Skimmer working or not - How to tell?

C

clownfish74

[I was finally able to hook up my skimmer over the weekend, leak-free (mostly) but it didnt seem to do anything but make bubbles???

I have a generic skimmer with a tube to allow the air in and a mag 5 connected to it. I have tubing at the input of the mag 5 so it takes water farther away from the sand bed (so it does not suck in the sand etc). I also have tubing from the mag 5 output (located at sand bed floor) to the skimmer (located at the water surface - part in water - part out of water).

I turned the mag 5 on and there was a minor leak in the tubing from the mag 5 to the skimmer but was only a drip so did not think it would cause any problems. A lot of bubbles were made inside the skimmer but it didnt seem to do anything but that.

How do you know if the skimmer is working?

Thanks.]
 
[How long have you had it running? Depending on your bioload, within a few hours you should see some skimmate forming in your collection cup (dark smelly stuff). The bubbles you're seeing are pulling waste products (organic gunk) out of your system.

Hopefully you've done some reading on how skimmers function, but if not, here's a link to get you started.

Skimmers]
 
[Shouldn't take long.

I've got a very small/simple co-current skimmer in my new 10 gallon tank. It's run with a small air pump. The tank is still cycling, but I could tell that it was working almost immediately. Within under a day the foam remains started pooling in the collection area as a dark yellow slime.]
 
[I thought "again just thought" that most people wait until the tank cycles before turning the skimmer on and even then with a bio load from corals/fish?]
 
[I run the skimmer the moment I have the tank running. No regrets.]
 
[I did not let it run very long. Perhaps I shall try again and set it up in a more permanent fashion to see what it can do.

I believe the inner diameter of the input tube is 5/8" diameter.

I had the tube pointed up so that sand would not get sucked in.

Should I do something so a fish (?) or something else does not get sucked in?

Thanks for everyones comments.]
 
[Hi Dan
Just my .02, Skim from the start and the pump input should be as close to the surface of the water as you can get it "thats where the scum will be". You need a screen over the pump inlet to keep the fish and the inverts out, foam filters are bad, as the grow nitrats unless they are cleaned often. HTH
Joe]



Edited By hydro on 1092150751
 
[Well, from everyone's advice, I figured I would try my skimmer again. So, I hooked it all back up and fired it up and waited. Bubbles did form enough for some to pour into the collection cup but it was mostly discolored water (which could be good in that the discolored part is the bad part) but I thought it would be a thicker slime kind of stuff. I dont know. Is this what I should be getting? It did seem to clear out the top surface crap that floated around.

However, the skimmer created billions of little air bubbles that quickly covered almost the entire tank. It was hard to see thru it and I was not sure if that was good for the fish. Is it? I dont want all those bubbles b/c it makes it hard to enjoy the tank.

Another question that I think I know the answer to: I'm guessing its a bad idea to have any metal type object in the salt-water, is this right? I have a metal clamp that connects the tubing from the mag 5 to the skimmer.

Thanks for all your help.

Dan]
 
[The closer the bottom of the cup to the surface of the water, the more skimmate you will collect. However, as you have already noted, if your cup bottom is right at the surface of the water, you will get a *LOT* of the light-colored skim and it is, verily, verily, I say unto thee, *low quality* skimmate and will keep thy butt busy dumping your collection cup out.

Mo' better to raise it a bit off the surface so that your skimmate is mo' dry - which means you are depending on bubbles of protein/fat/organic matter to form and rise up the collection tube into your collection cup, there to collapse and form a deep dark skimmate, which keeps your butt unbusy dumping the collection cup out.

My CPR bakpaks were used so I didn't have a way to adjust the height of the collection cups. I didn't even know there was an adjustmetn. However, I stumbled on a description of the 'O' ring that CPR uses to suspend the collection cup. The 'O' ring is a neoprene ring that goes on the outside of the collection cup and acts as a friction device to keep it suspended above the water. Key word for the 'O' ring is 'outside'. When I got my second CPR bakpak, I couldn't find the other 'O' ring I had ordered so would up using heavy rubber bands. They work and were essentially free. You could prolly find huge 'O' rings at Elliotts or HD or Lowes or? if you want them. Use black magic marker to color them rubber bands for aethetic reasons or color them with red/yellow/green/purple if it is close to Cinco De Mayo Days or Christmas...

Summary: collecting light-colored skimmate simply means. IMHO, you're collecting way too much water with your organics. Adjust your skimmer, whether it be intank/insump or HOT.

Oh, yeah - those bubbles go away in a day or two - you'll see them about ever time you clean your skimmer and let the plastic dry out...transitory, hurts nothing and can be kinda pretty if you back-light your tank with colored lights and turn your tank lighting off since there's not much you can do about it until it clears up on its own...]



Edited By cpalmist on 1092336029
 
[They sell plastic clamps at any LFS or check with online vendors. They fit around the tubing and snap tightly to grip the connection well. They can be undone with a pair of pliers and a screwdriver.

Microbubbles can come out of the skimmer for up to 2 weeks, but after that time period, the only time you'll see them is when you feed the tank or do a water change. The water tension shifts when you alter the parameters in these ways, but they usually clear up within an hour or two.]
 
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