Adjusting stock skimmer rsm 130. ANYBODY??

[Jax]

Original RSM 130 (not C or D) stock skimmer not skimming!
This thing SUCKS wussup??!
I know people just upgrade to a Tunze which is fine but I refuse to believe that red sea would put in a garbage skimmer that wont skim.

Pumps are working,
I can see bubbles being made up thru the skimmer,
the thing sounds like a damn JET with all the air being pulled,
tank water level is all the way up,
I have adjusted the valve on the air line from closed, half way and completely off.
skimmer gate all the way down to let the most flow thru the back.
I have done everything I could think of & I cant seem to get the bubbles to push out the neck into the cup.

The only thing I have noticed is that when the tank is full to the tip top I can get some bubbles about half way up the neck, when the tank needs to be toped off, nothing is in the neck. This leads me to believe that being full somehow helps but just not enough.

I know people have dialed in their skimmer, BUT HOW??
How much skim are you getting and how often do you have to empty the cup?
It wants to work, everything is in working order, I just cant get it dialed in.
I have 2 filter sponge stuffed down both sides of the skimmer. 2 on the left side and 2 on the right with a bag of chem pure blue between them on the right side.
should I take out some of the filter sponge? could this be blocking flow?

Tank is established up and running with live rock, coral & fish.

Any suggestions would gladly be appreciated, this is super frustrating : /

Thanks!

 

[Orlando-Jeff]

Hello Jax.
I have the C version and just like you, I had all kinds of problems getting the skimmer to work right. I even took it out for a couple of months because I was tired of the thing over flowing. Then one day, I decided to put it back in and give it a try again. I turned it on and let it fill up the collection cup 3 or 4 times and it finally calmed down and has been working great ever since. I don't know if your version has a sight glass on the side of the tank to show the water level but I keep my level about 1/4" below the line and the skimmer seems to work fine. I have the gate almost all the way closed so it is pretty much a dry skim. I empty the cup every 3 days or so. I have tried to open the gate up to get a wetter skim but the skimmer goes crazy so for now I leave it closed. It's been working for about 4 months now with no problems. My tank is been running for almost 2 years.

 

[Jax]

Hello Jax.
I have the C version and just like you, I had all kinds of problems getting the skimmer to work right. I even took it out for a couple of months because I was tired of the thing over flowing. Then one day, I decided to put it back in and give it a try again. I turned it on and let it fill up the collection cup 3 or 4 times and it finally calmed down and has been working great ever since. I don't know if your version has a sight glass on the side of the tank to show the water level but I keep my level about 1/4" below the line and the skimmer seems to work fine. I have the gate almost all the way closed so it is pretty much a dry skim. I empty the cup every 3 days or so. I have tried to open the gate up to get a wetter skim but the skimmer goes crazy so for now I leave it closed. It's been working for about 4 months now with no problems. My tank is been running for almost 2 years.View attachment 47401

I have read many people having the "Over flowing" issue like you had, but my issue is the opposite. I cant get the skimmer to skim up thru the neck and into the cup. Pumps are working and the tube is not kinked or clogged. The valve line sounds loud like a jet so it is sucking in air.
My version or the RSM does not have a window on the side to check the water level but I try to keep it up to bottom of the rim lip.
Any ideas?
Thanks.

 

[jonathan marmer]

Hello Jax.
I have the C version and just like you, I had all kinds of problems getting the skimmer to work right. I even took it out for a couple of months because I was tired of the thing over flowing. Then one day, I decided to put it back in and give it a try again. I turned it on and let it fill up the collection cup 3 or 4 times and it finally calmed down and has been working great ever since. I don't know if your version has a sight glass on the side of the tank to show the water level but I keep my level about 1/4" below the line and the skimmer seems to work fine. I have the gate almost all the way closed so it is pretty much a dry skim. I empty the cup every 3 days or so. I have tried to open the gate up to get a wetter skim but the skimmer goes crazy so for now I leave it closed. It's been working for about 4 months now with no problems. My tank is been running for almost 2 years.View attachment 47401

Did you find a solution? I’m having the same issue