Skimmer Problem

[ErinCahir]

The recirculating pump broke on our skimmer this morning...
How easy is it to replace? (I know I've read about people doing it, so I assume not too hard)
How long can my tank go without a skimmer before things start going downhill?
Thanks!

Reef Octopus Recirculating Protein Skimmer (Here's our skimmer. The 6)

 

[bjohanson1234]

It doesnt look too difficult to remove. There appear to be several unions to easily remove the pump.

Also, once you get the pump out, I would try soaking the thing in a solution of 50/50 vinegar to water. Take the pump apart and clean all the internal parts. It could just be gunked up.

 

[ErinCahir]

Thanks BJ. I unplugged it because it was flat out not working... but now that I've plugged it back in, it seems to be working, just not as well as it was before.

 

[Hiker4twenty]

You might want to remove the pump and run it in some distilled vinegar for a while. Could be gunked up and need to be cleaned. The pump is easy to remove with the convenient unions. I run my tank without a skimmer and have been for over a year without any issues. Being that your tank is used to running with one it might cause a spike. You should do a water change just to be sure.

 

[Bifferwine]

If you have to replace it, I know Octopus uses their own brand of pump. You could get the same one if you order from the manufacturer, but I'm not sure how you would go about doing that.

 

[bjohanson1234]

If you need to, I bet that the LFS could special order it for you. They have the contact info and suppliers that you might not have.

 

[ErinCahir]

Thanks! I looked around online earlier this morning and couldn't find anything. We're going to clean it later today, but I'll talk to my LFS guy just in case.

 

[ErinCahir]

So I cleaned the pump out a couple days ago, and while I was running it in my sink in the vinegar, it was working awesomely. We hook it back up to the skimmer... nothing.

So today, I emailed Marine Depot. I knew it wasn't really their problem but I was really just looking for a number so I could call CoralVue. So I told the guy what happened, and he told me to check the airline. Sure enough, we pulled the line from where it was attached to the little arm, and lo and behold, it worked! So long story short, the little tiny piece that the airline was attached to (on the arm, not on the pump) was gunked up. Problem solved! Woop woop!

 

[dcantucson]

Good to hear Erin.

I had an Octopus skimmer pump go out recently. I ordered a replacement from a distributor/retailer, because I couldn't find out any manufacture info on them. Got the new pump and it works great but I still had a bad pump. I did a lot of searching on the manufacture and finally found them but not under the Octopus name. I contacted them and they replaced the pump within a weeks time. No questions asked. Very nice to deal with. Now I have an extra pump for an emergency. :)

 

[ErinCahir]

Nice! I didn't even have to go through Octopus! The customer service and Marine Depot is that awesome.

 

[dcantucson]

I do like Marine Depot too. I has to go through the manufacture because I had purchased my skimmer from a LFS which changed hands and I didn't get a receipt.