HOB skimmer not pumping

[AmberSunrise]

Ok I am no noob to the whole skimming process and have had my new skimmer for 5 months.

I did my water change yesterday and went to turn it back on and while I hear it humming it is not pumping properly, there is no suction and only a few tiny bubbles in the main chamber.

I have taken it apart and its surprisingly clean inside, the impeller spins just fine and none of the hoses or pipes have any debris.

I have tried blowing in the air valve but that just made bubbles in the tank.

Any ideas? Its been almost 24 hours with no skimmer now

 

[mariobrothersleeve]

Sounds like it lost prime. Turn it off, pull collectiom cup and fill reaction chamber until water comes out (inlet). 2 option, while running pinch off air inlet tube.

 

[AmberSunrise]

Yeah I have re-primed it like 3 times already still nothing.

There is no suction so cutting off the air doesnt do anything.

 

[kbuser92]

Something just be clogged, then. Probably the air hose if there's no suction.

 

[AmberSunrise]

After taking it apart 3 times and trying to blow into the air hose I decided to suck the air hose and after swallowing a bit of saltwater viola it works!!

 

[mariobrothersleeve]

Thats a girl! Aint nothing like a bunch of shit saltwater!

 

[2XAl]

I'm sure there's a dirty joke here but I'll leave it alone. I replace all air lines in the tank every 3 months-ish just to avoid headaches like this. A 50' roll of air line is only like $8 around here

 

[SarahSmile]

After taking it apart 3 times and trying to blow into the air hose I decided to suck the air hose and after swallowing a bit of saltwater viola it works!![/QUOTE
Can I just say, thanks to you, and a new impeller, I got my skimmer going again. I would have never thought to suck on the hose.
Thanks girl!