Cyno and green algae growing inside my skimmer

[SalteeDogg]

I can see red and green building up on the inside of my aqua c ev skimmer. It looks like the microbubbles that are touching the algae area are actually bigger bubbles then all the rest of micro bubbles in the skimmer. Do I need to turn the skimmer off and scrub this algae out. Will it make an impact on the performance? Never have had this problem before so I don't know.

 

[Smitty]

I have the same skimmer, and I agree, you should clean it every once in a while...it should improve performance also.

 

[mng777777]

The algae is building on the side thats exposed to your fuge light and theres little you can do about it other than to just clean it from time to time. Thats pretty common

 

[andysgirl8800]

do you have any light hitting the skimmer?

 

[Ted]

I dont have the same skimmer but I have the same thing going on in mine. I have been taking a long handled algae scrapper and cleaning the inside every few weeks. Mine is attached to a hob fuge so I dont want to take it apart and mess up the fuge.

 

[Ninja Spear]

Why not take something and cover the major Tube on the skimmer so it will not get all the light? I have been thinking of doing that to my set up.

 

[SalteeDogg]

Since this skimmer is semi new and has just started to break in I didn't know if it would wash the slime off the inside and make me have to start all over on breaking it in again? I went ahead and got a napkin and scrubbed the algae off and started it back up. Looks to bubble up to the same point it was before I turned it off. I was just trying not to get any of my hand oils inside the skimmer as everytime I stick my hand in the tank it makes my skimmer stop working for about 10 minutes. Its pretty sensative to the oils on my hands. The algae is only growing on side that my refuge light is on. I will see if I can block it out sometime.

 

[SalteeDogg]

I have the same skimmer, and I agree, you should clean it every once in a while...it should improve performance also.

How often do you clean the inside tunnel of your collection? The part that the foam goes up through before it falls in the cup? Mine was just cleaned 2 weeks ago and now it solid green gunk built up on the inside. Does this need to stay clean as well?

 

[Bifferwine]

You need to keep the neck clean. I have to clean mine at least once a week.

 

[mng777777]

Why not take something and cover the major Tube on the skimmer so it will not get all the light? I have been thinking of doing that to my set up.

Then the cover will become covered in algae...

 

[mng777777]

How often do you clean the inside tunnel of your collection? The part that the foam goes up through before it falls in the cup? Mine was just cleaned 2 weeks ago and now it solid green gunk built up on the inside. Does this need to stay clean as well?

You need to keep the neck clean. I have to clean mine at least once a week.

Yep clean it weekly with the cup.