Turning a Skimmer off

[Gallma02]

Hi all,

I have the Fluval P1 protein skimmer, it has been running in the tank for a week while it cycles. I have tried all the trouble shooting but sadly there is still a rather loud humming sound. As the tank is in the lounge my wife is starting to have a sense of humour failure. Therefore wanted to check if anyone turns the skimmer off for a few hours a day and will it be a problem?

Could be just the skimmer getting settled or the fact there are no inhabitants so wondering if this could be having an impact.

Thanks Mark

 

[Topline Marines]

Hi Mark, a couple of things it could be are, is it set up to run to manufactures spec? have you followed per what instructions say? im not familiar with that skimmer. It could just be a noisy pump? or is it noisy air intake? you could turn it off whilst you were in the lounge but you need to run it to bed it in. If its humming is the motor resting on something? Is it foaming yet? is it in the sump or hang on back? Trying to help but if its a noisy pump and there's nothing you can do, take it back for a replacement mate.

 

[Steve L]

You don't need to run a skimmer while a tank is cycling, so you can at least shut it down until you get some livestock in the tank.

I'm not familiar with your skimmer, but I looked it up. It looks like the collection cup has a plastic lid that rests on top of the cup. I have two Reef Octopus HOB skimmers and whenever I hear a buzz on either of them it's usually the lid rattling from the motor vibration. Try holding the lid down with your finger to see if the buzz goes away. Otherwise once your tank is established and you get some build-up of crud in the skimmer things will hopefully quiet down. If you think it's coming from the motor or pump, you might want to investigate further. That could possibly turn into a serious problem later on.

 

[Gallma02]

Thanks both, followed the instructions and tried your tips. Sadly hum is still there so will take it out and check the inside.

 

[MNRAM]

What I did was to put a sponge on the bottom of the sump and then put the skimmer on top of
the sponge. It quieted it down by 75%.