V2 Skimmer Help Needed Please

[rl1oyd]

As this is popular skimmer hope someone can help. Bought one of these skimmers today and low and behold i have a problem with it
Just about fed up everything iv bought so far iv had a problem with either faulty, damaged, not actually neede etc wasted loads of money and the mrs isnt impressed, cant say i blame her.
I bought an aqua medic pump with ocean runner skimmer about 6 wks ago before i set my tank up, second hand ebay. i didnt get round to plummin it in till last wk cos been away. Pump didnt work and i couldnt get the skimmer working. Bought this v2 today. Put it all together, its really loud even with the silencer on? Its chuckin loads of tiny bubbles into the tank even with the bubble trap on the end? Is this because its new it does these things? as its in my living room where i spend all my time. I noticed the side of the tank was wet. There is water dripping out from the outlet where it pushes together? How can i stop it doing this? So basically iv had to switch it off cos of the water dripping down the side of the tank, tanks full of bubbles and it sounds like the bath tub slurping the last few bubbles out

 

[ben1987]

you could tie wrap of jubilee clip the hoses tight so they stop leaking. Skimmers arent silent. Theres the noise of the pump and the air going in. The pump will bed in a bit and get quieter though.

 

[rl1oyd]

Thanks for the reply Bed
Ill try that, he has said they will replace the skimmer on Thursday when they get some more in so I could try that for now see if it works?
Is a skimmer something that you can switch off for a few hours a night?
just i obviously dont mind it running when im in bed or at work its just the few hours im watchin tv

 

[ben1987]

The actual skimmer is a just plastic. Thats not the noisey bit. Its the pump and the air going into the skimmer.

You could turn it off for a couple of hours i suppose, they are more effective ran all the time though.

 

[rl1oyd]

I ment Ben lol

Cheers its just a thought

Not the best thing to have going in the corner of the room

 

[ben1987]

well, usually stuff will die in the tank at night, so aslong as its running through the night an majority of the day it should be ok. But they take a while to get going each time they are off.

 

[rabbut]

I personally won't touch TMC V2 skimmers because of their motors. They use a Rio feed pump. These are notoriously un-reliable, and have a habit of crashing your tank when they over-heat and die, as they expose the system to Copper and a few other toxins from the plastic when they go. Also, as the copper conductive coils are suddenly exposed to the water in your tank, there is suddenly a risk of electric shock when they die... I know of many people whom have bought TMC skimmers and had them go over, actually, I know more people with motor issues with these than I do people whom are happy with the skimmer.

With the AquaMedic skimmer, you got really un-lucky. The OceanRunner pumps are a German built workhorse of the marine world, and take a heck of a lot of abuse. Work's Aquamedic skimmers have been ran dry for an excess of 12 hours at a time on a number of occasions and haven't needed replacement parts as yet

If I were you, I'd take the TMC skimmer back for a refund, and then replace the pump of the dead skimmer with a new one. All should be good then, those skimmers are quiet, easy to set-up, leak-free and reliable when well cared for (and usually when not so well cared for)

If you don't want to repair the dead skimmer, I'd recommend flogging or returning for refund, both those skimmers and picking up a Deltec MCE skimmer, or a Tunze

All the best
Rabbut

 

[rl1oyd]

Cheers Rabbut
I hack sawed my tank yesterday to get it to fit so kinda stuck with it now
Tbh i had the 3000 blue and it was against a black wall so looked a bit naff, this one looks better and smaller
Would this rio pump work with the aqua medic?

 

[rabbut]

It would if the water inlets are the same size, and they use the same/similar air-injection methods, but it's the rio pump that is the cause of me not liking the V2's The skimmer itself performs well, it's feed pump however does not...