hydrophobic and hydrophillic

[boxfishpooalot]

When I feed my fish two kinds of shrimp one of them causes the protein skimmer to collapse the foam instantly, while the other kind of shrimp causes the skimmer to foam so much that the skimmer cup overflows every time I feed it.

One is a grocery store frozen shrimp causes hyrophobic properties overflowing the skimmer cup. The other is frozen krill that is hyrophillic causing foam collapse.

What can be done to prevent this from happening. Carbon? Why does it happen molecularly.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

One may be oily or have particulates on it, while the other must have something like surfactants. I don't specifically know what chemical is doing it, but the article below describes the mechanisms:


What is Skimming?
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-08/rhf/index.php

 

[boxfishpooalot]

Ok but what can be done to keep a stable skimmer foam head? Thanks Randy!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Nothing much. Foam collapse almost always happens when feeding.

 

[m2434]

My skimmer seems to go really crazy when I get a batch of frozen food with too much gel-binder in it.