is my skimmer pump dying?

[turbo2oh]

I have a bubble magnus nac 3.5. It has an atman 1100 pump. My tank is new with a real light bioload but its not producing a lot of bubbles.

 

The very first day or two it was going crazy and I could barely get it to stop overflowing the collection cup but now it looks like there's not enough bubbles in the reaction chamber. 

 

Based on this pics can you determine if this pump is on its way out and needs to be replaced?

 

PIC 1 : Is the pump unhooked from the skimmer but with the airhose still above water.

 

PIC 2 : The foam head at the top after a few minutes of running after a feeding.

 

Thanks!

 

[YHSublime]

Skim dryer. Adjust the bubbles to foam up to the bottom if your cups neck, and wait 24 hours, should see some nice production. Looks like you're just skimming ultra wet atm

[Origami]

Is the water intake on the pump clear of the wall of the sump? You want to make sure that water is pulled into the pump with as little obstruction as possible. Also, make sure that your air line is clear. Finally, make sure that your salinity is correct.

[turbo2oh]

Thanks for the advice, I turned it down as suggested. Its already looking more foamy after only an hour or so.

 

Its away from the wall and the air line is clear. SG is 1.024.

[DuffyGeos]

I run my salinity at 1.025-26 which I think a lot of people do. As said before, make sure the air hose is clear of any salt build up. Also the fitting on the pump that the air hose attaches to does not have a salt clog. I have to clean that impeller housing fitting every couple of weeks and it makes a big difference.

[wildcrazyjoker81]

My atman pump did that on my BM skimmer. Ended up being a broken impeller. Double check the impeller. After replacing, skimmer worked like new.

[Cliff Puckstable]

I also have a bm skimmer and mine started to do this recently. The 90 elbow at the top of the tube was clogged.