skimmate consistency?

[ScienceAchieved]

My tank has been cycling for 2 days, and im new to using a skimmer with a few questions. Ive tinkered around with it, and cant seem to get it to produce foam. Will it need waste in the water to give the viscosity to allow that? The bubbles in the tube in the cup dont produce a lasting film thats pushed over the edge. I dont really know what to look for, the references ive found show it on an established tank. Its the "aquaticlife 115", so im also not sure its functioning properly. It was cheap, and there seem to be several design/manufacturing flaws.
Thanks

 

[E46Twist]

My dry skimmer produces very little on days I don't feed but pulls black sludge out when it does. Also in a new tank you may not have many DOs yet.

 

[cloak]

Check this out.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-06/fm/feature/index.php

HTH.

 

[digger4rc]

I'm a newb myself, but my understanding is don't run the skimmer while cycling. The reasons are:

1. There isn't much if anything to skim
2. If you do skim anything you are robbing your system of nutrients that will benefit the cycling process.

That said I started my skimmer shortly after the cycle completed. I started getting skimmate almost immediately and it quickly ramped up production as I added my CUC. It did not take 3-4 weeks like many skimmer articles mention as a break in period.

 

[ScienceAchieved]

Check this out.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-06/fm/feature/index.php

HTH.

Thanks, that page is very useful. My live rock hasnt been delivered yet, so there probably isn't enough DOC's to produce stable foam, but I think its working properly.

I'm a newb myself, but my understanding is don't run the skimmer while cycling. The reasons are:

1. There isn't much if anything to skim
2. If you do skim anything you are robbing your system of nutrients that will benefit the cycling process.

That said I started my skimmer shortly after the cycle completed. I started getting skimmate almost immediately and it quickly ramped up production as I added my CUC. It did not take 3-4 weeks like many skimmer articles mention as a break in period.

Maybe I should shut it down for a bit? Ive read conflicting material. I wanted to confirm it worked, the seal of the casing seemed a little warped, but I think its ok.
Thanks

 

[ScienceAchieved]

Whoops double post