I have noticed some small boubble comming out of my skimmer, and I was just wondering if this is bad? It seems as though my tank is full with them, not like big ones just small ones.
Is your skimmer a venturi model? Sometimes it takes a bit of tweaking with the amount of air you are injecting into your skimmer. You do not want a huge amount of these bubbles coming into your aquarium.
The best way to judge the effectiveness of your skimmer is to look at the collection cup waste. The waste should be a thick brown liquid. It should not be clear in color. Worst case scenario, you would want a tan/black colored liquid, but preferrably it will be thick and almost like a paste. If you can turn your collection cup upside down and the waste sticks to the cup without spilling everywhere, then you have the perfect adjustment. Most people never get to this point, but you get the idea that the thicker the better.
My guess is, with the bubbles you are describing, you have a clear liquid. Try cutting back on the air input and see if this doesn't help.
sorry hijacking here!
I get a cup full of greeny brown liquid and it I only need to empty it about every five days. my instructions arnt very clear, to get a thicker waste what do I do less air, more air, sit the collection cup lower or higher lessen the tank return?
I have noticed some small bubble's comming out of my skimmer, and I was just wondering if this is bad? It seems as though my tank is full with them, not like big ones just small ones.
our advice is greatly apreciated
Micro bubble are normal for a new skimmer, Presuming your skimmer is new , If it hasnt stopped in a week or so id start wondering
Cat said:
I get a cup full of greeny brown liquid and it I only need to empty it about every five days. my instructions arnt very clear, to get a thicker waste what do I do less air, more air, sit the collection cup lower or higher lessen the tank return?
I personally have a remora pro so it may be diffrent from your's I find to get the best skim. Start with the cup in the lowest postion. This should produce lots of wet skim. Move the cup up a little at a time until it just barely reaching the top wait an hour and see if its still working. if its still working raise the cup a little more, If not back to the bottom and start again.
Key points to understand are!!!
Skimmers have a breaking in period it needs a couple weeks to get going, They need time to catch up with the bio load and apparently they work better once they slime up a little. They will need lots of adjusting for the first while.
The skimmer may stop producing if you chage anything in the tank, IE feeding, adding chemicals, even the oil off your hands can stop it. Any of these happen just leave it for a couple hours. It should sart back up on its own.
Once it catches up with waste production in the tank you shouldnt have to move the cup very offten unless you do something to chage the amount of waste goint into the tank. IE. drop a bunch of extra food in the tank, Adding new livestock will generally require you to make adjustments as well.
I am having similar issues with my venturi-style skimmer.
Here's the situation:
72 gal tank
skimmer in sump - water level 1/4" above the bubble wall
Skimmer seems ok - but after about 6 hours, the cup is loaded with clear liquid. The ball valve on the drain from the skimmer is wide open and the air line is wide open. When I close the air down, the water level rises in the skimmer. The skimmer has been off for about 24 hours now - but this hasn't fixed things in the past. The system has been set up for 6 weeks. Most fish and rock were transferred from my old tank (had a prizm skimmer on the back that worked great). Any ideas?
