kien's 150g Room Divider Mixed Reef & Stuff

[kien]

So for the last few months I have noticed that my skimmer (Bubble Magus 220CS) hasn't quite been performing up to par. I've noticed that I just haven't been getting much in the collection cup, no mater what I do (wet skim, dry skim). I've tried adjusting the level of the water in the skimmer kneck/cup. I've even given the skimmer a thorough take-apart and vinagar bath. Another thing that is really aggrivating me is the fact that my skimmer seems to be ejecting a lot of micro bubbles out of it. Nothing has changed in the tank so I have no idea what could be causing this. I don't think it's the level of water that it is in because that hasn't changed in 5 years and I specifically designed the sump with the correct water height in mind for this skimmer.



Anyway, I'm getting quite frustrated with it and am about to toss it into the recycling bin. I can't think of much that can go wrong with a skimmer other than a faulty pump/needle wheel? Which baffles me because clearly the needle wheel is functioning because it is generating a lot of bubbles and they are entering the skimmer column. For some reason a lot of these microbubbles seem to be escaping the skimmer (out of the outlet).

I'm pretty much ready to buy a new skimmer but I haven't kept up with skimmers for 5 years now so I don't really know what's out there. Suggestions? Or does someone have an idea of what to investigate to repair my skimmer? I thought about maybe tryingn to replace the needle wheel itself, or maybe the whole pump, but it seems to me like both are doing their job? So if I replace those components and find that the skimmer still sucks goat nads, well, then that's money wasted.

Oh, and the pump that it uses is an Eheim 1260 with a needle wheel impeller.