Protein Skimmer - How to Dial in

[mattruggiero]

Hey Guys,

I'm newish to the hobby. I just got the tank cycled and added a few fish and coral frags inside. Anyway, I'm having trouble dialing in my protein skimmer or understanding how to do it properly. This was an ongoing problem during the cycle.. I figured it was just breaking in. Anyway, I'm confused how to get the dark skim-mate everyone talks about. I get a lot of water in the cup.. sometimes it overflows.

I assume this is just user error. I need some direction. Any information helps!

The skimmer is a Aquamaxx ConeS CO-2

Thanks!

 

[kyle.nagel13]

You need to open up the valve. You're restricting the ware floor too much and it's just pushing water out. I'm no expert, but I started by setting it to where the bubbles were half way up the neck, then left it for a day. Then, a small turn at a time I closed it up. Remember, your tank is basically brand new, so you don't really have much to skim. Especially if you are still lightly stocked.

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[mattruggiero]

You need to open up the valve. You're restricting the ware floor too much and it's just pushing water out. I'm no expert, but I started by setting it to where the bubbles were half way up the neck, then left it for a day. Then, a small turn at a time I closed it up. Remember, your tank is basically brand new, so you don't really have much to skim. Especially if you are still lightly stocked.

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Thanks for the reply. So I've kinda done your method and have gotten a little skim-mate (although slightly watery) but I guess I get confused when it's ready for a turn and let the bubbles up the neck. I see big bubbles.. and I think they are supposed to be small? Or are small bubbles only necessary up to the neck? This is where I'm not understanding how it works.

I hope that made sense. lol

 

[urbanknight]

Have you read the instructions that came with? You may have missed a part that tells you how deep your skimmer should sit in water. Yes, you want millions of tiny bubbles in the skimmer. If it's producing only big bubbles, something is Beverly wrong.

 

[Sk8r]

^this matters.
Plus in a new tank there's precious little to skim. So don't expect huge result.

 

[mattruggiero]

Thanks for the response guys.

To answer the questions above..

urban... yes I did read the instructions and followed. My water level is at 9" and the recommended depth is 8.5" to 10". The bubble are small except the last few inches of the neck. Maybe this is how it's supposed to work. I'm new.. so I don't know.

Sk8r... you're right. I'm thinking there should be more skim-mate but maybe that's not reality with such a small stock. As mention above, I'm new, don't have the experience and am going to ask some dumb questions

Honestly, after all the time and money I've invested.. I just want to make sure I'm doing it right.

 

[Betaktical]

U should be all good. My tank is just a little over a month old (got it from a friend who had it established when I got it but did a 100% water change when I moved it to my place) and it took about 5 days before I started getting any skimmate but since then it's been power housing


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[Oldcabin]

Having trouble breaking in my CO-2 as well. It's a brand new tank, so after two weeks of nothing but overflowing I've decided to shut it down until I've got something to skim.


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[Capsle]

I had somewhat of the same issue. I was skimming too wet, getting water in the cup.

What I noticed is that you want foam in the cut, not necessarily water. So I dialed my valve back to where it stopped making bubbles where the cup starts and let it produce foam the entire length of the cup. I took a while for the foam to build up all the way but now my skimmate is nice and dark with maybe 1/4"-1/2" of water / liquid in the cup.


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[Capsle]

Basically my bubbles stop at the lower black ring and its foam from there up.


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