• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Glass surface skimmer issue!

Bit late to the party here, but for others having the same problem, try this and hopefully it'll all become a bit easier: it's still to do with removing some of the air from beneath the hat, but to do so (with the hat full of air) simply flick your finger into the underside of the hat to force out some of the air, and repeat until it balances.
 
Tbh I have the aquascaper one and still find it a bit of a pain. Sinks, glugs, draws air in they seem very fickle depending upon water level, filter power and upper to lower inlet proportion. I bought it to eliminate the need for the eheim skim but I may end up ditching in favour of the trusty, but a bit ugly, eheim. I will persevere for now to follow the original plan but if I have to fiddle with it every other day it’ll be out.
 
Last edited:
I've tried the Hinterfeld and the Aquascaper version and gave both up as a bad job after 10 mins of fiddling...I came to the pretty swift conclusion that, although it's a good idea in principle, niether was ever going to work properly, no matter how well designed...
I bought the Eheim. It's actually fairly small and unobtrusive, and that's in a 60-P. It'll be lost in a tank the size of yours Ady, so I wouldn't worry about the visual impact too much.
 
I thought about the APS version, but over the past couple of years their customer care has left something to be desired. And reading some of the feedback on eBay the goods aren't always up to snuff either.
 
Hi Tim
I purchased one...never had a problem with it, although the design could be better...cable should be routed up the back!
The sponge area is a tad small a minus point also.
Plus point,the sponge compartment is easy to remove and clean!
For the price of a couple of beers I think its well worth the money.....:happy:😉
hoggie
 
Sorry hoggie, didn't mean to sound dismissive 🙂
The APS skimmer sounds pretty much like the design of the Eheim. Must admit to being a bit bugged by the power cable exiting through the bottom of the Eheim unit, a bit counter intuitive. But I guess it's easiest from the design and manufacturing point of view.
Without wanting to appear too cantankerous :angelic: I just object to APS...here's mainly why https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/aps-optiwhite-aquarium.50124/#post-492600 and then this https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/aps-optiwhite-aquarium.50124/page-2#post-492693 and this as well https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/aps-optiwhite-aquarium.50124/page-2#post-493278 etc...:meh:
 
I get your drift Tim!😉
Why should you give them your hard earned :greedy:cash, if the products you purchase are not up to standard!
hoggie
 
I've tried the Hinterfeld and the Aquascaper version and gave both up as a bad job after 10 mins of fiddling...I came to the pretty swift conclusion that, although it's a good idea in principle, niether was ever going to work properly, no matter how well designed...
I bought the Eheim. It's actually fairly small and unobtrusive, and that's in a 60-P. It'll be lost in a tank the size of yours Ady, so I wouldn't worry about the visual impact too much.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I have a couple from previous tanks already, just wanted less power consuming and intrusive items, but if the aquascaper clear built in skimmer isnt going to work then Ill use the proven eheim skim and like you say I won’t be looking at it :thumbup:
 
I know I'm late to this! But I literally just come across it then figured I'd try something different, I bought a cheap set from Aliexpress, impeccable quality really for the 38AUD I paid for the inlet outlet. But I was having issues getting the skimmer to float properly, it kept hiccuping then getting sucked down, but it also didn't seem to matter turning the adjuster on the bottom or not - so the next thing to do? Lose some weight! So I used my pipe cutter and removed about 15mm and now it works perfectly! It's VERY brittle plastic, so be cautious.
 
I have the aquascaper version and it works well 90% of the time. I have the bottom inlet completely open so have "minimal" skimming, but in my experience the minimal skimming is more than enough so far.

The only problem i have is usually after a water change or top up, but it does do it on random occasions too, it randomly starts bobbing up and down and sucking in air even though it had been working fine for hours/days.

I have a oase biomaster filter and have found a couple of things to help, usually I:
1) turn the filter off and press the priming buttons a couple of times and then turn it back on.
2) unlock the prefilter and pull it out a tiny bit and put it back and lock. Prime a few times and turn it on. This seems to work, but can't be sure.
3) gently tilt the filter a couple of times to expell any trapped air.
4) make sure my pipes are properly clamped/locked and haven't moved.

Still trying to figure it out myself as it is very annoying when it doesn't play ball. :lol:
 
I have a set of Dymax Crystal Glass Lily Pipes with skimmer running on a 60-H(45) with a 800l/h canister filter. Out of the box, the skimmer worked fine (beginners luck I guess). Last night it started to bob up and down. Could not get it to settle down. Today I cleaned the filter (last clean 4wks ago) and the lily pipes. Reassembled, turned the bottom inlet to 50% occlusion, and the skimmer inlet stilled bobbed again. I then used a small syringe to remove air from the skimmer float...and everything settled down. Perfect!
 
I'm reaaallly late to the party. I have stainless steel lily pipe with surface skimmer (12mm) and I can't get the skimmer to work! I don't understand what I'm doing wrong? The skimmer part doesn't move at all, it just sits there. Can anyone help?c7e44b39d90edb8c6936b083b7cfe3b4.jpg

Edit: managed to get it to work by removing some of the air from underneath the skimmer. Nowhere near as good as a dedicated skimmer so I won't bother.
 
Last edited:

Glass surface skimmer hack​

Reducing the air bubble from under the skimmer head works - but it’s still annoyingly unreliable. Ultimately - we’re just trying to balance the weight of the floating skimmer head; because every canister filter has a varying flow rate (due to media used, waste build up etc) in relation to the floating skimmer head. So rather than removing the air bubble - try this; cut a 10mm (+/-) section of hose (e.g. 5/8 inch or 16mm), slice it down the middle, and place it to one side in the skimmer head as a weight. Job done! No doubt you’ll need to tweak the ‘weight’ with a longer or shorter piece of hose, and you might even find something better to weigh the skimmer head with. Let me know if it works for you.705E6AEB-559A-437E-A375-65A9434A3B9E.jpeg
 
Silicone o-ring. Pack of 10 for a quid:

1622205691896.jpeg

Turn the filter to full whack and it won’t get sucked down. The adjustment screw for the lower intake can also be fully opened for maximum draw from the base and the skimmer without issue.
 
Paul Herbert said:

Glass surface skimmer hack​

Reducing the air bubble from under the skimmer head works - but it’s still annoyingly unreliable. Ultimately - we’re just trying to balance the weight of the floating skimmer head; because every canister filter has a varying flow rate (due to media used, waste build up etc) in relation to the floating skimmer head. So rather than removing the air bubble - try this; cut a 10mm (+/-) section of hose (e.g. 5/8 inch or 16mm), slice it down the middle, and place it to one side in the skimmer head as a weight. Job done! No doubt you’ll need to tweak the ‘weight’ with a longer or shorter piece of hose, and you might even find something better to weigh the skimmer head with. Let me know if it works for you.View attachment 169960
Click to expand...
I played around with the solution some more and discovered it wasn’t the weight of the hose (trying various weights and sizes - my bad), but rather the way it interrupts the water flow into the skimmer down pipe. Provided the section of hose doesn’t occlude the down pipe (i.e. it rests on the skimmer basket to one side - as in the picture) - it seems to work reliably. Would be great if someone else could test the idea and report their findings…
 
A bit old topic but I had the same issue. Problem was opposite, I have Aquael Ultramax 1500 and this filter is simply too strong even if the tube is fully open. Skimmer was bouncing under the water very often. I've never seen it suck completely but as it was bouncing it was creating annoying splashing sound and eventually let some air into the filer.

What I had to do was to inject some air beneath the head of the skimmer with syringe. This addition of air is preventing the skimmer to be sucked down and balanced it.

Disadvantage of this solution is that this needs to be done after water change. Also at the moment I don't know if this is permanent and they air stays under a cap. I've been running this only for 10 minutes so let's see.

I have version with rotating skimmer head and If this won't help I will try to put some rubber bands to the skimmer. This will stop rotation but could fix the position and prevent bouncing. Disadvantage is that you need to have same water level all the time, otherwise it won't work.... Welp, why we can't have some easy solution which works...
 
The rotating skimmer head is the chihiros glass inlet pipe I presume?

Chihiros Spiral Glass Skimmer Inlet

Has anyone tried this? I had an EA version which broke during cleaning. https://www.horizonaquatics.co.uk/products/chihiros-spiral-type-glass-skimmer-17mm?variant=40738371469369 I did see a video of the skimmer part spiraling on a green aqua video. Edit: video link from Green Aqua
www.ukaps.org

I finally purchased it, arriving tomorrow. Not good if it doesn’t work.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top