Help with Coralife Super Skimmer

kelley_mc · 11/01/2006, 10:46 AM

Hello everyone!

I ordered a Super Skimmer and put it together last night. However, I am having a problem with the silencer that came with it. When I attach the silencer, bubbler production stops. Once I remove it, it works fine but is quite loud. I have tried to blow air into and suck air out of the silencer and it is completely blocked. Basically, when I put the thing on the skimmer its like sticking my finger over the hole and blocking all the air. Anyone with a Super Skimmer out there that can check their silencer for me? I think I will need to have it replaced but I want to be sure.

Thank you!

scumonkey · 11/01/2006, 11:09 AM

My stopped the bubbles as well.....I replaced it with another silencer from and old non working skimmer i had laying around- works great now!

kelley_mc · 11/01/2006, 11:15 AM

Hmmm.... I think if I drill out the blocked hole if that would help with the airflow but I am not sure if that would defeat the purpose of the silencer.

How does the silencer actually work?

fishysteve · 11/01/2006, 12:48 PM

Try drilling out the hole.

unclereefer · 11/01/2006, 12:53 PM

Corallife will probably send you a new one.

kelley_mc · 11/01/2006, 01:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by fishysteve
Try drilling out the hole.

Are you basing this on experience?

kelley_mc · 11/01/2006, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by unclereefer
Corallife will probably send you a new one.

.

I have a call into them. They said that the "technical person" was not in today but will be in tomorrow. Hopefully they will just send me a new one and I can experiment with the old one. But I don't want to start drilling it if I may need to return it.

Thanks!

Kurt03 · 11/01/2006, 01:26 PM

can you blow into it? it might be cloged

kelley_mc · 11/01/2006, 01:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Kurt03
can you blow into it? it might be cloged

Nope!

Its brand new so I am not sure what could have clogged it but good thought. Thanks.

What makes the silencer so magical? Is there anything inside of it?

Kurt03 · 11/01/2006, 01:36 PM

i think it just has a few baffles in it, kinda like a muffler

jcr6479 · 11/01/2006, 02:16 PM

I had the same problem. It was in fact clogged. I pushed a needle through it and it has worked like a charm since and not loud at all. If you disconnect the airline from the skimmer you should be able to blow air through the silencer very easily. I also called coralife and they told me to close the valve that controls how much flow is comming from the pump. This did not work and I do not recomment it since you need all the bubbles you can possibly get into the chamber. Not sure what had blocked my silencer since it had not been running long enough for it to have been salt creep. It works great now.

kelley_mc · 11/01/2006, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jcr6479
I had the same problem. It was in fact clogged. I pushed a needle through it and it has worked like a charm since and not loud at all. If you disconnect the airline from the skimmer you should be able to blow air through the silencer very easily. I also called coralife and they told me to close the valve that controls how much flow is comming from the pump. This did not work and I do not recomment it since you need all the bubbles you can possibly get into the chamber. Not sure what had blocked my silencer since it had not been running long enough for it to have been salt creep. It works great now.

.

Thanks for the reply. I just looked down each of the openings. One is open, the other one is covered with plastic. I can see that it is still the molded plastic. I am not sure if they drill them out at the factory and this one was forgotten or what, but one side is clearly not open. I would love to drill it but I guess I will await Coralife and see what they say.

Thanks again!

BTW, you're happy with the skimmer?

jcr6479 · 11/01/2006, 02:40 PM

Yes. Very good skimmer for the price. My only complaint is that the cup is prone to overflowing. Try to skim dry and you shouldn't have any problems. I think I may have pushed through that plastic but since then my skimmer has improved 100% with no noticeable change in noise. the airline tubing with the silencer attached is responsible for bringing in air to the pump to create the bubbles. If there are no bubbles, the skimmer will not work. If I were you, I would push through it. Factory defect IMO.

