Need help with Skimmer leak please (1 Viewer)

[PygmyAngel]

I have a Seaclone Skimmer I use on my 20g reef. I just cleaned it this evening as normal and put it back on the tank as normal....to find an hour later a pool of water all over my floor, traced it back to the tank, and discovered the skimmer leaking where the main piece connects to the tube-thingy (refer to photos). I took apart, reconnected....took apart, reconnected, checked w/ water, still leaked, as you see in the photos. There is an o-ring that is on the tube part where it connects inside the main piece where it should be, so that's not missing. I dried and cleaned the o-ring area, and the part it connects into on the main piece, reconnected, etc...still leaks. I didn't seem to have this problem till I removed it for cleaning just this evening....unless....I had a slower leak that I was not aware of all this time because I don't look behind the tank that often.....if I did, it's even worse now. Can someone please help me resolve this? The skimmer does pull out dark stinky gunk, so I don't want to remove it completely. If I can't stop this leak, I will be in the market for another, as this one fits just right on the tank, and has been doing just fine for my 20g. Please look at the photos and offer any help as soon as possible:
See where the drop of water is at the connection-it's a steady leak:

Another angle:

This is just a full view of the skimmer so you can see what it looks like, tell me if I have something hooked up wrong, see how I have water in it, etc:

(No, this skimmer is not new; I have been using, cleaning, working w/ it for almost 2 yrs. now. Don't know what the deal is all the sudden....But I do hate the way the stupid tube locks to the base piece. Retarded.)

I have this skimmer now off the tank till I can fix it...

Thanks....

 

[Guest]

I have had the same prob with one just like it. What I did was swap that o-ring with the one the connects to the pump. That fixed it for me. Yeha it will leak at the other end I'm sure but I really wasn't concerned because I was using it for the mean time until I got another one. If swapping the two dosen't fix the problem then I would go down to the local hardware store and try to find one that is similar to the one that is leaking. Im pretty sure that you can find one there but I'm not for sure, it is just a suggestion. From what I have read is that they are prone to leak there after you take them apart a couple of times.

 

[Guest]

I'm not sure how handy you are or if you would even like to attempt this. But here is a link that might interest you. I thought about trying it but like I said the simmer was just temparary. It makes sense to me that it would improve the effiency of the skimmer. Just some food for thought.

www.reefcentral.com/diy/seaclone_modifications.htm

 

[AggieBrandon]

The o-ring probably needs to be replaced or it is not getting seated correctly. My guess is it needs replacing. Ace Hardware usually has a pretty good selection of o-rings...I'd imagine home depot or lowes would too.

B

 

[DonnieKim]

Kim I have a seaclone skimmer body that you can have, for a mushroom polyp, or free, if you want it! It probably has some parts you can salvage to fix yours or just use the body of mine instead of yours!

 

[PygmyAngel]

I can go check for o-rings this week/wkd, I guess. I am at Lowes all the time anyway, now that I have a house....*sigh*...

And if that doesn't work, DonnieKim, maybe I can come by and try your seaclone skimmer body, if that really is ok. And I would offer a mushroom polyp, but I don't have any to give...I have 4 small ricordias, but I just purchased them over the last couple months from Frags N Crabs. The other regular mushroom polyps were choked away from the hair algae in my 75g....sorry....are you around this coming weekend in case the o-ring fix doesn't work on my skimmer?

 

[DonnieKim]

yes I'll be around all weekend setting up my new tank! Feel free to call me and come on by!

Donnie
409-789-7986 cell
409-945-3151 hm