How do I Clean my skimmer cup

K

Ksalsedo

Member
OK, here is a dumb question, how do I clean my skimmer cup on my RSM 250? I have had it up and running for almost two weeks and everthing is looking good but my skimmer cup is filling up. Am I suppose to remove the air hose every time I remove the skimmer cup to clean it? If I do won't that mess up the end of the air line and I would have to trim it to make it tight again. At that rate it won't be long before I would have to replace the air hose all together.

Also, how often should I clean it? When it fills up or every couple of days?

Do I turn off the skimmer when I remove the cup? Just checking because I have read that some people have a hard time getting the bubbles started up again.
 
lethal

lethal

Has been struck by the ban stick
You do need to remove the air line to take out the skimmer cup. I've been doing that for around 18 months and the hose is still fine. I clean out the cup once a week but that depends on how high you have it turned up. If you have the Sicce skimmer pump you should be fine to turn it off but it's not necessary. The previous RS pump used to have trouble restarting.
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
+1 to Leigh advise above... ^

I actually empty mine with a turkey baster with 1/2" cut off to open it more and a 1/2 gal jug from dollar store with handle

then once a week... I take it to the sink & wash it under warm running tap water, one big key is to clean the inside of the skimmer neck, I use a square of old white/blue filter as a wash cloth to rub down everything - I just leave my skimmer running as the cleaning only takes a couple minutes - I spin the neck out to clean it... hope something here helps

no dumb questions - we are all learning from each other all the time !
 
Bathtub

Bathtub

Member
Agree with the gurus above, but I like to clean the neck every few days with a bottle brush (dedicated fish tank only use). The protiens/ fats/ gunk that deposit on the neck into the skimmer cup can reduce how effectively the dry foam bubbles carry over into cup (only a bit I admit), but 10 seconds with bottle brush in sink fixes that.....
I would not turn off skimmer, but some do- the reasoning is that it can allow water to back flow into air tube and redisolve salt deposits there that may affect air flow to skimmer. This is actually a pain on the tunze 9002, where you do get salt build up in the final u bend between airline and pump into skimmer. I use warm water and ultrasonic jewelry bath every few months to break up....
Don't want to care you here- the rsm kit is great, just keep the skimmer cup basically from lowing back own neck you will be fine- tweaking to perfection will come in time, you will get the "feel" of the system, and is individual for each tank...
 
Mischko

Mischko

Member
I'd empty the skimmer cup when it is 2/3 full latest, just to be on the safe side in case the skimmer cooks over for whatever reason (food you feed e. g.). Only thing I adivise you on cleaning it, what ever you clean and need to scrape/brush off, try as much as you can and don't touch it on the inside with your bare fingers! Use a bottle brush or any suiteable brush.
Why not touch it with bare fingers inside? Because of the fat we have on our fingers, it will break the surface tension of the water and the skimmer will take again time to break in. If you want you can try it and rub off some skimmate in your cup with your fingers.
 
K

Ksalsedo

Member
Thanks for the suggestions that are helpful. The bottle brush sounds like a good idea.

One follow up question... I have my skimmer neck spun all the way up because when I try to adjust it lower it pushes the cup up out of place and not seated well. I have been adjusting the air flow to get the bubbles aprox 1/2" from the top of the neck, is that a good adjustment for the bubbles? Has anyone had issues screwing down the neck to adjust it lower?
 
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