Kurt03 · 11/01/2006, 03:41 PM

i have a 220 and set where the bubbles start to change just below the bottom of the skimmer cup. really pulls some nasty stuff out if you have it tuned right

jcr6479 · 11/01/2006, 03:55 PM

Same here.

kelley_mc · 11/01/2006, 06:11 PM

Thank for the help! I am definately going to drill it out and see what happens if Coralife doesn't want it back to replace it. I'll post back and let you know what happens.

rkelman · 11/01/2006, 06:14 PM

Boths of the ports are supposed to be open poke the covered one...

kelley_mc · 11/02/2006, 10:30 AM

I just got off the phone with Coralife and they are going to send me a new one. In the meantime, I will drill the one I have and let you know how it goes.

Tang Salad · 11/02/2006, 10:46 AM

Definetly drill or poke that bugger out.
It's a very simple device so don't be shy.

kelley_mc · 11/02/2006, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tang Salad
Definetly drill or poke that bugger out.
It's a very simple device so don't be shy.

Will do.

I just wanted to be sure I didn't screw it up just in case Corlife wanted it back to send me a replacement.

gabegmonkey · 11/02/2006, 12:20 PM

mine was sealed too and I just drilled it and now it's working right... Thanks for the info everyone! Nice Thread!

kelley_mc · 11/02/2006, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by gabegmonkey
mine was sealed too and I just drilled it and now it's working right... Thanks for the info everyone! Nice Thread!

How long have you had your skimmer? I wonder if this is a recent problem. I will "fix" mine tonight.

BTW, I used the skimmer on the LR I started curing last night and within minutes, this thing was foaming and pulling out some serious.... uh..... stuff.

gabegmonkey · 11/02/2006, 03:53 PM

Just got it like a month ago or less... I Couldn't figure out what I had done wrong and since it's on a tank at my work I didn't have a ton of time to experiment with it... So glad I happened upon this thread...

Ryanqk · 11/02/2006, 04:21 PM

I've had one for a few months now they really are a great skimmer for the price. Mine never had to be drilled or anything although i agree the cup is prone to overflowing. I may mod the cup soon...

kelley_mc · 11/02/2006, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by gabegmonkey
Just got it like a month ago or less... I Couldn't figure out what I had done wrong and since it's on a tank at my work I didn't have a ton of time to experiment with it... So glad I happened upon this thread...

Glad we could help!

11/01/2006, 10:46 AM	#1
kelley_mc Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,543	Help with Coralife Super Skimmer Hello everyone! I ordered a Super Skimmer and put it together last night. However, I am having a problem with the silencer that came with it. When I attach the silencer, bubbler production stops. Once I remove it, it works fine but is quite loud. I have tried to blow air into and suck air out of the silencer and it is completely blocked. Basically, when I put the thing on the skimmer its like sticking my finger over the hole and blocking all the air. Anyone with a Super Skimmer out there that can check their silencer for me? I think I will need to have it replaced but I want to be sure. Thank you!

11/01/2006, 11:15 AM	#3
kelley_mc Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,543	Hmmm.... I think if I drill out the blocked hole if that would help with the airflow but I am not sure if that would defeat the purpose of the silencer. How does the silencer actually work? __________________ Thank you to our troops! Current Tank Info: 37 gal AGA with 20 gal sump/refugium, Coralife Super Skimmer 125, Current Sunpaq 150 watt MH, 2 Koralia Nanos for flow, Ebo Jager 200 and 150 watt heaters, 65 lbs LR (Fiji, Caribbean, Uaniva), Chaeto, Quiet One 4000 return pump, 24 watt UV sterilizer

11/01/2006, 12:48 PM	#4
fishysteve Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 1,804	Try drilling out the hole. __________________ On a break

11/01/2006, 06:11 PM	#16
kelley_mc Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,543	Thank for the help! I am definately going to drill it out and see what happens if Coralife doesn't want it back to replace it. I'll post back and let you know what happens. __________________ Thank you to our troops! Current Tank Info: 37 gal AGA with 20 gal sump/refugium, Coralife Super Skimmer 125, Current Sunpaq 150 watt MH, 2 Koralia Nanos for flow, Ebo Jager 200 and 150 watt heaters, 65 lbs LR (Fiji, Caribbean, Uaniva), Chaeto, Quiet One 4000 return pump, 24 watt UV sterilizer

