Too much foam in my Remora skimmer

babyduke · 03/12/2010, 07:31 PM

Just set up the Remora skimmer and it seems like the cup's collecting too much foam that it's leaking through the top hole. Plus the cup has lots of water in it. Any suggestion.

marioensf · 03/12/2010, 07:38 PM

Try keeping the cup as high as possible; let it break in if it's brand new

babyduke · 03/12/2010, 07:41 PM

Is it normal for the cup to collect water? Water is rising slowly and pushing the foam out through the top hole.

Percula9 · 03/12/2010, 10:02 PM

I personally think those skimmers are not good. I don't know any of my LFS's that sell them anymore. Some units work well and others don't. They are inconsistent from unit to unit.

marioensf · 03/12/2010, 10:11 PM

What kind of pump are you running on it? if you have a pump that's over-rated for the skimmer it might be the issue. I have the std. Remora running it with a MJ1200 and works flawlessly. Foam should push a little of it out of the respiration orifice on the cover but a minimal amount, nothing to flow through the little hole.

babyduke · 03/13/2010, 08:32 AM

I'm running with a MaxJet1200. I'm afraid if I keep this running while I'm away, I'll come back and find a big mess on the floor. How do I collect more dry foam without all the water?

sdc19982002 · 03/13/2010, 08:44 AM

As said above, raise your skimmer cup. I have my rubber o ring about an inch from the bottom of the collection cup, you may need to go a little lower. Give it a chance to break in a little.

LSBoogie · 03/13/2010, 08:59 AM

1" seems to be a good number on mine as well. I had it at halfway and filled the cup with icky water in about 10 hours. Now at 1" ish and 12 hours later and not even to the 1" mark yet, much thicker looking....tastes more sewage sludge now...

Tank14 · 03/13/2010, 09:02 AM

Same thing is happening on my skimmer. There is so much foam and the bubbles do not pop. My skimmer is about 2 years old though.

babyduke · 03/13/2010, 09:14 AM

Cup is at its highest but the water is still to high and pushing the foam through the hole. I googled about and it says if the water contains stresscoat it can produce too much. Out of habit from my freshwater days, I do add quite a bit of stresscoat so maybe that is the cause here. I'll be doing a major water change so hope that'll help.

marioensf · 03/13/2010, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tank14

Same thing is happening on my skimmer. There is so much foam and the bubbles do not pop. My skimmer is about 2 years old though.

You need to clean the intake, un-screw the nylon plug inside and use a round bristle brush, do the same from the barb hose connector, this skimmer is meant to be cleaned too for them to perform good

marioensf · 03/13/2010, 11:32 AM

Even pricey skimmers go nuts when some stuff is added; might be the reason why yours tends to foam and overflow. I use to buy long ago Microvert and every single time I poured some in the tank, the skimmer would just go crazy and pop the lid up on the collection cup.
The inner tube/riser of the collection cup sits lower than the top rim of the collection cup, if the skimmer works normally, the excess skimmate should pour/flow back into the reaction chamber.

03/12/2010, 07:31 PM	#1
babyduke Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 210	Too much foam in my Remora skimmer Just set up the Remora skimmer and it seems like the cup's collecting too much foam that it's leaking through the top hole. Plus the cup has lots of water in it. Any suggestion.

03/12/2010, 07:41 PM	#3
babyduke Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 210	Is it normal for the cup to collect water? Water is rising slowly and pushing the foam out through the top hole. Last edited by babyduke; 03/12/2010 at 07:58 PM.

03/13/2010, 09:02 AM	#9
Tank14 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Canandaigua, NY Posts: 284	Same thing is happening on my skimmer. There is so much foam and the bubbles do not pop. My skimmer is about 2 years old though. __________________ --Chris "Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes." - Oscar Wilde Current Tank Info: 4'x2'x2' 120gallon mixed reef, 2x Radion Gen2. 40g breeder sump, oct-xs 200 skimmer

03/12/2010, 07:38 PM	#2
marioensf Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 2,502	Try keeping the cup as high as possible; let it break in if it's brand new

03/12/2010, 10:02 PM	#4
Percula9 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Orange County CA Posts: 3,819	I personally think those skimmers are not good. I don't know any of my LFS's that sell them anymore. Some units work well and others don't. They are inconsistent from unit to unit.

03/12/2010, 10:11 PM	#5
marioensf Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 2,502	What kind of pump are you running on it? if you have a pump that's over-rated for the skimmer it might be the issue. I have the std. Remora running it with a MJ1200 and works flawlessly. Foam should push a little of it out of the respiration orifice on the cover but a minimal amount, nothing to flow through the little hole.

03/13/2010, 08:32 AM	#6
babyduke Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 210	I'm running with a MaxJet1200. I'm afraid if I keep this running while I'm away, I'll come back and find a big mess on the floor. How do I collect more dry foam without all the water?

03/13/2010, 08:44 AM	#7
sdc19982002 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Wills Point,Texas Posts: 925	As said above, raise your skimmer cup. I have my rubber o ring about an inch from the bottom of the collection cup, you may need to go a little lower. Give it a chance to break in a little.

03/13/2010, 08:59 AM	#8
LSBoogie Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Loveland, Colorado Posts: 142	1" seems to be a good number on mine as well. I had it at halfway and filled the cup with icky water in about 10 hours. Now at 1" ish and 12 hours later and not even to the 1" mark yet, much thicker looking....tastes more sewage sludge now...

03/13/2010, 09:14 AM	#10
babyduke Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 210	Cup is at its highest but the water is still to high and pushing the foam through the hole. I googled about and it says if the water contains stresscoat it can produce too much. Out of habit from my freshwater days, I do add quite a bit of stresscoat so maybe that is the cause here. I'll be doing a major water change so hope that'll help.

03/13/2010, 11:32 AM	#12
marioensf Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 2,502	Even pricey skimmers go nuts when some stuff is added; might be the reason why yours tends to foam and overflow. I use to buy long ago Microvert and every single time I poured some in the tank, the skimmer would just go crazy and pop the lid up on the collection cup. The inner tube/riser of the collection cup sits lower than the top rim of the collection cup, if the skimmer works normally, the excess skimmate should pour/flow back into the reaction chamber.