Myster's 40b SPS Dominate (Some STN)

[mystersyster]

Hummmm again.

 

The body of the skimmer seems nicely whited out by what I would assume would be proper micro bubbles. Yet at the water line near the neck you have large churning bubbles, not micro bubbles?

When you cleaned the skimmer did you strip the pump and inspect the impeller/needle wheel?

When you turned the dial to min was that air intake or water height? I didn't notice much change in the water level or bubbles in the cone.

 

I've just upgraded to a hydro recirculating skimmer (a 600DP I got for a steal off good old ebay) and it produces a lovely 1.5-2cm micro bubble foam head at the water level that then forms a dryer foam often with bigger bubbles that climbs the neck and enters my collection cup.

You seem to be missing this top layer of micro bubble foam and have larger bubbles that appear to be coming up from the bottom of the cone to the surface churning it all up?

1. Yes, no more micro bubbles. Larger, churning bubbles causing that turbulance in the video.

2. I stripped everything down. Nothing was in their, other than some scum that was built up. I cleaned that.

3. Min raises the water height to "max". Kinda backwards. It raised it some, but that was simply the water level, and doesn't produce a foam of any kind.

4. These larger bubbles are either being form by the micro bubbles, or coming up from the bottom (like you said). I am stumped as to why/where they would come from. I have very fine sand in my aquarium that makes its way down to the sump. I am wondering if this has any relation to what is going on?

[Benny314]

Shouldn't be the sand.

 

Am I right in thinking this skimmer has a bubble plate in it that's supposed to even out the micro bubble distribution in the cone? Is there something up with that causing the micro bubbles to join becoming bigger un-useful bubbles?

Right so that dial controlled the water level, you'll want it set mid way ish as the skimmate you had looked very wet. What controls the air intake? Do you have a little valve in the airline to the silencer or has the silencer it's self got a controllable valve in it? The pump may be drawing too much air or not enough, the air drawn is often the hardest thing to adjust to get a skimmer working at peak performance.

Watching the video again I didn't see any sort of limiting valve on the airline. What happens when you put your finger on the pipe on top of the silencer cutting off the air supply to the pump? Try half covering that intake and see what happens.

[mystersyster]

Shouldn't be the sand.

 

Am I right in thinking this skimmer has a bubble plate in it that's supposed to even out the micro bubble distribution in the cone? Is there something up with that causing the micro bubbles to join becoming bigger un-useful bubbles?

Right so that dial controlled the water level, you'll want it set mid way ish as the skimmate you had looked very wet. What controls the air intake? Do you have a little valve in the airline to the silencer or has the silencer it's self got a controllable valve in it? The pump may be drawing too much air or not enough, the air drawn is often the hardest thing to adjust to get a skimmer working at peak performance.

Watching the video again I didn't see any sort of limiting valve on the airline. What happens when you put your finger on the pipe on top of the silencer cutting off the air supply to the pump? Try half covering that intake and see what happens.

Yes there is a bubble plate. I am unsure what would be causing that. There is no way to adjust the air with these bubble magus skimmers. I tried covering up now, and a few times in the past. It simply doesn't allow enough air bubbles to restrict it anymore.

 

I also just cleaned the venturi. Had some salt creep in it. However, that proved to do nothing as well.

[Benny314]

Right try and stick the pump in a bucket/sump on it's own separate to the skimmer body and see what sort of foam it makes. This should show you if the pump is producing micro bubbles or big bubbles and that will help narrow down the issue.

[mystersyster]

They all seem to be micro bubbles. Nothing crazy big.

[Benny314]

Right if you can leave it run as long as it does before the issue starts just to confirm the pump isn't at fault (fairly sure it won't be if it's making micro bubbles) something must be happening in the skimmer body or being picked up by the pump causing the micro bubbles to stop being micro and become those big un-useful ones.

It's really odd it takes a day before this happens. I'd expect it to be always like it or happen after several weeks once the skimmers furred up with something.

I'm hoping someone else might chime in who's had the same issue and found a fix as I'm running out of ideas now.

(So glad I don't own a Bubble Magus)

[mystersyster]

Yeah well unfortunately there isn't much help online. For the most part the only problem people have is too much skim. I'd love for that to be an issue.

