How fast is a protein skimmer supposed to fill up the cup? And is it supposed to be mostly water? Maybe I have it adjusted wrong, but I plugged it in and adjusted it until it was as low as possible and it still fills up the cup in under 5 minutes with what looks like relatively clear tank water. Just curious what might be wrong with it or if it were possibly a short between operator and machine. Thanks in advance!
It shouldn't fill in 5 minutes and the water shouldn't be clear. It should have a darker appearance... dark tea, often stinky :} I've never owned that particular skimmer...but similar. Usually you turn them on and adjust the water level so that the top is somewhere towards the bottom of the collection cup. It will eventually form a foam that bubbles over the inner cup and is collected. I empty mine ever other day or so. Hope that helps.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuLhEBIMzOo&feature=related
Do you have the return outlet blocked by any thing. I know it comes with a basket that your supposed to put the return in and if the return is restricted it will fill up quick that is if its hung on the back of the tank. If its in the sump I may need a pic to see if I can spot the problem. I have run these skimmers before and they work pretty good for me.
This is what the skimmate should look like. This skimmer is a coral life and is on my frag tank at the moment.
how deep in the water is the pump??? try picking the skimmer straight up until the pump is just barely under the water... i have these but they are indeed finicky and take some fine tuning... this skimmer must be in a sump with a top off device to keep the water at a constant level and the pump needs to just be under the water line... i have also noticed even if the pump is at the right depth the skimmer itself can be tooo deep into the water. post a pic of the skimmer from further back so we can see how it sits in the sump ...
OK, I started to add it to my DT, but for safety's sake and for my own peace of mind, I still had water and sand in the 10 gallon we had setup, so I put the skimmer in there to see if I could get it to work correctly. I discovered there is an outlet at the top of the return, and if it is blocked, or put underwater, the skimmer seems to do what it is supposed to. I don't know if it is filtering out detritus from the tank, but it is removing sand that was stirred up when I put the skimmer in. Is this ok and can I put it in the sump on my display tank? Or am I ruining the skimmer by putting that extra outlet underwater? Thanks for all the responses, I will put a picture up today after work.
ok i took a video of the skimmer running, because I dont think it is making enough bubbles. If you click on the link in my signature it is the top left box that doesnt have a picture. There are two different angles and I hold the air off on one hole to show the effect as well as the air intake to show that effect. I really dont know much about them, but it seems like there should be more bubbles.
It is producing the right amount of bubbles. You might want to try to turn the return pipe so that the end of it is just a little out of the water. If the return is under the water to much it will cause the water level in the skimmer to rise. At the the start of the collection cup video when you have it turned down that looks like that is where it should be. When you close the vent off on the return it creates a siphon and will not work as well. It looks like it is working correctly you just need to adjust it slowly and keep an eye on it for about an hour to see what the skimmate is looking like and adjust and then watch it a little longer. These skimmers are very touchy so you need to make small adjustments and let the skimmer adjust for about an hour before adjusting again. I have run these skimmers for about 1 1/2 years so I know how they work if you need to you can me sometime if you are having problems 920-6012 Sam
I'd agree, it looked good right at the begininning before you adjusted it. Let it run like that for a day. Usually for more/lighter skimate move the water level up a small amount.... darker/less adjust it down.
thanks! I'll adjust it to be the same as it was in the beginning of the cup vid and I'll post back if it still is acting funny.
It seems to be working now. It isnt filling up the cup very quickly. When it fills with skimmate I'll post pics. Thanks for the help and advice!
Don't have any pics of the skimmate, but it is a little lighter than grimmets pic above, but not near as clear as it was to begin with. Thanks for all the replies!
How wet you skim well be the biggest factor in your skimmate color. The wetter the lighter. Sams looks like he is skimming pretty dry, and that well be darker. Alot of people skim wet which well produce a lighter color. I always skimmed wet and that well produce a tea color and yes you well fill the cup faster. It is a good idea to clean and empty the cup everyday as the film on the neck of the cup greatly cuts down on the skimmers efficiency, that is why some of the highend skimmers have a optioal system that helps keep the neck clean.
ok, I thought that film made it work better ( due to the "breaking in" stage ) Guess I'll clean that up tonight... Thanks for the info!
Stop acting like your skim don't stink! :} I saw that in a signature once and thought it was funny...couldn't resist. Back to your regularly scheduled thread in 3... 2... 1...
I skim dry on 2 out of the 3 skimmers I run but thats just a personal preference. Skimmers do work better when they are run on a wet skim because the the film doesn't get as caked up on the inside of the cone and allows the skim to go into the cup. Be sure to adjust that skimmer in small amounts It will overflow if you adjust it to much without watching it for about 10 minutes.
thanks for the info! I have mine running so the skimmate is about the color of apple juice, is that ok? Also, if my water level in the sump changes even slightly this thing goes wonky, I'm talking less than 1/2 inch change in water level changes the skimmer enough to either completely overflow, or the water level in the skimmer drops almost to where you detach the skim cup. Is that normal?
The water level where the skimmer sits should not change. Only the area that the water level should change is where your return pump is. And yes these skimmers will do some funny things if the water level doesn't remain at a constant.
unfortunately with my sump/refugium, I don't have anywhere to put the PS except the pump chamber. What is the best way to convert it to a straight sump without fouling the tank and starting a cycle?
