Protein skimmer proper use

Lilbitreefer

Lilbitreefer

New member
So I got my skimmer up and running but seem to be having issue with getting it to skim. I thought it was working ok but then I tested the nitrates and it was ridiculously high. I have a vertex 180i skimmer. Are these pictures show what it should look like. The liquid in the cup is from one day. The week I was playing with it getting no skim I just coasted the inside of the tube and did not over flow into the cup at all.
 

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Check to see if your at manufacturers recommended water depth. Most recommend between 7-10"

Protein skimmers do nothing to remove nitrate within the water. That thick, smelly gunk you empty from your collection cup is not riddled with nitrate. Skimmers remove waste before it has a chance to be broken down into nitrate. It does take some of the load off the biological filter and could lead to reduced nitrate over letting organic molecules be broken down biologically, but your skimmer isn’t pulling any nitrates from the water.
 
yeah micro bubbles. Everyone in a while I get good foam coming 3/4 way up the cup and solids condensing on the inside of the skimmer cup not making into the cup and falling back into the skimmer. Then other times it is just micro bubbles. Right now I have a lit of borderline micro bubbles but it seems to be putting out light tea colors skimate but it is not making eh big fat think bubbles like I see on other skimmers that have been up and running for a while.
 
If skimmer is new there will be a "break-in" period. Keep an eye on it for a while and hopefully it will start producing the big bubbles.
 
It is just really frustrating cause I starts producing big bubbles and skim, but the second i change out a filter sock or turn it off for 1 minute to clean the cup it goes back to not wanting skim.
 
drillsar said:
Again Skimmers don't remove nitrate. This is a new tank correct? Water changes best way to lower them.
Click to expand...

This is true.

However skimmers remove organic compounds of all kinds and most of these materials will have nitrates & phosphates in them. If left in the tank to break down, the organics can release these nutrients.

So that cup of scummy liquid you remove today removes next week's nitrates so to speak. I'm sure you know this; just bought I'd post for the benefit of any new hobbyists reading this...
 
Ok so I was under the impression that when the skimmer cup is getting full I should be emptying it and cleaning the cup itself. Well went in a LFS the other day saw their protein skimmer and the cup where the bubbles were being created was black and dirty as hell. Have I been screwing up my skimmer all this time? how other do you guys clean the skimmer cup?
 
I think your LFS is just lazy.....

I clean my cup with a toothbrush every time I empty it. I don't give it a good cleaning except maybe twice a year, but I do scrub the gunk off the neck and cup every time I empty it.

I was always under the assumption that a clean skimmer, is a happy skimmer. And mine certainly works better when the neck is clean.

I think yours is either to new to produce consistent skimmate(not yet fully broke in), or your tank is too low in nutrients for it to skim properly. Are you sure it's adjusted properly?
 
It seems just really sensitive. I can be getting great skim big nasty bubbles then I go and change out the socks...back to micro bubbles. I made no adjustments. Or I turned off the skimmer on accident turned it back on then back to micro bubbles. I adjusted it a bit and the medium bubbles came back but it is still super sensitive to anything that changes around it. Got a good deal on a scopas tang and threw that in yesterday so maybe a bit of a load will help.
 
There just seems to be no good directions on what to expect in the beginning phases of a protein skimmer. Pictures or adjustment tips would be nice. There is no idiots guide to reef tanks.
 
When I take the cup off I just do a hand scrub no cleaners no brushes just my hands to get the major stuff off. But I am have been rinsing it out every other day cause the amount of dark tea coming out of it or I am seeing chinks falling back into the skimmer so I feel I need to clean it. I guess I shouldn't.
 
You are in a complicated hobby that doesn't come with idiots guides... :) Most knowledge comes from experience.

Give it more time, and like others said Skimmer won't lower your nitrates, it will help them not go much higher quickly. But do WC.

Leave the skimmer alone, check cup daily. If you are getting new skimmate daily it's working.
 
Not saying there needs to be an idiots guide but there should be a bit more info out there on what to expect with new equipment, so we are doing it right the first time. Let the expirentaiton start on advanced topics
 
thanks I watched quite a few but non of them was giving me the info I needed except the second one on your link. Didn't see that one before
 
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