Skimmer Cleaning?

[NaCl_H2O]

How often, if ever, does everyone break down their skimmer and completely clean it out (Reaction chamber too)? When I had a small in-sump Berlin/Turbo, I had to do this about every 30-60 days to keep it running well. Now I have the AquaMedic TurboFloater 5000 that is 6' tall, and "Not Easy" to clean out :o

I clean the collection cup on a regular basis, but the walls of the reaction chamber are starting to show some minor acumulation of "gunk". It is still working just fine. So, should I find a looooong brush of some type to try to clean it up, or just let it "age" like a good wine :-D ?

[bprewit]

I had a crappy early model seaclone that I modified by adding about 24" of PVC to, making work very good. Problem was i didnt take into account the need to clean the thing out eventually and it was impossible to clean. I ended up soaking it in water/vinegar for a couple of hours every few months to try and clean some of the gunk out of it. Seemed to work pretty well but after awhile I guess it built up so bad nothing was going to clean it out and I bought a new skimmer. Actually got a Precision Marine skimmer off of ebay for under $50 shipped. It is some odd model they made special for a certain store somewhere up north. Had to email PM for info. Great skimmer and short enough I can get a brush into for cleaning!

[SaltyJim]

You *may* be able to find a brush that long at places like PlanetK or Gas Pipe (pipe/novelty stores) if you have something similar in SA. I know they have 4' lengths, not too sure about longer though.

If you can break it down to that point, I think the 4' brush is less that $25.

[MikeyBoy]

I will be paying special attention to these answers, as I am about to fire up a 72" Turbo floater as well.
I was wondering about this.....Glad you asked the question Steve.

[clowntrigger]

I have spoke with the folks at AETech (they are the ones who make the ETSS skimmers) about skimmer cleaning. They tell me that a dirty skimmer can loose upwards of 80% of it's skimming ability as opposed to a clean skimmer. In particular, they said keep the foam column clean. We clean ours about once a week.

[GaryP]

I clean mine at least once a week and then break it down and clean it completely at least once every four months. Don't forget to clean out the pump impellor too. A lot of gunk and scale builds up in there.

Gary

[JimD]

Although my skimmer isnt that tall, I use a new, round type toilet bowel cleaner brush thats slightly larger than the diameter of the chamber,, let the skimmer soak in warm water and white vinegar for a while then scrub it with the brush, I would imagine that if you attached the brush to a broomstick or the like with duct tape or whatever, it would work like a champ.

[Ram_Puppy]

hmmm... next time I do a water change I am going to pull my remora pro off the tank and take a look see at it's insides... the acrylic down there is 'smoke' colored, so I imagine some light could get in... will see about cleaning it.

[NaCl_H2O]

Not the answers I really wanted to hear :cry: but that's what I expected.
Jim, a toilet brush with a large enough diameter (12") would belong to the Jolly Green Giant!

Maybe a chimney sweepers brush? Where can I find one of those? Then again, that might scratch the acrylic?

Maybe a paiin old mop might do the trick? (As Karen starts hidding all the mops in the house :o )

[brewercm]

Sounds like you need a chimney sweep for that monster.

[CD]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20564&item=4331344 424&rd=1&ssPageName=WD1V

That's a 12" poly chimney brush...would probably work well without scratching the acrylic.

Wendy

[brewercm]

My wife bought a brush that is about the same size as that with a handle that is about 4 feet long but the bristles are much softer. Not sure where she got it but it works great for her when she's cleaning out things like the shower etc.

I'll try to find out where she got it from and see if it might be something you could use.

[NaCl_H2O]

My wife bought a brush that is about the same size as that with a handle that is about 4 feet long but the bristles are much softer. Not sure where she got it but it works great for her when she's cleaning out things like the shower etc.

I'll try to find out where she got it from and see if it might be something you could use.

Let me know, that sounds like it might work!

[brewercm]

My wife said she got it at Garden Ridge Pottery and thought it was called Oscar or something like that.
It basically looks like a huge bottle brush for cleaning baby bottles but the brush is probably around 8 to 10 inch diameter. If they still have it they would be located in the house cleaning product area. Hope this helps out a little.

[matt]

In general, the cleaner a skimmer is, the better it will work. I'm not sure why there would be a build up of sludge in the lower part of your foam tube; maybe there's something in that design that makes it work like that. Mine usually collect junk only in the upper third or so of the foam tube, which is easily accessible with a brush or even your arm and a sponge once you take the collection cup off to empty it. But, basically, any area you want foam to accumulate you want to keep clean. Twice a year or so, I suggest to people that have my skimmers to take them out of circulation and give them a good bath in a weak muriatic acid solution. That really gets the crud out of the box and in the plumbing that's impossible to get to, and dissolves any scale or coralline algae that's built up.

[JimD]

Matt, what ratio of acid to water do you recommend, I usually use vinegar but it only does a so-so job on heavily gunked up areas.

[matt]

Jim;

I never really measured it; just started filling up the skimmer and dumped acid in as I was filling. Maybe about a cup of acid to 5 gallons of water?

[JimD]

Im gonna give that a try, thanks!

[GaryP]

Muriatic Acid is 20% Hydrochloric Acid. A 25% dilution would be 5% acid. That should do the trick.

Vinegar is 5% Vinegar. Its not as strong an acid.

Gary

[matt]

25% dilution? You mean like 1 gallon of acid to 4 gallons of water? That's WAAYYYY too intense for me. If anybody decides to try that, make sure you have gloves, goggles, old clothes, no metal plumbing, etc....My hands would get irritated just from the 1 cup to a few gallons ratio.

"Vinegar is 5% vinegar?" Hmmmmmm....

[GaryP]

You could go down to a 10:1 dilution on the muriatic. That would be 2%.

Sorry, I meant that vinegar is 5% acetic acid. That's what I get for doing posts when I'm tired.

Gary

[MikeP]

Always do acid into water correct or was it the other way around? Muriatic we use is fairly benign but I had to dilute some stronger stuff in the past and for the life of me can't remember which was the safe way so it doesn't boil and fume.