Skimmer Cleaning

[Reefland]

As our tank continues to develop, so does my cleaning and maintenance routines. I often clean the skimmer and make sure the collection cup is empty but how detailed do you get when cleaning your skimmer? Do you completely clean the collection cup and riser tube or just give it a good rinsing?

Regards,

[scubadude]

If I see problems like algae blooms occuring in my tank then I clean my skimmer religiously. If my tank is fairly in good condition then I clean the collection every week or two. Since your tank is new and you will be adding stuff I would suggest keeping it clean as much as possible. The cleaner you keep it the better it will skimm. A good indication is when you cant see the bubbles in the riser tube LOL....seriously though if its skimming that heavy then keep it clean before it gets to that point. A nicely tuned skimmer will tell you whats goin on with your tank generally. As your tank matures it will not skimm as much and you will gradually start spending more time dosing calcium and buffer then cleaning your skimmer

[Reefland]

Thanks Rocky!

When you say clean, you mean wipe the collection cup and the riser tube clean, like you might your bathroom mirror (without the Windex of course) ? Should I pull the entire skimmer out and clean what I can reach inside the skimmer, which isn't much? The skimmer still pulls out plenty of skimmate but at times the foam isn't as "dry" as we might desire. To this point, I have just rinsed the collection cup but considered cleaning it in detail; it is really nasty in the riser tube.

[scubadude]

Originally posted by Reefland
Thanks Rocky!

When you say clean, you mean wipe the collection cup and the riser tube clean, like you might your bathroom mirror (without the Windex of course) ? Should I pull the entire skimmer out and clean what I can reach inside the skimmer, which isn't much?

Yes wipe the collection cup and the riser like you do in your bathroom....oh wait a second that didnt sound right...hehe....well you know what I mean I wouldnt worry too much about pulling the entire skimmer out but after a while if it starts building up then yes by all means pull that mamma jamma out and clean it. think of the muck in your skimmer as a restriction for it to perform its job

[Reefland]

Thanks bud, I will clean it thoroughly tonight.

Regards,

[kevinpo]

Hi Scott,
I use a sponge to wipe the inside of my riser tube and collection cup. I do this once a week. With my type of skimmer the riser and collection cup come off as one assembly then once at the sink I separate them and wipe/rinse them down. There is usually about a 1/8" thick film on the entire riser tube.

HTH,
Kevin

[dkh0331]

Like Kevin, I use a sponge to wipe my cup and riser tube out, except I do it 2X per week. Any less and the riser tube fills up w/ thick gunk and skimming production goes down. I also 2X/week change out my wooden block. I wipe it off w/ the sponge as well and let it dry out until my next cleaning. Going this route, two blocks last about 3-4 months.

David

[dougchambers]

Scott,

We run a Euroreef CS6-1 and clean the collection cup at least once a week. With the ER it's real easy as you can pull the whole head off the skimmer and wash it in the sink.

We also do a full tear-down and clean every 4 months. This includes pulling the pump and skimmer completely out of the sump and scrubbing everything. Come to think of it, that's what we were doing until Midnight Saturday...

Enjoy!

Doug