Skimmer making bubbles, not foam

[Tuscaquatics]

I have a Bubble Magus NAC6 and right now I'm using it in a simple system to cure some rock that I nuked with.vinegar. Before I set it up this last time I installed a new meshwheel impeller and ran it in vinegar for a few days to break it in. I hooked it up and it started skimming great right away.

Now for the last couple weeks it seems to have stopped making foam and just makes a lot of bigger bubbles. If I leave it on overnight with the water level set reasonably I wake up to a full cup of weak tea. If I clean it really well it might work pretty well for a day or two. I've tried messing with the airline, adjusting the water level both in the skimmer and the sump compartment. No luck.

Any ideas?

 

[jake koppen]

A skimmer is only going to pull so much out of the water. If you're not feeding and fish aren't constant pooping, the slimmer isn't going to constantly pull waist. I'd just leave it run and let it build whatever in the neck of it. It'll get back to performing when on a stocked system

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[Tuscaquatics]

A skimmer is only going to pull so much out of the water. If you're not feeding and fish aren't constant pooping, the slimmer isn't going to constantly pull waist. I'd just leave it run and let it build whatever in the neck of it. It'll get back to performing when on a stocked system

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

I absolutely agree with you. But I probably should have mentioned that there's definitely some stuff in the water to skim out. I added quite a bit of freeze dried brine shrimp on more than one occasion to make sure things got going. And there's bound to be plenty of junk that was dead inside the rock that's been coming out.

I have to admit I've always kinda wondered about how a skimmer would act if there was really nothing for it to skim. Would it act like mine and just not make foam?

 

[andycook]

Have you cleaned the skimmer? Maybe something is blocking the air intake. Is the water level constant or has that changed?

 

[Tuscaquatics]

Have you cleaned the skimmer? Maybe something is blocking the air intake. Is the water level constant or has that changed?

I cleaned the heck out of it to begin with and it was working fine. Since then I've regularly cleaned the cup and the neck and that doesn't seem to have a whole lot to do with it. As for the air intake I've checked that out and it seems clear. Like I said before, it's getting plenty of air its just not making the foam. The water level is constant in the compartment due to the baffles. I've played around with raising and lowering the skimmer from about 8 inches to about 12 inches of depth. It's puzzling.

I suppose a lack of organics for it to skim could be the problem. But I really didn't think it would stop producing foam, just stop bringing as much crud with it, resulting in a weaker skimmate. Anybody run a skimmer before in a situation like this with little to no bioload?

 

[andycook]

Have you cleaned the pump? Maybe something has gunked it up.

 

[Dmoody]

If your adding frozen food the oils from this food will knock out a foam head even on a top notch skimmer for 5-6 hours