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Sorta Urgent: Skimmer Pump Issue

Ok sad news... after 24hrs of sitting in 1:1 vinegar:water, I just gave it a try and still the same issue. I took a video of the behavior, pls look at it and advise...

 
The impellor is jumping around in it's housing. Usually the impellor has one or two points of contact where it's locked into it's axis. You probably won't get normal behavior without the front housing on to lock the impellor in.

It may be failing in that mode as well, in which case the impellor may need to be replaced.
 
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I know if the impellers is not spinning correctly on my skimmer changing the grommets at ends of impeller can correct spinning issues. Grommets get worn.
 
Depending on the model skimmer you can buy just grommets. or call tech support sometimes they may just send a set doesnt hurt to ask.
 
Today I received the impeller I ordered from eBay for $20, slipped it in and it worked like a charm :) The needle wheel & the grommets looked a bit different but overall same size & fit.

Gave it a rinse and the skimmer is now back & running in my sump. Here's my new question... The foaming is a little different from what I used to have from the old impeller.

Is it cos of the different type of needle wheel in the impeller -- or -- should I consider a change in the impeller equivalent to a new skimmer and wait for it to break in?
 
Nav said:
Gave it a rinse and the skimmer is now back & running in my sump. Here's my new question... The foaming is a little different from what I used to have from the old impeller.

Is it cos of the different type of needle wheel in the impeller -- or -- should I consider a change in the impeller equivalent to a new skimmer and wait for it to break in?
Click to expand...

The foaming and break in are usually about whatever contaminants come on the materials that wear off through use and exposure to the water. If you don't want to wait the 2-5 days it takes to break in, you can usually jump start the process by giving everything a vinegar bath or running the pump in a vinegar solution to clean it off.

I didn't do any of that and put a new skimmer and pump into my sump with tank water and it foamed like crazy for 2-3 days before it broke itself in. If I had known that was going to happen I would have given it a vinegar bath or pre-run it in a separate solution.

I've also had this happen from other components in the sump. For example, I had some new filter socks that came with something in them that caused crazy foaming. I went back and pre-washed all the filter socks a few times and it didn't happen when I used them after that.
 
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