[Birdlady]

Skimmer: AquaC EV 120
Pump: one of the manufacturer recommended pumps, Mag Drive 5

Problem: One day(after over 6 months of use, the level inside the skimmer went too high, leaving no room for bubble production. No matter how wide I opened the included gate valve, I could not get any lowering of the water. I even switched pumps to a new mag 5, did not improve.

Solution: I thought I had cleaned the skimmer entirely, from top to bottom, BUT apparently I did not. I hooked it back up and still, no skimmate. I have ozone running through the injector, so I disconnected that for several days. Nothing. I was getting really steamed so I pulled the injector off again, for a sanity check, and low and behold! SALT CREEP! Where, for the love of Pete, did it come from as it draws air in from not really near the water level. Anyway, I cleaned it with really hot water, and now it works just fine!

Maintenance: I am striving for the "cup of skimmate per day" as recommended by Anthony Calfo, who believes that our skimmers should be pulling out alot more than most of them are, regardless of how much we paid for them. (Of course some are easier to get working better than others). Towards that end, I clean the riser tube every other day and have been very slowly tweaking that gate valve once per week to see if I achieve and additional performace enhancements.

Conclusion: I really like this skimmer, it is relatively maintenace free, makes good production out of the box. It is quiet and easy to clean as well!