Aqua C Remora Protein Skimmer

[Meadowlark]

I have my new protein skimmer hook up. I'm starting to get small amounts of foam. Here are some questions that I have:

After just 8 hours of operation the collection cup was 75% filled with very little foam and mostly liquid. Is this normal? Will it eventually be all foam. Should there be liquid going in there at all?

The pump is kind of loud. Would it be ok to shut the pump off for say four to six hours per day?

What should I hook up to the drain fitting on the side of the collection cup?

 

[sir_dudeguy]

After just 8 hours of operation the collection cup was 75% filled with very little foam and mostly liquid. Is this normal?

100% normal, seeing as its not even broken in yet. That will take about a week for any skimmer to break in. It will eventually be mostly foam, depending on how high you have the cup. The higher it is, the dryer (more foamy) the stuff is, and the nastier it will look because there's no water in there to dilute it. Put the cup lower in the skimmer, and it will come out wetter and more like tea or something lol. Its just preference really...some like wet, some like dry...i'm thinking i've read that wet pulls out more stuff, but it also pulls out a little bit of water, so over time you're gonna need to replace some saltwater back in the tank, you know??

For the pump...what kinda pump do you have? Mine wasnt overly loud...ambient room noise drowned out the skimmer. It was a bit noisy for the first week or so, but once it was broken in, it was a bit better.

For the drain fitting...is it just a spout type thing that goes off the cup? If so, just hook up some thicker airline/tubing to it and get a big jug or something so that it can drain into

 

[JPagliai]

That's normal for the Aqua C. Once some slime builds up inside the unit, you'll see more green stuff and less liquid. If you have a Remora, you should be able to adjust the height of the cup using the set screw on the side. If you raise it up a bit, it will reduce the amount of liquid, but still allow the foam to collect in the cup. I keep mine raised about 1/4-1/2 inch. You can turn the protein skimmer off for a few hours each day, provided your tank isn't overloaded with fish.