Coralife Skimmer from hell...

[RileyCFR]

I recently obtained a new Coralife Super Skimmer Needle Wheel (up to 65 Gallon) It is for my 40 reef tank with a light bio load , it was working just fine for about a week and a half. It was pulling out a fair amount of skim mate. Today i woke up and when checked on my tank all was fine, about ten mins of looking over everything my skimmer started to overflow. It was making so many bubbles it kept overflowing. The first thing i did was check the adjustment knob. It was turned down all the way and still producing too many bubbles. I turned it off took it apart, put back together and still overflow with tomany bubbles. Any reccomendations? or advice

[fishysteve]

If you still have the packaging, clean up the skimmer and return it. They are always problematic.

[ctjim2005]

You can also adjust your volumn using the gray knob. instead of 90 degress straight up and down turn it a little to restrict (adjust )flow. The height of the main column can also be adjusted up.

[RileyCFR]

I just adjusted the grey knob, I helped but the skimmer is still producing a lot of micro bubbles, but that did stop it from over flowing. the odd part is before the grey knob was fully open and it would even produce as much bubbles. Its as if the pump got a second wind and it is pushing a lot more gph...

[Andrew]

the nobs to adjust the coralife skimmers are a bit of a pain. What prob. happened was the the skimmer was breaking in and the water level was set too high. just try and lower the water level in the skimmer some and see what happens.

[RileyCFR]

Did adjust, working better... we'll give it another week or so. Thanks for the help...

[fewells]

make sure your pump is clean. I had a pump get something in the intake and it actually caused it to draw more air and I got a lot of microbubbles.

[ledford1]

IME, the CSSs can be touchy around feeding time and around water changes. When I do either of those, I adjust the valve to lower the water level in the skimmer.

I have mine drain into a bucket. If it overflows, that gives me a bit more cushion before any water ends up on the floor.

[sjfishguy]

Make sure the air intake is clear. I have found that the factory silencer becomes clogged easily and the skimmer becomes problematic (microbubbles, etc). I have been using small black airstones as the silencer (they are under $1) and replacing them every few months. My skimmer has been working a lot better since I have been doing this.

[RileyCFR]

Thanks a bunch, will tkae all advice given...

[goulashriot]

i had the same exact problem you are having with the skimmer. i had the same model, exact same problem. tried cleaning it, tuning it, everything. it would work great for a day and then overflow out of nowhere.

my solution: scrap it and get a new skimmer. i upgraded to the next size coralife makes and i havnt had the problem once. i now have a 125 gal rated skimmer on my 30 long, and my tank couldnt be happier.

i feel your pain though, i ended up having to keep the skimmer in a bucket because it would continually overflow. i say just get rid of it.

[otrlynn]

I have had the same skimmer for about 4 months, after the initial break in period and fiddling with the knobs to adjust it, it is working well and fairly consistently. I have found that you only need to move the red knob on the top of the skimmer a very tiny amount to change the bubble level in the skimmer i.e. change it too much and you will get overflow. Hopefully, you can get things adjusted so that you don't have to junk it...

[RileyCFR]

All is better now and it is working like a champ, lets see if it lasts... I hope it does so I don't have to JUNK IT...

[killagoby]

PS- Stay away from Coralife...