'oil slick' on water surface?

[O P Ing]

hi.
FWIW (for what its worth), whip (egg white) are different from the bubble in skimmer. In cooking, it is very important to have a clean bowl because any trace of fat/oil can ruin the protein bubble. This is because protein has both lipophilic and hydrophilic ends. With both water (egg has water) and oil (dirty bowl), the protein will be in the interface of water and oil (water/protein/oil), instead of making nice bubble of water/protein/air (whip). This is why you need egg white for making mayonaisse.

In salt water, the ions in the water decrease the surface tension of the water, making it impossible for large bubbles to exist. This is why protein skimmer work well in saltwater, and not so well in blackish and fresh water because you can't have large bubbles in the latter cases.

 

[Anonymous]

Hey OP, is there anything you can add to make a skimmer skim more?

 

[O P Ing]

hi.
Yeah, add egg white to the water! :wink:

Seriously, there is difference between quality and quantity. Skimmer performance depends on many issue, such as contact time, bubble size, circulation rate, etc., and depends on your skimmer type, you can do things like adding air stone, change the venturi valve, put better (not necessary stronger) pump, adjust air intake rate, change the height of the collection cup, etc.. Without knowing the type of your skimmer, and without actual experience with hacking it, this is all I can come up with.

...mr. pea...

Interesting name... most people in "The Sump" refers to me as Mr. Poop (among many other things), not Mr. Pee... :wink: