Skimmer help needed!!!

[wedgee]

Hi everyone! I've just started a new 50 gallon tank, and added a Red Sea Prizm skimmer onto it (Yah i know this isn't really a good piece of equipment, but i just couldnt get my hands on an Aqua C locally - buying thru the Net would mean double the price...sigh!)

Hope u guys can help with some questions cause this is my FIRST experience with a skimmer...

1. What should the level of the bubbles be at, cause I don't know how much water flow i should feed into the skimmer... Meaning; shld the bubbles be below the 'overflow' level (not going into the collection area)? Or shld they be overflowing slowly or quickly into the collection area?

--If I let the bubbles flow into the collection area slowly, they fill up the area soon with water, which is unlike the gunk i see from other skimmers...and the output from the skimmer is simply FULL of micro-bubbles!

--If I keep the bubble level in the skimmer way below the overflow point, the skimmer output has less but still visible micro-bubbles...in this setting the skimming isnt taking place right? (cause zero bubbles going into the collection cup...

2. Are micro-bubbles harmful in any way towards fish/corals/inverts?

3. If they are; how can i prevent my skimmer from releasing them? If not, can i use any method to 'filter' them off?

Hope these questions are not too stoopid to ask, and appreciate it if u guys could help me out cause I'm a total noob...I just dont know what to set the skimmer at: Overflowing bubbles into cup with tons of micro-bubbles in the tank, or Zero cup collection with some micro-bubbles in the tank... SIGH!!!!

[derf]

Hi everyone! I've just started a new 50 gallon tank, and added a Red Sea Prizm skimmer onto it (Yah i know this isn't really a good piece of equipment, but i just couldnt get my hands on an Aqua C locally - buying thru the Net would mean double the price...sigh!)

Hope u guys can help with some questions cause this is my FIRST experience with a skimmer...

1. What should the level of the bubbles be at, cause I don't know how much water flow i should feed into the skimmer... Meaning; shld the bubbles be below the 'overflow' level (not going into the collection area)? Or shld they be overflowing slowly or quickly into the collection area?

--If I let the bubbles flow into the collection area slowly, they fill up the area soon with water, which is unlike the gunk i see from other skimmers...and the output from the skimmer is simply FULL of micro-bubbles!

--If I keep the bubble level in the skimmer way below the overflow point, the skimmer output has less but still visible micro-bubbles...in this setting the skimming isnt taking place right? (cause zero bubbles going into the collection cup...

2. Are micro-bubbles harmful in any way towards fish/corals/inverts?

3. If they are; how can i prevent my skimmer from releasing them? If not, can i use any method to 'filter' them off?

Hope these questions are not too stoopid to ask, and appreciate it if u guys could help me out cause I'm a total noob...I just dont know what to set the skimmer at: Overflowing bubbles into cup with tons of micro-bubbles in the tank, or Zero cup collection with some micro-bubbles in the tank... SIGH!!!!

hi there,

i guess u hv the same problem as me... i juz got it not too long ago but stil dunno hw to adjust it to the correct flowrate.

[Achilles Tang]

1. What should the level of the bubbles be at, cause I don't know how much water flow i should feed into the skimmer... Meaning; shld the bubbles be below the 'overflow' level (not going into the collection area)? Or shld they be overflowing slowly or quickly into the collection area?

--If I let the bubbles flow into the collection area slowly, they fill up the area soon with water, which is unlike the gunk i see from other skimmers...and the output from the skimmer is simply FULL of micro-bubbles!

--If I keep the bubble level in the skimmer way below the overflow point, the skimmer output has less but still visible micro-bubbles...in this setting the skimming isnt taking place right? (cause zero bubbles going into the collection cup...

2. Are micro-bubbles harmful in any way towards fish/corals/inverts?

3. If they are; how can i prevent my skimmer from releasing them? If not, can i use any method to 'filter' them off?

Hope these questions are not too stoopid to ask, and appreciate it if u guys could help me out cause I'm a total noob...I just dont know what to set the skimmer at: Overflowing bubbles into cup with tons of micro-bubbles in the tank, or Zero cup collection with some micro-bubbles in the tank... SIGH!!!!

Not sure about the kind of skimmer you are using.

The bubbles in the water should be in the neck just below the collection cup.

Not all the way up to the end of the tube (into the collection cup).

The bubbles should be pushing icky stuff at the top into the cup, not the bubbles themselves.

Microbubbles can be an irritant to some corals once they get caught in the corals and buildup around their polyps, I think. And its also very unsightly.

Is your overflow in the sump? You can use some filter wool to block the bubbles if you don't have partitions to direct water flow under any floating bubbles.

That should solve your microbubble problem, I guess.

AT

[derf]

AT,

i realise dat if i lower the flowrate, it doesn't skim much n when i turn it up, the cup fills up v fast. but, the water in the cup isn't the kind u guys mention abt. it's v diluted n doesn't hv much of the gooey substance....

[clowntrigger]

maybe I can add something, what is your SG(Specific gravity) in your tank? I have tried on my previous sander skimmer, at a lower SG, it does not work that well when compare to a higher SG. Maybe you should check your SG, my 2 cent worth.

[bawater]

AT- they using the prism

derf- wat u getting now is wet foam, which turns into a yellowish liquid. (note that it takes out a lot of tank water).

what u need to try for is dry foam- that means it becomes a brown/dark brown residue in the collection cup. doesn't matter if it doesn't pull much out, its the same stuff only more concentrated.- maybe also means water quite good.

my skimmer(although i not using prism)can go a whole week without collecting anything.

[derf]

AT- they using the prism

derf- wat u getting now is wet foam, which turns into a yellowish liquid. (note that it takes out a lot of tank water).

what u need to try for is dry foam- that means it becomes a brown/dark brown residue in the collection cup. doesn't matter if it doesn't pull much out, its the same stuff only more concentrated.- maybe also means water quite good.

my skimmer(although i not using prism)can go a whole week without collecting anything.

bawater,

so it means that i juz leave it as it is? hmm... my water quality's good... nw that's surprising....

but i do agree it draws out alot of water from my tank!

[bawater]

i dun mean that! dun just leave & hope ur water is good la deh!.

i'm not using it- so dun take my word for it.

u still have to tweak it so that u get a foam without too much of the water- the foam production level just below the collection cup abt 1".

[wedgee]

maybe I can add something, what is your SG(Specific gravity) in your tank? I have tried on my previous sander skimmer, at a lower SG, it does not work that well when compare to a higher SG. Maybe you should check your SG, my 2 cent worth.

Hmmm, my SG is around 1.021 at 28C temp. Is dat ok? I havent added corals, so i'm keeping the salinity lower for now...

Anyways, I got a filter bag (from provision shop) used for cooking food in, and placed in at the skimmer output- managed to control the micro bubbles getting into the tank; but still have quite abit though.

Thanx guys, for telling me wat level to put the foam at, cause it seems to be skimming right now- one big blob of foam resting above the throat, while the throat foam is quite far from overflowing...

[derf]

i dun mean that! dun just leave & hope ur water is good la deh!.

i'm not using it- so dun take my word for it.

u still have to tweak it so that u get a foam without too much of the water- the foam production level just below the collection cup abt 1".

hmm.. ok... i'll go back n check it out tonite... thks!!!

[clowntrigger]

wedgee, that might be a bit low for the SG. I would say if you could make it to 1.023 to 1.024, that should be good. Of course this is base on my personal experience, unless other think likewise. Maybe you should wait for people to reply on what they think about the value I quoted. For me, it just work great.