Problem with my Reef Octopus 100F

[new2r33f]

I have a 29g mixed reef tank and have been using reef Octopus 100F for the past 5 months. I has been working very well, until I this morning.

This morning I noticed that the skimmer is pumping the water through but it is not making any bubbles in the skimming chamber.

Any thoughts or suggestions as to why this might be happening?

Thanks.

[mcoomer]

The air inlet on the volute is probably clogged. Pull the air line silencer off and suck on the tube. If you can't get water out of it it's clogged and you need to clear the blockage. I went to a bike shop and got a brake cable and thread that down the airline to clear blockages. Works great. Just be sure to rinse it with fresh water when you're done so it doesn't corrode.

Mike

[new2r33f]

Ok, thanks for the suggestion. will try.

[new2r33f]

I was able to suck on the tube and got a mouthful of salt water. I am able to blow through the tubes and there doesn't seem to be any blockages.

Any other suggestions?

[mcoomer]

When you blow through it do you get bubbles? If not you're probably going to need to pull the pump and check that the impeller is intact and there is no blockage in the inlet or outlet. If you can move water and air you should be getting bubbles.

Mike

[polyp02]

I have the same problem. Although I am running a used Berlin Classic by RedSea with a Rio3100 pump(900gph). However mine is making bubbles but they are unable to go up the column and drain into the cup. I installed it last night and it was working fine but in the morning I didn't find anything on the cup nor did I see any bubbles overflowing into the cup, and my water still looks cloudy. I searched a user manual and found that it was missing the INNER tube, but it was working last night so why would it need it.

My only thoughts are that I probably cleaned it so good that I may just have to give it time for it to break in. Any suggestions?

[mcoomer]

Not sure what the "inner tube" might be but all skimmers have a break in period before they settle down and start producing skimmate consistently. Thorough cleanings can have the same effect.

Mike

[polyp02]

The Berlin skimmer is design like this; inner tube is where the initial air mixture takes place then the air/water mixture is allowed to go down the middle tube and gets rid of any micro bubbles before going up the outer tube into the drain.

Here is a link to the manual so anyone can take a look at its design.
http://akamai.f3images.com/IMD/UserManuals/RS1111.pdf

Thanks.

[new2r33f]

Thank you all for your responses and suggestions. I was finally able to unscrew the ring and cleaned out the pump.

I used a narrow and long drill bit and drilled a hole on the ring and then inserted a nail for leverage and unscrewed the ring.

Finally cleaned the pump and the rest of the stuff and now my skimmer works fine.

Thanks.