Hermit stuck in skimmer pipe

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I noticed my top up unit empty this morning, when it was half full last night. I have seen this happen before, normally means a snail or hermit in the durso pipe.

Checked the pipe and found a hermit shell.

Took the shell out and still there is still something obstructing the skimmer inlet pipe. Probably a hermit without his shell

Any advice, how I could get this shell-less hermit out the pipe without having to disconnect all the plumbing ?
 
Can you get a wire coat hanger down the pipe to clear the blockage?

I'd reccommend a small grating over the pipes to prevent this happening again, one day you may end up with an empty tank :(
 
Could it not crawl its way out if you switched the return off for a while and even tried to entice it out with some tasty treat like a mussel? Thats if its alive, if its dead it`ll disintegrate but may slightly foul the water, not the best.
 
maybe some airline tubing used as a plunger
 
I like the plunger idea, only prob, is my overflow goes form 50mm to 30mm piping, so chances are the hermit is stuck in the smaller pipe.

I have had the return off for 4 hours now, hoping he would come looking for his shell

I will try the mussel idea, if nothing in the next hour or so, try the plunger


Thanks guys
 
use it in reverse, add a bit of insulation tape to make the point more rigid, then also pushing him from thin to thicker pipe.
 
Can you get a wire coat hanger down the pipe to clear the blockage?

I'd reccommend a small grating over the pipes to prevent this happening again, one day you may end up with an empty tank :(

Going have to look at something, I have a gate covering the entire overfloe, but these beasties still find a way through
 
Going have to look at something, I have a gate covering the entire overfloe, but these beasties still find a way through

In the UK there are grill gurads you can buy from a plumbing merchant, failing that could you superglue a grill out off egg crate ove the top of the pipe?
 
what i did was got a plumber to super heat a metal version of my overflow elbow, then i pressed it on egg crate to get a mold cut out, then silconed it in the real one at a slight angle
 
In the UK there are grill gurads you can buy from a plumbing merchant, failing that could you superglue a grill out off egg crate ove the top of the pipe?

Yeah I have some plastic grid over the durso inlet but not the air inlet, so can only think he climbed this structure, which I always thought no creature would take the chance or have the grip :whistling:
 
I like the plunger idea, only prob, is my overflow goes form 50mm to 30mm piping, so chances are the hermit is stuck in the smaller pipe.

No offence but why would you do that? Surely to keep it all at 50mm will be best, oh i`m being blond, does it all go directly into the skimmer which is a 30mm?
 
Yeah I have some plastic grid over the durso inlet but not the air inlet, so can only think he climbed this structure, which I always thought no creature would take the chance or have the grip :whistling:

Oops, sneaky little bleeders aren't they:lol:
 
OK Guys, find the problem, and all sorted. I looked inside the skimmer and could see something by the inlet.
5284971e5721c057.jpg


So took off the inlet connector and find this.

Not sure who it is, obliviously some sort of snail/mollusc

5284971e59e91987.jpg
 
I like the plunger idea, only prob, is my overflow goes form 50mm to 30mm piping, so chances are the hermit is stuck in the smaller pipe.

No offence but why would you do that? Surely to keep it all at 50mm will be best, oh i`m being blond, does it all go directly into the skimmer which is a 30mm?

Yip, any idea how to mod the skimmer inlet ?
 
glad u fixed it...

no ideas of hand, but will try and think of some
 
Yip, any idea how to mod the skimmer inlet ?

been thinking, instead of modding the equipment, try fixing the source, prevention is better than cure :)

what about my solution about inserting the egg crate in the elbow, then using dental floss to make the whole smaller
 
been thinking, instead of modding the equipment, try fixing the source, prevention is better than cure :)

what about my solution about inserting the egg crate in the elbow, then using dental floss to make the whole smaller

Could use the mesh that I have used on my scrubber, but it maybe too thin and clog up.

Egg crate maybe sufficient, as you just wanting to keep out the bigger critters, the smaller one just go straight through
 
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