Alright, yesterday my 5 year old bak-pak skimmer broke after a water change. Tomorrow I'm going to pick up the Deltec MCE600 skimmer. My questions now are: How cloudy will the tank get (foggy from air bubbles)? How long will it take for the cloudiness to go away? What effect will the air bubbles have on the livestock?
I read the article on this site by Greg Schiemer and he said:
"If you haven't used a HOB skimmer before, you might get nervous about the large amount of air bubbles returning to the aquarium when you first start the Deltec MCE600. This is normal and will dissipate after a few days. It's due in large part to the plasticizers used on the acrylic and PVC parts. In fact, after a few days of operation, the water return from my Deltec skimmer was essentially bubble-free. The skimmer comes with a diffusing plate on the output to further reduce the incidence of stray air bubbles but I found this wasn't even necessary; however the diffuser plate does reduce splashing and should be kept in place. For this same reason, it may also take a few days to a week for the skimmer to "kick in" or begin producing a dense head of foam."
Two years ago my tank crashed after a newly introduced clam released eggs and sperm into the water. It made the tank cloudy and within 48 hours my fish were dead. Now, when I see that my water isn't 100% clear, I freak out because I don't want a similar thing to happen, even though the skimmer and clam have nothing to do with each other. I'm just saying that clouds scare me so I want to know the approximate amount of time it will take for the air bubbles to stop making the tank look cloudy.
Before I start the skimmer up, I plan on rinsing it with hot water and vinegar.
I read the article on this site by Greg Schiemer and he said:
"If you haven't used a HOB skimmer before, you might get nervous about the large amount of air bubbles returning to the aquarium when you first start the Deltec MCE600. This is normal and will dissipate after a few days. It's due in large part to the plasticizers used on the acrylic and PVC parts. In fact, after a few days of operation, the water return from my Deltec skimmer was essentially bubble-free. The skimmer comes with a diffusing plate on the output to further reduce the incidence of stray air bubbles but I found this wasn't even necessary; however the diffuser plate does reduce splashing and should be kept in place. For this same reason, it may also take a few days to a week for the skimmer to "kick in" or begin producing a dense head of foam."
Two years ago my tank crashed after a newly introduced clam released eggs and sperm into the water. It made the tank cloudy and within 48 hours my fish were dead. Now, when I see that my water isn't 100% clear, I freak out because I don't want a similar thing to happen, even though the skimmer and clam have nothing to do with each other. I'm just saying that clouds scare me so I want to know the approximate amount of time it will take for the air bubbles to stop making the tank look cloudy.
Before I start the skimmer up, I plan on rinsing it with hot water and vinegar.
