Skimmer not skimming - clam related?

[James Yeung]

Alright,

I'm baffled by this since this is day 3 without a single trace of scum in my skimmer (should be very stinky right now!). Clear as a whistle and absolutely no foam entering into cup. Bubble action is perfect, almost all the way to the top, but no foam forming and water flowing well (Berlin XL).

I did two new things: Upgrading sump and adding 7 new clams. Because of new sump, water capacity increased from 140 to ~200G. I doubt this is the reason since I doubled the water capacity with new refuge a month ago from ~70 to ~140 and skimmer worked immediately.

Could the new clams be filtering the water this well? I added five 3.2" clams, one 2.5" and one 5.5" at the same time while upgrading to bigger sump.

I wish I added the clams a few days before the sump upgrade so now I don't have to be stuck wondering what is happening to my Berlin XL skimmer (which be totally fine, all adjustments appear perfect).

I only have 2 clowns and a Yellow Tang. The rest are SPS, LPS and a few softies. Bio-load is pretty low, but the skimmer WAS skimming before!

Has anyone encountered a less active skimmer after introducing a lot of clams? I'm kinda clueless right now. I never experienced anything like this before.

Thanks,

James

 

[commandertekki]

keep in mind that the clams filter in more then they release back into the water. For one thing, they take in CO2 which is cool one less thingk to heave to worry about alkalinity.

I forgot who it was , but someone in New Mexico didnt use anything for a filter system except something like 200 clams in his refugium.

But to answer your question, I had two clams in my tank, and mine remora was producing a lot of wet skim. also. Then I added two maximas to my tank and the skimming slowed down a lot, but it's still skimming.

Its not unusual to have the skimmer stop skimming for a bit. I think it is a combination of your new sump and your clams.

 

[James Yeung]

Thanks for the sharing your experience! Wow, 200 clams!! What kind of clams? The good looking ones or the uglies?

Since I currently do not have a calcium reactor, I actually welcome some CO2. Hehe... Ph is 8.4 in the morn and 8.5 after lights go out. Getting much more stable now, thanks to the extra water capacity. Before, Ph hit ~8.8 with around 70G of water to play with.

James

P.S. Still no stinky stuff yet. I'll report back in a week whether or not it's skimming.

 

[commandertekki]

just an update... it's been a week now and my skimming is back to normal.

 

[James Yeung]

Update:

Okay... It's been 4 days since my last post. Still no skimming action... Cup is clean as a whistle. So clean I would use it to drink from!

My skimmer is working fine. Oh well, if there is no change by next week, I'll have to take it out and have a look.


James

 

[James Yeung]

Update: Finally, my skimmer started to skim yesterday (7 days since last post). Very very little skimming action, but at least I know my skimmer is indeed functional.

James