Skimmer stopped putting out skimmate

[Bobbofin]

Recently set up a 30g Oceanic cube, drilled with a sump. I put a Coralife CSS65 on it. The first 6 weeks it pulled black gunk out of the water while the rock cured. I have since gotten some zoos and one fish. I only have 25g of water total and I do a 5g water change weekly. The skimmer is not puting out anything. Could I have gotten everything out of the water that there is to get out? Can you skim a tank to the point where you won't get anymore out?

 

[nickyblase]

I'd say yes, it's possible, especially if it's a new tank. What kind of bioload to you have that would generate waste?

When I first set up my tank, my LR was already cured, so I waited about a month to turn on my skimmer to allow for some biological maturing. Not sure if that's common practice or not.

 

[ScottM]

Quoted spam post removed. No need to spread the spam.

gotta love our newest spam member. good to know they are adding to our membership activity
maybe they should be banned for a useless post

 

[Bobbofin]

Thank You!

Thank you for an honest answer Nicky and THANK YOU Reefdom for a sarcastic comment. It doesn't hurt to ask questions even if they may seem stupid to more knowledgable hobbyist. As far as the topic of spam....lighten up...it's a stupid fish/coral club not open heart surgery forum, people lives do not depend on it. I do not flame people on this board and I do not expect to be flamed myself either.

 

[deadhermitwalkin]

?

gotta love our newest spam member. good to know they are adding to our membership activity
maybe they should be banned for a useless post

I don't understand the argument? We all just need to focus, and stop pissing and moaning. It's starting to make an unfun club.



Anyways.... I would guess your Bio-load is very low, and that is why your not getting the skim you got at first. Plus if you just added rock or other things to the tank at the time of inception your skimmer would work over time. Now things are most likely settling out.

 

[NateHanson]

Just to clarify what other's perhaps can't see - there was a spam advertisement posted to this thread above Scott's remark. Scott quoted the ad, and then commented on it. He was not referring to Nickyblase's post.

The spam post has been deleted.

 

[deadhermitwalkin]

Nate with all the stuff going on lately. Alot of us who don't spend all day on here...don't know whats personal, and whats J/k around. I think we need to save the comments for other areas. IMO

Sorry....

 

[Moe_K]

I don't understand the argument? We all just need to focus, and stop pissing and moaning. It's starting to make an unfun club.

Clarification: Reefdom was commenting on a post from a new member that was absolutely spam. It was that new member's only post. That spam post has been removed and the new member's posting access revoked. Looks like Reefdom is commenting on valid replies in this thread, but he was commenting on the true spam that was posted here.
No harm, no foul.

 

[NateHanson]

We appreciate members reporting stuff like this because it allowed me to remove the spam before nearly anyone saw it. Commenting on a post you think is not allowed, can clearly cause some confusion though, as this thread makes clear. Simply reporting the thread is sufficient and will ensure that we will fix the problem as soon as possible.

Thanks, Nate

 

[~Flighty~]

Skimmers can be a little tricky to get adjusted. One thing to check is that the air intake didn't get clogged.

 

[RobboT]

Back to the subject . . .

Bobbofin, it is possible that its pulling out very little but if you really are getting absolutely nothing you should check the skimmer, i.e., are there bubbles in the mixing chamber, is foam rising to the top (even if its not enough to bubble up into the collection cup).

I also would recommend cleaning the collection cup if you havent already. Sometimes the gunk builds up to the point where it reduces skimmer performance. I found this to be an issue with Euro-Reef style skimmers in particular (the Coralifes seem to be similar in design).

 

[RobboT]

Skimmers can be a little tricky to get adjusted. One thing to check is that the air intake didn't get clogged.

Excellent point! It's a good idea to take the airline tube off the venturi once a month and make sure the intake is clear.

 

[nickyblase]

thanks for the clarification Nate - I kept reading and re-reading my post to see what I had said that was offensive!

Bobbofin - PLEASE do not hesitate to ask questions - lord knows I've asked many that are FAR dumber than this one, and never got a hard time from the members about it.

Laurie

 

[Bobbofin]

I apologize to Reefdom. I thought you were blasting me for spam and asking newbie questions when in fact there was a post deleted during the day while I was at work. I put the thread up in the am and the only responses were Reefdom and nickyblase in the evening when I returned. I thought Reefdom's post was towards me because I never saw the deleted post...Bobbofin

 

[Bobbofin]

The skimmer is bubbling up to the tube of the collection cup but not rising. I think the water is super clean...nothing to remove. Only have 5 colonies of zoo frags, some pumping xenia and one fish. I've been feeding lightly so everything that was in the water has been taken out imo. I'll try cleaning it but the microbubbles look pretty intense....thanks!

 

[ScottM]

I apologize to Reefdom. I thought you were blasting me for spam and asking newbie questions when in fact there was a post deleted during the day while I was at work. I put the thread up in the am and the only responses were Reefdom and nickyblase in the evening when I returned. I thought Reefdom's post was towards me because I never saw the deleted post...Bobbofin

no biggie. the post was absolute jibberish. quite amusing. besides i rarely flame members i don't know, ( i am happy to flame fake logins all day)


as for your skimmer....
chances are your not generating enough waste to be removed by your model skimmer. effeciency has to do with bubble dwell time, the size/qty of the bubbles and the flow thruput. these things are what makes skimmers better than others.
its very likely if you put a different skimmer with a longer dwell time and a smaller bubble, you would see skimmate. the big picture is, unless your battling a water quality issue you may never even notice a difference.

 

[Bobbofin]

Back to the skimmer

Back to the skimmer, I cleaned the pump and venturi. It is bubbling fine with a nice froth and bubble density. I think that all that's in the tank has been removed because I do not have much bio-load. I'll chill. And Reefdom...stop talkin' about me!!! Hee Hee!!!

 

[Yaktop]

sometimes the pump itself needs to be cleaned and simply is generating as mucg GPH as it used to. check that too and clean that pump like to you the return. other items mentioned need to be checked as a normal cause of maintenance.

 

[BigSmokeShowJOE]

JUST KEEP IT CLEAN !! i have to clean mine every week!!

 

[Moe_K]

A few posts removed. Lets stick with the skimmer discussion. Thanks.