trouble with my skimmer

[jam]

i have an cpr bak pak,does not make a lot of noise, but it does not seem to get much of gunk in it, any help in how to adjust it?

[reeffreak]

Sorry,everything I've read say they don't work very well.

[Bifferwine]

Yeah, I don't know of any way to make them work better. They just aren't a very good product in the first place. Sorry.

[montoya]

I've had a BakPak on my 55 gal. for years and like it. I rarely mess with it and it performs well. A few suggestions:

1) If you view your unit from the side the bubble flow should reach all the way to the bottom of the air side of the unit. If not - check your pump to make sure nothing is clogged and adjust the airline "muffler". If you are using one of the CPR recommended pumps and it is operating properly you will easily get enough air to fill the column.

2) Try setting your collection cup a little lower in the water. I set mine so the surface of the water and bubbles come about 1/2 way up the tapered portion of the collection tube. This is lower than the manual recommends but works great.

3) If you're still using the Rio pump consider changing to the Accela or MaxiJet currently being recommended on CPR's website. I switched to the Accela. They are both lower priced than the Rio and a much more simple design. I found the multiple air inputs on my Rio were always clogging.

4) On pumps - are you using one recommended by CPR? You can't rig any ol' powerhead up to the skimmer. It has to be the correct flow and have the air input before the impeller.

4) How much "gunk" are you getting now? It takes my 55 about 4 days or so to completely fill the skimmer cup. I have a fairly light tank load.

Give these a shot. First is the air. Again if the pump and airlines are not clogged or defective you can easily get the air chamber on the BakPak full of bubbles. The other minor adjustments are then secondary.

[fishbait]

also, if the skimmer is new it can take a week or two for it break in and skim like it's supposed to.

[jam]

thanks montoya, i cleaned it, messed around some on the level, and now its doing really well, 3 days to fill almost full, sir, i am in your debt..

[jhnrb]

Glad you resolved your problem. Ive also used the bak pak in the past on some nano units I had and smaller tanks. if adjusted right and maintained properly they are a great little unit. The CPR plant is about 1/2 hour from my house. I am also using some of CPR's products in my equipment room. good luck. keep us posted.