prizm skimmer

[NanoMan]

my skimmer produces millions of bubbles which blocks my view on the left side of the tank. will it work just as good if i turn it down?
is a UV steralizer something i should get?

[OrionGirl]

??? What kind of skimmer are you using? Most skimmers I've seen keep the bubbles internally, so the frothy gunk bubbles up to a collection cup and the water is returned sans bubbles. Maybe you should have the return flow into a sump, so the bubbles can dissipate before hitting the main tank?

A UV isn't needed with most tanks. IMO, a good quarantine tank will serve you far better than a UV. For reef tanks, UV kills off much of the food source for filter feeders, and can cause a jump in nitrates--all those bitty little corpses decaying just isn't good.

[NanoMan]

it is a red sea prizm skimmer.
works up to 90 gallons.
i was told it was good.
it sucks the water in and spits out billions of bubbles
and then collects the bubbles again and creates the foam i guess. i havent cleaned the collection cup yet because there is very little grime in it. the bottom line is i do not like this skimmer if this is how it works. it ruins the view of my tank. there is a massive cloud of bubbles that i am not going to get used to.
am i doing something wrong? it is set up correctly.
this is a bummer dood.
suggestions?
any are appreciated.

[BrianH]

How long has the prizm been running on your tank? open is the valve on the intake?
Most skimmers require a breakin period of between4 to 14 days. After this period the skimmer should begin producing foam and not bubbles.

Brian

[NanoMan]

it has been running for little over a month.
look at my pic post on the first pic.it is a lot worse then that.

[Corax]

I can't say why the thing is making em, but an effective bubble trap is to take a piece of sponge and rubberband it in place right above where the water goes back into the tank... Don't restrict the flow of the thing, as that might impeed the skimming process if it raises the water level inside the skimmer, just catch the water before it hits your tank..

[NanoMan]

filter floss will be ok ?

thx for the replies peeps

[Corax]

It might, all yer trying to do is give a softer landing to the spill water.. This will catch the bubbles and keep em out of your tank.

[BrianH]

Nopatience,

How far open is the valve? If you are running it wide open try turning it back a little to see if that will reduce the bubbles.

Brian

[makai]

I have the same exact skimmer...love the thing...works fine and you should see the crap this skimmer picks up. I've heard many bad comments about prizm, but i must say they were all wrong. Maybe i just got a good one....;)

Anyway, for the first two weeks the bubble were puring out also.
I played with the valve until they were hardly seen. The valve was pretty much shut. The valve is very sensitive and must be mooved a very little bit each time. After about a week the bubbles will stop.

Even now the smallest little adjustments...after each tiny adjustment wait about 3 minutes until it levels off. It took me a half hour just to get the bubbles in the chamber to be dry bubbles rather than wet ones... Wet bubbles will fill the chamber way to quick.....

my experiance...hope it helps

[ERRN7]

I second Makai. I have one and I absolutely love it. I didnt have hardly any "break in " time. Sometimes I notice that when I feed or add additives I notice a change in the sound it makes for just a few seconds. Other than that mine just "hummmms" along quietly.

[NanoMan]

i fooled with the valve for bout an hour last night and all is well.
i really havent picked up much and i have four fish that i feed well.
common?

[makai]

Check out my little diagram....

Red line = totally closed, off

Green line = full open

Black line = my setting

I have two triggers, and they are messy eaters. I actually just cleaned the catch cup and the smell of that water was gross. I won't mention what it smelled like...use your imagination....:eek:

[NanoMan]

i adjusted the valve and it is working pretty good. i guess i wasnt really payin att. to the fact that i was running it wide open.
durrrr...
thx fellas