Feast or Famine

[fishgate]

My skimmer either doesn't produce any skimmate at all or else it overflows. There is no midrange. This is the 2nd skimmer I got for this tank and it is identical in function to the first. Two different brands. So I think I have very little to skim. Would I benefit from turning off the skimmer and running it once a month perhaps? Or will that be an issue since the skimmer will have to "break in" again? It just seems like a waste to leave it running when it does nothing most of the time.

 

[Aquageek450]

I would guess that the skimmer is either not far enough below the water or it is too deep in the water. check what depth the mfg recommends and try to meet that. i be that will fix the issue.

 

[tzylak]

Leave it (them?) running 24/7. At least the water is aerated to keep fish breathing easier.
How long was your tank up?? -You'll get no skimmate with no protein in the water.
Mine goes crazy if I stir up the bottom or do a WC, sometimes it goes crazy for no reason at all. -Crazy means a lot of skimmate, and that's good .
Let it run, give it time (weeks).

 

[scooter31707]

Check the manufacturers recommended water level. Also, keep it running, you just have to keep trying to find tune it.

 

[fishgate]

It's set up correctly and has been running around 2 months now. The previous one was running for 2 years. Still almost no skimmate.

 

[chimmike]

what part of the sump is it in? It should be in a section where the water level does not change.

As for setting it up, it just sounds like you haven't dialed it in. Skimmer operation/setup isn't as simple as plugging it in. It's more of an art form than a science. Adjust it and give it time to see what happens.

What skimmer is it?

 

[Sk8r]

Also, with any new skimmer, wipe it down and wash it down with pure white vinegar, straight. That will help remove manufacturing oils and help it get working.

How big is your tank and how potent is the skimmer?

 

[fishgate]

lol - oi.... Again, this is the 2nd skimmer I have tried on this system. The first ran for 2 years. They were both set up correctly. This means they were broken in and were in consistent and correct water levels. Both were fine tuned and adjusted to the nth degree.

First skimmer was a SA CS-180 and current is a Vertex Omega 150. Both behave identically.

 

[Shawn O]

What livestock (and how many) do you have in the tank and how much do you feed? Do you vacuum the sandbed?

 

[TrogdorFTW]

Ahh tuning skimmers

Ahh tuning skimmers

I think we have all been down this road.
Did I buy the right one, why isn't it working right. Should I have spent $800 on a reef octopus. Well don't fret your fine, skimming is actually a pretty simple concept and the one you have will be just fine.

Your looking to get bubbles that increase in size right around where your skimmer starts to taper off.
___.|::::| <-- no little wet bubbles up here only big bubbles or froth
__../OOO\
__./OOOO\ <-- were looking for bubbles to start getting bigger around here
__|o.o.o.o.|
__|::::::::| <-- lots of tiny bubbles yay.
You have a couple of controls to accomplish this
1. depth of the water - increases back pressure on the outlet of the skimmer thus reducing flow slightly and increasing the water level inside the chamber should be in the instrucitons if not start at 8" and go from there you want to make sure the the water level minus bubbles is below the taper.
2. the outlet valve of the skimmer. close to increase back pressure (flow down level up) open to decrease (flow up level down)
3. the air line supplying the needle wheel (assuming you have the needle wheel style skimmer) as most do. if your skimmer didn't come with one you might have one that is too narrow, or possibly you made the line too long. long and narrow = less flow = less bubbles = bad. it came with your skimmer and you don't have to mess with it, my first skimmer was el cheepo and I had to buy air line tubing myself and install it.

If you have large bubbles in the taper with out getting small wet bubbles at the top of the neck its working don't worry if you don't get thick brown skimmate it might mean your water is clean. if you check back in an hour or so you should see foam forming at the top of the large bubbles this will work its way up into the cup eventually.

Also yes run it 24/7/365 unless your adding something that says "do not run skimmer for x hours" which at this point you should probably get your skimmer running well first then mess with other stuff.

 

[chimmike]

lol - oi.... Again, this is the 2nd skimmer I have tried on this system. The first ran for 2 years. They were both set up correctly. This means they were broken in and were in consistent and correct water levels. Both were fine tuned and adjusted to the nth degree.

First skimmer was a SA CS-180 and current is a Vertex Omega 150. Both behave identically.

 

[fishgate]

I think we have all been down this road.
Did I buy the right one, why isn't it working right. Should I have spent $800 on a reef octopus. Well don't fret your fine, skimming is actually a pretty simple concept and the one you have will be just fine.

Your looking to get bubbles that increase in size right around where your skimmer starts to taper off.
___.|::::| <-- no little wet bubbles up here only big bubbles or froth
__../OOO\
__./OOOO\ <-- were looking for bubbles to start getting bigger around here
__|o.o.o.o.|
__|::::::::| <-- lots of tiny bubbles yay.
You have a couple of controls to accomplish this
1. depth of the water - increases back pressure on the outlet of the skimmer thus reducing flow slightly and increasing the water level inside the chamber should be in the instrucitons if not start at 8" and go from there you want to make sure the the water level minus bubbles is below the taper.
2. the outlet valve of the skimmer. close to increase back pressure (flow down level up) open to decrease (flow up level down)
3. the air line supplying the needle wheel (assuming you have the needle wheel style skimmer) as most do. if your skimmer didn't come with one you might have one that is too narrow, or possibly you made the line too long. long and narrow = less flow = less bubbles = bad. it came with your skimmer and you don't have to mess with it, my first skimmer was el cheepo and I had to buy air line tubing myself and install it.

If you have large bubbles in the taper with out getting small wet bubbles at the top of the neck its working don't worry if you don't get thick brown skimmate it might mean your water is clean. if you check back in an hour or so you should see foam forming at the top of the large bubbles this will work its way up into the cup eventually.

Also yes run it 24/7/365 unless your adding something that says "do not run skimmer for x hours" which at this point you should probably get your skimmer running well first then mess with other stuff.

Thanks! This is a useful post! I will check what my bubbles look like but I am pretty sure I just have nothing to skim. If so, I will just run it once a month, which was my original question. One person addressed that, and I thank them. I will consider the water/air exchange that happens in the skimmer.