Protein Skimmer Maintenance *BEWARE*

[spartacus1337]

Hey guys,

This is mostly for new hobbiest in hopes that you learn from my very deadly mistake. So you just setup your first saltwater aquarium doing everything by the book getting double the skimmer, your fancy lighting, rodi, doing your cycle, ect... You start adding fish and corals, emptying your skimmer cup, water changes, parameter tests and everything is great.

One day you come home with a little red slime in your aquarium you do your general maintenance and forget about it. The next day there is more and you clean again but more and more comes back and before long you lose a fish, than a 2nd, than a coral.... Your in full panic but you can't stop the crash..... no matter how many water changes you do. You lose almost everything.

After inspecting your equipment you find that your skimmer isn't producing much skimmate and micro bubbles are all but gone. You find 6 snails in the skimmer pump. The heater is pulsing red (failure) and your secondary was unplugged a month ago for some cleaning and never plugged back in... You take 30 minutes to clean and service the equipment and you back up and running. Your only out 3 corals, 5 fish, and your entire clean up crew.

Moral of the story. Take the 15 to 30 minutes a week to both review your equipment and do general maintenance. Just because that heaters been working for a year doesnt mean it cant fail or your skimmer cant stop skimming. Things can go from great to bad in a hurry if you don't keep a keen eye on your equipment.

 

[QuiQuog]

Question, not that I'm criticizing in any way, just curious. If you were emptying your skimmer regularly, from what I've read is anywhere from twice a week to weekly, what caused you to miss the malfunction? Did it happen that fast? Also, since skimmers aren't absolutely nessecary, were there any other factors that came into play?

Disclaimer: I don't actually have any experience, I'm only researching as I gather items I need to set up my tank.

 

[zelie_dad]

Question, not that I'm criticizing in any way, just curious. If you were emptying your skimmer regularly, from what I've read is anywhere from twice a week to weekly, what caused you to miss the malfunction? Did it happen that fast? Also, since skimmers aren't absolutely nessecary, were there any other factors that came into play?

Disclaimer: I don't actually have any experience, I'm only researching as I gather items I need to set up my tank.

I scrap my skimmer a few times a week, and have to empty it 2 times as week. I empty and clean it when I do weekly water changes, and in the middle of the week.

As for the original post, I'm pretty sure I would notice if my skimmer wasn't producing skimmate for a day or two. I have a slightly oversized skimmer, and sometimes it isn't producing foam, but if I check it later in the day, everything is usually functioning as it should.

You are also correct that a skimmer isn't necessary piece of equipment. I'm planning a 20 gallon setup without a skimmer and I'm planning on large weekly water changes to take the place of a skimmer.

 

[spartacus1337]

Moral of the story is I should have. I now do basically the same maintenance as you and have been for over a year but it's easy to get complacent.

Skimmers are not required but I would always run one unless I'm doing a nano setup. The amount of gunk they pull out of the water is amazing.

 

[homer1475]

I'm not seeing what the issue with the skimmer is?

The loss of the heater is what more then likely caused your crash, not a malfunctioning skimmer.

 

[spartacus1337]

Didn't cause it most likely but still something that I noticed after my crash.... Oddly enough I remember my water temp being pretty normal even with the malfunctioning heater. Its been over a year now so don't remember exactly.

 

[Ron Reefman]

How do snails get in your skimmer pump in the first place? You need to have screens, cages or grilles on the pump intake to keep stuff out!