Remora Pro skimmer - Did I make a mistake?

tonytwist007

tonytwist007

AC Members
Jul 13, 2005
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Several weeks ago, I made the decision to upgrade to a Remora Pro skimmer with an Mag 350 pump after almost a year of frustrations with the Red Sea Prizm. Well, 3 months later and I'm wondering if I made the right decision. My skimmer is returning a tonne of microbubbles into the tank, I've tried several suggestions from members of this forum as well as Aqua C customer service (i.e the use of filter floss) to no avail. I could overlook the microbubble issue if the skimmer was working efficiently but it does not seem to be. I've tried adjusting it at different levels but I do not get the thick, stinky skimate others do. I get a light greenish/brownish liquid and I'm lucky if I get a full cup in 3 weeks which is about what I was getting when I was using the Prizm. Am I doing something wrong here or did I just blow a good wad of money for nothing? :(
 
For the microbubbles, take a filter sponge (such as for an Aquaclear filter) and cut a slit in the middle just a little narrower than the outflow and slip it over the outflow. Be sure to change the sponge out once a week to prevent nitrate build-up.

Since organics tend to float towards the surface (like an oily film), try hooking up a Hagen surface skimmer to the intake of the Mag. I've got this setup on my tank and it works very well after a bit of tweaking.
 
I bought a remora pro about a month ago and begain to wonder the same thing when it skimmed for about 2 days then quit.

I thought since I had red algea in my tank, i had to have something to skim out but it turns out I must have been wrong. I put some red slime remover in my tank and boy did my skimmer kick in for about a week. I got some of the darkest skimmate yet, but once again, i'm down to about a quarter of a cup a week and after 3 weeks, the red algae has yet to return.

Bottom line, if your bio load is low, then there may be hardly anything to skim out

And I would definately try the sponge. Did wonders for mine.
 
You can also replace the Mag 350 with a Mag 5. It's actually a recommended upgrade by AquaC for the Remora Pro.
 
justin42279 said:
Bottom line, if your bio load is low, then there may be hardly anything to skim out
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing but when I do my water tests, my nitrate levels are at the high end of the test spectrum (at or above 100ppm). I do a 10% water change with RO water weekly. If my nitrate levels are that high, you would think there'd be a lot of waste or excess nutrients that should be pulled out of the skimmer. Am I wrong to think this way?
 
I also have a tank with a low bio load i just put a skimmer on. Even with the skimmer set to high i am not getting anything even close to flowing over into the collection cup does this sound familar to anyone besides tonytwist and justin?
 
Even with a low bioload you WILL of some dissolved organics in your water and your skimmer SHOULD be pulling gunk out fairly consistently. Fish of any size generate poop.

Skimmers are touchy items and often take a fair bit of tweaking before this is achieved.
 
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