# need help with coralife skimmer



## bartwilk (Nov 7, 2007)

So I bought a used coralife skimmer 125G i think 
I put it in my sump and it was working like a charm, it started making gunk right away
Then the next day I thought I'll make improvements to my skimmer
I thought that the pump is too high and I'll lower it with a python hose to the bottom
It all looked nice I turn it on and I get baubles but no skimming.
It's like the baubles seemed larger.
So then I went to the internet for clues.
The pump was to low so I decided to raise it back up 
And I'm still getting the same thing lots of baubles but no skimming 
cleaned everything, I changed the air line i took the silencer off, still the same 
I left it over night and nothing, lots of baubles but no skimming.
there is one more thing that I'll try the house from the python vacuum diameter was a little smaller, I had to run it under hot water to get it on.
Help please 
I will post some pictures 
the first one will be a picture before i started tinkering with it 
HELPPPP


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

From what I remember of CL skimmers, they do not perform well with head pressure...meaning that the water level that the skimmer is sitting in should be within 1-2" from the hanging bracket.

Larger bubbles generally means that there is something in the water that is interfering with bubble formation (surface tension) like oils.

Let it run for a day or two to see if it will skim.

IMHO, I've done my share of modding/tweaking these things in the past and IME, it's not worth the time put into it for *marginal gains* in performance. That time is better invested working extra hours for a more recent skimmer that will out perform it and have less issues, ie skimmer overflow, etc, etc, etc. There are decent used skimmers that can be found.

If you can live with it and it keeps the water Q in check, spend time on other things that will not frustrate the heck out of you trying to mod this thing...especially with the holidays around the corner.


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## bartwilk (Nov 7, 2007)

is it possible that the diameter of the house makes the difference in the baubles.
I got a large house at home depot and will try in the evening


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

The "simplest" mod is to cut the venturi stem and drill out the hole to accomodate 1/8" OD rigid tubing (RT) used for air line. Cut the tip of the RT to be inserted into the hole at a 15-30* angle. The slanted opening should be facing away from the direction of water flow and about at centre of the opening. Crazy glue the RT to secure it.

The larger opening will help draw more air in but it's a fine balance of air intake where the air drawn is chopped out by the needlewheel impleller for the appropriate bubble size and pump stalling from too much air.

HTH.


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

Moved to equipment section


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## bartwilk (Nov 7, 2007)

I am going out of my mind now 
Nothing seems to work 
I got a biger house I raised the pump back up and still nothing 
I get baubles it's just that they don't produce any foam 
I cleaned the pump 
I am out of ideas of how to fix this damn thing


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

I have a pretty new SS that I can trade you. Right now I'm just using the pump to circulate my SW for changes so I don't really care about the body or anything else.


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## bartwilk (Nov 7, 2007)

Sorry new to saltwater 
What's an ss


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Coralife SuperSkimmer = CLSS or SS for short.


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## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

Can you lift the whole body of the skimmer higher or lower? If the water is too high in the sump, it won't make bubbles.

Also make sure the adjustment valve coming up from the pump is fully open. And make sure that the air inlet going in to the venturi tube is free from salt creep or other build-up.

One thing that I did when I first set up my CL skimmer years ago is attach an air pump to the air inlet. this kept the supply of air going. Not sure why it was needed, but it could have been the water height in the sump was higher than it is now. I don't need the air pump anymore.

Also if the pump and interior parts are clogged with dead algae, it won't work very good, but that might be a problem unique to my current tank...


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## bartwilk (Nov 7, 2007)

Sure what would you like to trade for


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Um...yours?


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## bartwilk (Nov 7, 2007)

Okay
Somebody told me this 
The more you clean your skimmer the longer you will have to wait for it to brake in again, even used skimmers 
and so I left it on, come back at night!!!
its skimming again


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

It depends on how you clean your skimmer. I just rinse and wipe with a sponge that is just used for cleaning the skimmer cup. The foam head builds back up within a few minutes.

Using vinegar, letting it dry out while you are doing mods will take a bit of time for the foam head to build up again.

Glad that it's working again for you.


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

bartwilk said:


> Okay
> Somebody told me this
> 
> its skimming again


sorry, but you just think it is skimming, because you never seen real skim.

If you are planning to stay in SW get good skimmer. many used are sold for the reasonable price.

I had this "skimmer" before ..... Most of the time it was overflowing and rum gallons of the water on the floor.
be careful...

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