Protein Skimmer Pump went out

[AChambers5]

Hey just noticed my skimmer pump wasn't pumping anymore. I took it apart and cant get it to work...I looked at pumps and they are more then i thought, Will my fish be okay for a couple of days with no skimmer or should i try and barrow some money and get a skimmer going asap? On a side note anyone have a skimmer for sale?
-Andrew

[Tom@HaslettMI]

The fish should be fine. If you have corals and other inverts then the skimmer is more critical. Either way you should be fine for a while without a skimmer. Some folks run reef tanks without a skimmer at all (I don't, nor do I recommend it). If you're going to go skimmer-less then you'll just need to keep on a strict water change schedule.

Depending on the brand pump you may be able to get a replacement impeller (which is likely the issue).

HTH,
Tom

[binford4000]

Like Tom said,most pumps only requier an impellar replacement.What pump and skimmer do you have ?? It would help and you just might find someone who's got one laying around

[AZDesertRat]

Often skimmer pumps have needlewheel impellers that come apart with time. I had to repair my Turboflotor needlewheel several times over the years I owned it and it was always like new afterwards.