[Gooburz]

This is making me rethink getting a Bubble Mag skimmer, I've seen people have this issue a few times with the skimmer needing really deep water in the sump and not dialing in properly. Making me think about getting the new design Reef Octopus Skimmer instead or Vortex. Let me know if you figure out what it is.

 

Only thing I could think of was too low of a water level or some of that fine particle sand is stuck inside the pump, maybe just need to blast some water through there to see if you can clean it out a little better.

EDIT: Just read something from a couple users that the air hose was too long and there was a small defect for the inlet that they were not getting enough air in the intake which caused the same problem that you seem to be having. I would take the air inlet apart and inspect it and maybe trim the extra hose down, see if the holes are being clogged in some way and at the silencer chamber at the top, may need to bore out that part so it can get more air.

[mystersyster]

This is making me rethink getting a Bubble Mag skimmer, I've seen people have this issue a few times with the skimmer needing really deep water in the sump and not dialing in properly. Making me think about getting the new design Reef Octopus Skimmer instead or Vortex. Let me know if you figure out what it is.

 

Only thing I could think of was too low of a water level or some of that fine particle sand is stuck inside the pump, maybe just need to blast some water through there to see if you can clean it out a little better.

EDIT: Just read something from a couple users that the air hose was too long and there was a small defect for the inlet that they were not getting enough air in the intake which caused the same problem that you seem to be having. I would take the air inlet apart and inspect it and maybe trim the extra hose down, see if the holes are being clogged in some way and at the silencer chamber at the top, may need to bore out that part so it can get more air.

Makes sense. I'll try that out and update.

[mystersyster]

Skimmer update. Took apart. Ran in vinegar. Funny thing is that it produced a nice head in the vinegar solution. Back in my aquarium doing the exact same thing. I'm at my wits end with this skimmer. Hopefully I can work something out with the guy I bought it from. Other than that, I need some recommendations for a new skimmer. Thanks everyone for your help.

[Benny314]

Bugger, do you have a mate nearby with a system you could run your skimmer in to see if it's a water thing as it foamed the vinegar?

 

As for recommendation, I'm loving my recirculating Hydor. It's foaming pump was really noisy in my opinion (it's second hand off ebay and I found some plastic bits in the pump which I washed out and that made it quieter, but it still seems to have a rattle) so I have just fitted a marine sources red devil SP2 pump today and I'm waiting for the solvent weld to dry as I had to shorten the intake pipe as the SP2 doesn't poke out as far. The SP2 is hopefully going to be much quieter and also draws 100lph more air according to the specs so should make for an even better skim.

[mystersyster]

I don't unfortunately. I have a local fish store I think would be willing to run it, to see if it is a water thing. I might give him a call tomorrow. I just don't understand what type of water thing it would be. My fish are fine. I use IO with 0 TDS Ro/DI water.

[Benny314]

Yeah blag it at your LFS, it's only a thought to rule something else out. This way you'll prove if it's something in your water (your fine sand maybe) or if it's the skimmer or water depth in your sump. Can you put the skimmer in your DT at like 9 inches plus water depth to see what happens?

 

I highly doubt it's your water.

[Gooburz]

I second that, take it to the LFS and put it on another system and then you can 100% rule out the skimmer.

 

I mean if it starts pulling gunk at the LFS then you know your tank is really really clean?...... lol I'm out of ideas

[Benny314]

Supper clean system is a possible cause but unlikely unless it's a very new setup in my experience.

 

Gooburz, any skimmer suggestions if this BM is knackered?

 

In other news I chucked my modified Hydor back in the sump this morning after work and it's now whisper quiet and does seem to have a thicker micro bubble concentration in the skimmer, the pump seems to have broken in already as well, when I first turned it on the bubbles weren't very small and there was a fair bit of extra turbulence at the neck of the skimmer. By the time I got up this afternoon all had settled down and I have some lovely foam pushing up into the cup.

[mystersyster]

Hey dudes. Thanks for your responses. I thought super clean water might be a culprit. However, I only run GFO, no carbon. In my return section I can see stuff on the surface just asking to be skimmed. It's also 3 months old, and has 4 fish. Nothing crazy, but should have stuff to skim.

