RSM 250 Skimmer cleaning...

[YNot]

How often and how clean do you clean your skimmer.

Normally I do it about once a month.
It's always nasty but am I cleaning it often enough?
My parameters are spot on. No problems with anything parameter wise.

I clean it fairly well be it's never been spotless. Just spray with hot water, wipe down with a paper towel, rinse again and dry with a paper towel.

So...how ofter and how clean do you all clean your skimmers?

 

[Lipman]

I clean mine weekly with my wc!
I don't have too but figure it's a good time to.

 

[YNot]

I clean mine weekly with my wc!
I don't have too but figure it's a good time to.

I pull and clean the black filters, replace the carbon and...clean the skimmer once a month.
Normal WC is just a matter of cleaning the inside glass, pulling and replacing water.

 

[kderobertis]

Every three days

 

[blackbeltmom]

I clean it when it needs to be emptied.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

I pull my entire skimmer from the back & clean it every few months.

I clean my skimmer cup & neck, weekly.

Might read this post I wrote sometime back ... I follow the same cleaning tips on my 250

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/red-sea-max-owners-club/53043-skimmer-maintenance-130d.html

Extract from above ^

I took my skimmer out this morning & made a tremendous revelation - I always clean everything (in my tank thread is detail maintenance tips) - but today, I figured out something NEW (new to me), the plastic hose barb that the air line attaches to coming off the skimmer pump housing was 90% clogged with calcium (not salt) ! We have very soft water here & seldom have to descale like coffee pots & such, many part of country have frequent calcium (hard water) deposits - anyway, today I took a small price of wire & ran it in & out of this hole followed by using a small eye glass screwdriver to ream out all the white calcium build up, then I did the same thing to the plastic air valve at the top of the air hose (I had many times rinsed it in hot water and even boiling water), but the results of running the small wire & then the tiny eyeglass screwdriver was beyond belief - improved my performance 200% to just like new !!!

 

[goma]

I clean my skimmer cup weekly. Every few months I pull my skimmer apart and soak the skimmer motor in vinegar to clean it up.

 

[YNot]

Okay, so from what I'm gathering, there is no hard set rule/schedule for cleaning the skimmer.
Some do it every three days (if only I had that kind of time on my hands), others do it weekly. Some, every few months.

So I guess that my doing it when I do my semi-major cleaning is getting the job done.
Again, I'm pleased with my parameters. My corals and clam are all doing VERY well.
The fish, they are just as happy.

So I guess if it's not broken, don't try fixing it.

 

[goma]

I am surprised that you leave the black sponges in for a month at a time and you don't have issues...they are trapping a lot of detritus and it would seem they would cause issues.

 

[Lipman]

I clean my black filters every 2 weeks, im always scared ill have issues if they stay in longer..
Guess i learned something new today!

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

Most clean the skimmer cup & neck frequently... this is a 5 second task to remove... off to the sink, rinse under warm tap water & clean, then replace - all can be done in just a couple minutes.

pulling the skimmer out entirely takes a bit more... this process takes more like 15 mins or so...

hope this helps

 

[YNot]

I am surprised that you leave the black sponges in for a month at a time and you don't have issues...they are trapping a lot of detritus and it would seem they would cause issues.

Perhaps it's just me but when I pull them, there's really not that much gunk in them. I run the blue sided, fine filter that captures an amazing amount of junk. I clean it off about twice a week and on the third or forth time, I replace it.

When I do pull my black filters, I rinse then boil them in the microwave for about 5 minutes and rinse again. Mostly to kill off the bad stuff.
I tried running without the black filters but I was seeing too many micro bubbles in the tank.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

I run the fine filter too and and clean it off about twice a week and on the third or forth time, replace it.

 

[JEMM55]

how doi pull the skimmer cup?
The whole thing comes out and starts to make a mess

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

??? just lifts off...

 

[JEMM55]

must be stuck..ill try again.

does it matter if the skimmer is on or off?

 

[pablomay28]

must be stuck..ill try again.

does it matter if the skimmer is on or off?

Hold the skimmer body with 1 hand and take of the collection cup with the other. I used to have the same issue.

 

[pablomay28]

How often and how clean do you clean your skimmer.

Normally I do it about once a month.
It's always nasty but am I cleaning it often enough?
My parameters are spot on. No problems with anything parameter wise.

I clean it fairly well be it's never been spotless. Just spray with hot water, wipe down with a paper towel, rinse again and dry with a paper towel.

So...how ofter and how clean do you all clean your skimmers?

When I ran the stock skimmer I would clean out the collection cup every water change. I would do this every Saturday morning. The body and pump I would do every 6 months. Sometimes the venturi gets clogged up. I would run the skimmer body and pump in a water vinegar solution few hours and it would come out like new.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

I leave mine running