11/02/2006, 10:30 AM	#18
kelley_mc Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Connecticut Posts: 1,543	I just got off the phone with Coralife and they are going to send me a new one. In the meantime, I will drill the one I have and let you know how it goes. __________________ Thank you to our troops! Current Tank Info: 37 gal AGA with 20 gal sump/refugium, Coralife Super Skimmer 125, Current Sunpaq 150 watt MH, 2 Koralia Nanos for flow, Ebo Jager 200 and 150 watt heaters, 65 lbs LR (Fiji, Caribbean, Uaniva), Chaeto, Quiet One 4000 return pump, 24 watt UV sterilizer

11/01/2006, 11:09 AM	#2
scumonkey Moved On Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: NYC NY Posts: 467	My stopped the bubbles as well.....I replaced it with another silencer from and old non working skimmer i had laying around- works great now!

11/01/2006, 12:53 PM	#5
unclereefer Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Kansas Posts: 302	Corallife will probably send you a new one.

11/01/2006, 01:26 PM	#8
Kurt03 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Ohio Posts: 3,602	can you blow into it? it might be cloged

11/01/2006, 01:36 PM	#10
Kurt03 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Ohio Posts: 3,602	i think it just has a few baffles in it, kinda like a muffler

11/01/2006, 02:16 PM	#11
jcr6479 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Lafayette, LA Posts: 154	I had the same problem. It was in fact clogged. I pushed a needle through it and it has worked like a charm since and not loud at all. If you disconnect the airline from the skimmer you should be able to blow air through the silencer very easily. I also called coralife and they told me to close the valve that controls how much flow is comming from the pump. This did not work and I do not recomment it since you need all the bubbles you can possibly get into the chamber. Not sure what had blocked my silencer since it had not been running long enough for it to have been salt creep. It works great now.

11/01/2006, 02:40 PM	#13
jcr6479 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Lafayette, LA Posts: 154	Yes. Very good skimmer for the price. My only complaint is that the cup is prone to overflowing. Try to skim dry and you shouldn't have any problems. I think I may have pushed through that plastic but since then my skimmer has improved 100% with no noticeable change in noise. the airline tubing with the silencer attached is responsible for bringing in air to the pump to create the bubbles. If there are no bubbles, the skimmer will not work. If I were you, I would push through it. Factory defect IMO.

11/01/2006, 03:41 PM	#14
Kurt03 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Ohio Posts: 3,602	i have a 220 and set where the bubbles start to change just below the bottom of the skimmer cup. really pulls some nasty stuff out if you have it tuned right

11/01/2006, 03:55 PM	#15
jcr6479 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Lafayette, LA Posts: 154	Same here.

11/01/2006, 06:14 PM	#17
rkelman Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Belleville, Ontario Canada Posts: 3,438	Boths of the ports are supposed to be open poke the covered one...

11/02/2006, 10:46 AM	#19
Tang Salad Algae skeptic Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: 78702 Posts: 3,098	Definetly drill or poke that bugger out. It's a very simple device so don't be shy. __________________ Your algae is not special. Current Tank Info: TBD ADA 120-P SPS NLPS

11/02/2006, 12:20 PM	#21
gabegmonkey Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 413	mine was sealed too and I just drilled it and now it's working right... Thanks for the info everyone! Nice Thread!

11/02/2006, 03:53 PM	#23
gabegmonkey Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 413	Just got it like a month ago or less... I Couldn't figure out what I had done wrong and since it's on a tank at my work I didn't have a ton of time to experiment with it... So glad I happened upon this thread...

11/02/2006, 04:21 PM	#24
Ryanqk Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Ft. Lauderdale Posts: 1,381	I've had one for a few months now they really are a great skimmer for the price. Mine never had to be drilled or anything although i agree the cup is prone to overflowing. I may mod the cup soon... __________________ MOM! I'm God Of The Sea People! Behold my tiny minions gloveling at my likeness! Current Tank Info: 75gl display, 20gl long fuge, CPR overflow, Octopuss NW150 skimmer, 4 x 110w VHO T12's and supplemental actinic, ongoing projects...