Micro bubbles and noise

J

journey0820

AC Members
Jan 31, 2008
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My protein skimmer is kicking out alot of microbubbles. How can I fix this? The directions that came with the thing tell me nothing. Also, I had to unplug it last night because it was obnoxiously loud. If I put my finger over the primer, it is lovely and quiet. Can I put some sort of cap on this permanently or does it provide some use (pulling in Oxygen?) for the system?

Again, thanks for all of the help.
 
Grins said:
What kind is it?
Click to expand...

The crappy kind I'm sure. The official name is [FONT=&quot]TAAM Rio Nano Skimmer 110gph.


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What type of skimmer? What is the "primer"? Here is what my old protien skimmer looked like. If the primer is the air tubing, look at this picture and see how the air tubes are routed to make no noise at all. Microbubbles.. eh, always a pain.. you can reduce them but it is almost impossible to completely rid them.

2229689600_a9d3d235af.jpg
 
The primer on this one is a piece of plactic thin piping up through the middle (on outside, not inside of tank) that I have to put my finger over to get the flow started. I only have to do this when the thing has been unplugged etc which isn't often. I'm just not sure if it serves any other purpose. If not, I'm putting silly putty or something over that bad boy. It's annoying. I'll try to get a picture later today. I'm trying to get some work done for a class I teach but naturally all I want to do is play with and talk about my tank!
 
Ya, that is a really crappy skimmer. Any skimmer that cost around $30 I have to wonder about. Looks like Red Sea made the skimmer. Looks very similar to the Prizm, which is terrible. They do make caps that go on the end of the tubing to adjust the air intake and to quiet the noise. May wanna try one of those for around $1 to see if it helps. Cheap fix to try.

You will probably be better off not using the skimmer and just get a bag of purigen in your sump/filter. It would do much more than that skimmer will ever do and for only $8 a bag.
 
I found a trouble shoot website. Here is what they said about noise:
PROBLEM: EXCESS NOISE FROM SKIMMER
Note: All skimmers make some noise and are not completely quiet
SOLUTION: 1. Clean the impeller
a.​
Remove water
b.​
Remove the intake tube. With a small brush clean the inside of the impeller well
and impeller​

c.​
Reassemble Do not force the intake tube back onto the impeller as the ceramic
shaft will break​

d.​
Follow installation instructions​
2. Impeller damage​


If there is any damage to the impeller replace the impeller and shaft​
3. Venturi tube is set too high​

a.​
Position the venturi tube so that the bottom of the tube is only a ¼” above the impeller​

b.​
Loosen the compression nut on the top of the intake tube. This will allow the tube to slide up and down. Slide tube all the way down then raise the tube so the air bubble just start then tighten nut.​

Sounds like all sorts of things can be causing the bubbles. I've adjusted the pressure and that is helping. Also maybe something to do with it being a new tank and way that those new tank chemicals (or lack thereof) affect surface tension.

Any other ideas appreciated.
 
Well, if it is new, it does take a week or two for a skimmer to really break in and start to work efficently. If it is less than 2 weeks running, the problems your experiencing is normal on almost all skimmers.
 
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