fine-tuning my new Bermuda skimmer

[daisy]

I need advice on my new skimmer (Bermuda), which is up and running since Sunday on a super-clean (brand new sand) tank that has only two fish, 10 snails and 2 peppermints in it, lots of soft corals - mushrooms, zoas, kenya trees, green star polyps...

monday morning i woke up and the cup was overflowing, so i emptied it and lowered the water level. for the rest of the day it bubbled and collected very watery light brown skimmate. i pushed the pipe down a bit and the water level dropped a bit...

the thing is that the water is now close to the top of where i was advised to let it be, and right now the bubbles break at the level of the base of the collection cup (before bubbling up the tube and over into the cup)
Is this because the tank is so clean, new, etc? what should i do if anything? just wait?

I have cleaned the collection cup. i have not added anything to the tank on purpose - have not sprayed anything near the tank. i put my hands in the tank, but not with lotion on...

thanks!

 

[bad coffee]

Patience. Even the oils on your skin will break the surface tension of the skimmer bubbles.

Keep your hands out of the tank for a few hours and see how the skimmate does.

Also realize you've got a REALLY low bioload for that skimmer right now. If there's nothing to skim out of the water, then you won't get thick brown muck. You'll get a bit of brown water or nothing at all.

B

 

[alrha]

might need to gove it some time to break in.

 

[masterswimmer]

Both pieces of advice are spot on. Thanks B & A.

Some time to break-in is first and foremost. Then the water level you have it set at is critical. Then the density of your stocking level comes into play.

Try to keep the water level near the upper portion of the Bermuda label. As the proteins build up in the water, the bubbles will slowly rise up the tube and collect at the top and flow into the collection cup.

Patience is key here. A new skimmer can take two weeks to break-in properly. Just don't keep fiddling with the adjustment tube. Let it work.

Russ

 

[daisy]

Oh.

Great

thanks, everyone! I guess i'll stop playing with it.

freaked me out a bit when i woke up the first morning and it was overflowing, and now nothing...

i'll just watch it for a week or two and get back to you.

...tell you the truth, i fed with abandon today knowing that I have such a powerful skimmer! fish were happy!

 

[daisy]

so last night i emptied a very pale looking skimmate, maybe an inch or so high after maybe 9 hours... i had fed in the morning and i had killed maybe 40 aptasia mid-day. ...while it was pale, it was STINKY!!! Yuk.

so happy it could pull such stink OUT of the tank!!!



I love my new toys!!!!!!

 

[lola]

stop playing with the darn thing and let it do it's thing :lol_large