesn't get sucked in, probably due to the velocity required to get the venturi working. I did place the pump on my 220 about three inches below the water; I think the reason my old one died was because I had it 8in below water and it had to overwork itself. If I were you, I would go to wherever you bought it from and tell them you need a replacement. If they are a decent shop then they will contact coralife for you and get the replacement pump. I didn't have to hand over the old skimmer until I took delivery of the new one. The only other advice I can give you is to buy a new pump that has a needlewheel.

aninjaatemyshoe · #6 02/04/2007, 03:38 PM

I'd say it depends on how far you have it below 3". My 125 has been anywhere between 2" and 5" below the water and worked fine in all cases (except that with changing water level I'd have to adjust the riser tube accordingly).

I'm assuming that you have a 15H gallon sump, the only 15gal that fits under a 55 stand. In which case you probably have the water level significantly higher than 3". This could very well be your problem. If it is, why not make something to rest your pump on at a higher level?

jeeptp75 · #7 02/04/2007, 04:26 PM

My sump is a custom acrylic but it is about 15 gallons. Right now I have the skimmer hanging on it since the sump is partitioned and part us used as a fuge. Im thinking though from what im hearing I do need to get the pump raised up a bit. It came with two sections of flexable hose, one for hang on position and one for in sump operation and I actually have the in sump hose on it but have it hung on. I was trying to use the longer hose to get the pump a little lower in the unit due to space but I believe i can get it to work with the shorter hose. I'll probubly make those changes soon and see if that works.

Joshua1023 · #8 02/04/2007, 06:11 PM

You do have the needlwheel version correct? If so, get the pump as close to the surface of the water as possible. Mine is about an inch from the surface. I would unplug the airline from the silencer until I figured out how to produce the bubbles I was looking for.

Once that is settled...........

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...readid=1006566

jeeptp75 · #9 02/04/2007, 06:22 PM

Yes I do have the needlewheel. I was starting to think that the pump was just way to deep to be able to pull air into it.

Joshua1023 · #10 02/04/2007, 07:27 PM

I don't know for sure, but I have two mj1200 modded for a needlewheel that I use to mix water. They pull plenty of air at the bottom of a five gl bucket w/ 3 or 4 feet of air hose attached. My gut tells me something else is to blame.

jeeptp75 · #11 02/04/2007, 07:46 PM

Does anyone know if that air line is glued to the pump and that thing on the end that makes it quieter or is it just on with pressure?

Joshua1023 · #12 02/04/2007, 09:11 PM

I don't know what model you have, but I know for sure that the 220 and 125 do not glue the silencer on. I doubt the 60 is any different, but I don't know for sure. Try pulling the airline off of the silencer. I've talked to a few guys who have had pieces of plastic from the molding process still jammed in their silencer. They popped it out with a thin screwdriver or something and were back in business toot sweet. The silencer is there just to reduce the sucking noise on the airline. I don't even have mine attached.

jeeptp75 · #13 02/04/2007, 10:00 PM

Ok thanks for the info. I also noticed that from packaging the air line has a small kink near the one end. I figure that has to be resricting air flow as well so I want to cut it out but did want to yank of the line if it wasnt sized correctly to just push back on. Thanks for all the info.