protein skimmer newbie?

[chadgqx]

hi folks great forum here!!

I need some help with a protein skimmer going nuts!! it fills a 1 gallon bottle in an hour... its a berlin hang on.... to little air maybe??


Chad 8O

 

[madrefkepr]

Hi Chad! Welcome to Reefs.Org!

I'm sorry, I can't help you with your skimmer, as I am not familiar with it, but it seems to me at one time Red Sea did have technical info and users manuals on their web site. Have you tried looking there?

 

[Anonymous]

Is the collection cup's height adjustable?
It may be sitting too low, so you're not getting a nice foam.

 

[hfmann]

Welcome Chad,

You're right! This is a great forum and I rely heavily on the help I get here.

Is your skimmer new? FWIW, When I first hooked mine up, or after I cleaned it once with white vinegar, it foamed like you describe for 3 days straight. I have an auxiliary 1 gallon collection tube and had to keep emptying it every hour or so. Seemed like it was just pumping water into the collection unit. It really didn't do anything for a couple of hours, but once it did start, it was a full time job to keep up with. Many people told me this wasn't unusual and it would settle down in a few days. Finally the skimmer did calm down and started creating the kind of foam it was supposed to.

Hal
_________________
recessions history

 

[JonDK]

I too have observed this problem. I use some ordinary filter-foam to prefilter the water coming in to the sump. When i put new foam in the prefilter the skimmer starts to fill the cup very quickly. When i started my system for the first time the the skimmer-cup was filled quickly too, and it took about 2 days before it began to skim properbly. I think that in most cases the reason is chemicals from the produktion in some of the filtermedia...
sorry, of my english...

 

[Expos Forever]

Another possibility: if you're using a de-chlorinator these can cause some skimmers to go nuts.

 

[Gaffes]

or after I cleaned it once with white vinegar...

Is this a common procedure? Cleaning skimmers with white vinegar? I usually clean mine with warm ater and it seems to be working well. Will I get better performance if I use white vinegar?

 

[hfmann]

Hi Gaffees,

No! Not recommended I believe. I was just too new and didn't know better.

Hal
_________________
Vehicle insurance Forum

 

[Anonymous]

If my skimmer gets too much coraline algae growth, then I clean it with vinegar - a vinegar/water solution.
Just rinse it really well afterward. Nice and clean. No calcium deposits.