Dead skimmer!
 

Grrrrr came home from work tonight to discover my skimmer wasn't running. I've taken the whole thing apart, and the pump is completely fried. Doesn't turn on no matter what I do.

It's a SWC Xtreme 160 cone skimmer. The thing's not even 4 months old!

I bought it from The Reef Shoppe in Lloydminster, and I don't think I have time to order another one and wait for it to ship. That's at least 3 days with no skimmer on my tank.

Does anyone know somewhere I can buy one locally tomorrow? Failing that, does anyone have a suggestion for a replacement skimmer that fits the same general footprint that they've seen in stock in Calgary recently? My sump really doesn't have a lot of room to play with and I loved the SWC because the pump was under the body of the skimmer.

3 days without a skimmer I think is not a problem. Just do an extra water change in the meantime. That will probably remove more from the system than the skimmer in those three days....

Considering its only 4 months old I would get the store or SWC on the phone and get another pump sent out. Hopefully they will give you one for free.

3 days or even a week, i wouldn't worry too much.
And like Palmer said some water change and you are fine.
Plus the 1st thing i would do is get hold of Reef Shoppe in Lloydminster and to resolve the problem with your pump.

I would get ahold of Kelly @ The Reef Shoppe and see what he can do for you, he is a fair man and I am sure he will help you out some how.

don't stress at all man. There are alot of systems out there skimmerless. I ran my 60gal skimmerless for 6 months with no issues

I am sure SWC will send you a new pump.

If you really want a new skimmer fast, I just ordered a bubble-magus NAC3.5 from red coral and he said that he ordered 2 of them, so he should have 2 there on friday

Thanks everyone for the prompt responses. Kelly from the Reef Shoppe e-mailed me back within minutes (Top notch customer service!) and walked me through some disassembly step via e-mail.

Turns out I haven't been thorough enough with my cleanings - the impeller magnet had actually fused to the central pin it's supposed to spin around. I thought the pin and the magnet were one piece and the pin was supposed to spin as well, but I was sitting there scratching my head wondering how the pin was supposed to rotate when it was anchored with such snug rubber fittings.

Chalk that up to me being an idiot.

Again, can't say enough about Kelly's response.

+1 reef shoppe

PS, it's been 5 minutes and already a nice thick head of foam. I freaking love this skimmer

fyi - next time you are on ebay - buy a battery powered air pump - 20 bucks shipped. Keep it handy with a pack a fresh batteries for times like this/power out. :)

Adam, Thanks your kind compliments. Also glad to know that you found the source of your problem. The Reef Shoppe is always willing to help. :wink:

wrong thread...lol
how does that even happen?