 

One of my lfs was having a good sale. They have pretty sweet "private label" skimmers. It's a cone skimmer and runs on a dc pump. Plus, it comes with a warranty. 186 bucks and a short vinegar bath later...

 

Same issue. I don't regret getting the skimmer, the warranty worth the peace of mind. I will wait a few more days to see if it breaks in and starts foaming. If it doesn't, the problem is with my water. Sigh.

[Benny314]

As a brand new skimmer it could well be a break in period issue with your new one. The DC pumps seem to be the way to go with skimmers now so I think that was a future proof investment.

You'll probably have no issues moving you BM on as well as they do tend to be popular.

Didn't realise your tank was that young, you say you can see scum on the surface, is there anything pulling it off the surface and mixing it into the water near the skimmer intake so it can be skimmed? Your over flow should be keeping the surface pretty clear of organic film in the DT, you can get little surface skimming powerheads or you can DIY one up with some plumbing bits if your sump gets a film on the surface or alternatively point a wave maker at the surface to mix it back into the water column.

[mystersyster]

All that is in my return section is a return pump. That's a good idea though. May get a small power head for that later on.

 

I have been feeding 3 times daily since I have a Melanurus wrasse. I feed them frozen mysis blend that I rinse well first. Nitrates always test at zero (rather have them at 2-4). Running gfo since day 1, so I dont test for phosphates. You think clean water may actually be an issue? Other than that, the only thing I put in my tank everday is their food. I'm going to feed them pellets for a few days to see if it's frozen food.

[Benny314]

Frozen is more likely to dump organic crap in the tank. Maybe you just need to give it time for the system to accumulate some real waste, but by 3 months with fish and steady feeding there should be something in there to skim. What test kits are you using out of interest. Reread the start of this thread and you mentioned API. API is unlikely to give you a reading if you NO3 is less than 10-20, they are that unreliable.

[mystersyster]

For those of you who have been following... I put a new filter sock in and almost instantly it foamed, finally.

 

 

[Benny314]

Hahaha, always found changing my filter sock for a clean one killed the foam in my crappy aqua one skimmer lol.

[mystersyster]

Hahaha, always found changing my filter sock for a clean one killed the foam in my crappy aqua one skimmer lol.

I read that too. I'm guessing my brand new filter sock had something on it that caused the skimmer to go crazy.

 

 

This is the only coral I have. Making sure I wont kill it before I get more SPS. Forget the name, but an encrusting montipora of some kind. Anyone know if this polyp extension looks okay? Seems to have gotten greener since I put it in the tank a couple weeks ago. Good sign?

[mystersyster]

Some new critters have entered the cove. Over the weekend I found a fat, healthy starry blenny. Decided to pick him up and make him one of the last additions as far as fish. My wife loved this fish, never have I seen her take such an interest. Today I also went out and found an awesome bicolor hammer. It opened up pretty much after 45 minutes in the aquarium, and seems to be doing really well so far. My melanurus wrasse made sure to check it out for any pests (I did dip it).

 

Some bad news. My montipora from my previous post has lost a little bit of color. Not quite as green. I think this may have been due to an alkalinity swing that happened over the course of 24 hours. I try and keep it at eight. Well, it got up to nine which isn't a big deal. I skipped one of the doses to let it fall back down. Checked it today, and it was at 7! I don't even know. Anyway, trying to keep it as stable as possible now. Polyps are still out so we'll see.

 

New hammer

 

 

New FTS 11/17/2015

 

 

Thanks for looking! =]

[Gooburz]

For those of you who have been following... I put a new filter sock in and almost instantly it foamed, finally.

 

 

 

 

So the Curve 5 is working out for you now then?

 

I was going to get it but then they were sold out of them so I went bigger with the Curve 7. Prolly not going to run with filter socks right away but might wind up using them, still not sure.

[mystersyster]

 

 

So the Curve 5 is working out for you now then?

 

I was going to get it but then they were sold out of them so I went bigger with the Curve 7. Prolly not going to run with filter socks right away but might wind up using them, still not sure.

I ended up buying another skimmer on sale at my lfs. It had the same issue as my curve 5, so I determined it was a water issue. Not enough bioload. I have 5 fish now, so it is starting to foam.

 

Curve 5 works just fine and I am selling it now, since I bought a new DC skimmer.