I desperately need skimmer advice

[SlipperyWhipple]

So this is my situation:
Newer tank
Two clownfish only
Added copepods from algae barn
Currently dosing daily with phyto
My skimmer either looks like this or there is barely any bubbles at all
Advice?

 

[cvrle1]

In order for skimmer to "work properly" it needs something to skim. If you have new tank with only 2 clowns and you are not over feeding, then there is not much for skimmer to take out. Skimmers take out organic waste, so if there is no organic waste you cant expect it to remove something that doesnt exist.

 

[SlipperyWhipple]

So t

In order for skimmer to "work properly" it needs something to skim. If you have new tank with only 2 clowns and you are not over feeding, then there is not much for skimmer to take out. Skimmers take out organic waste, so if there is no organic waste you cant expect it to remove something that doesnt exist.

So then just leave the skimmer off?

 

[Bbfishb81]

You likely wont need one if you dont over stock and/or over feed. I have a 120gal and I just gave up on using a skimmer. I have lots of coral, 9 fish and an eel. I feed regular but not big amounta

 

[adrianr514]

So t

So then just leave the skimmer off?

It’s all up to you. Aside from skimming they’re great at oxygenating the water and also help keep pH in check if you run a CO2 scrubber or fresh air line.

 

[brawthy]

Always skim. It's good for keeping your nutrient levels more constant, keeps dissolved oxygen stable, and offsets potential chemistry issues if you add more gear later.

It looks like you are skimming, but the current bioload may not be sufficient to produce a tell tale "gunk". That's not a problem. How big is your tank? Do you have coral? How long has the skimmer been running?

 

[SlipperyWhipple]

It’s all up to you. Aside from skimming they’re great at oxygenating the water and also help keep pH in check if you run a CO2 scrubber or fresh air line.

So I could run it but keep the water level low so that the water is oxygenated?

 

[SlipperyWhipple]

Always skim. It's good for keeping your nutrient levels more constant, keeps dissolved oxygen stable, and offsets potential chemistry issues if you add more gear later.

It looks like you are skimming, but the current bioload may not be sufficient to produce a tell tale "gunk". That's not a problem. How big is your tank? Do you have coral? How long has the skimmer been running?

I have a 60g cube, no coral for a while, and the skimmer has been running for about 4 days. I did but the skimmer used but bought a new pump for it by the way.

 

[motortrendz]

You may need to raise it up a little bit out of the water. It also looks like it needs to break in yet... may take a few days of running to build up the slime coat inside the neck to start skimming properly. Jusy let it run. Take the lid off it if it fills the cup and let it overflow back into the sump for now. Itll settle in in a few days once you start to see a brown slime coat in it. If it's still high after that raise it up an inch and see.

 

[SlipperyWhipple]

You may need to raise it up a little bit out of the water. It also looks like it needs to break in yet... may take a few days of running to build up the slime coat inside the neck to start skimming properly. Jusy let it run. Take the lid off it if it fills the cup and let it overflow back into the sump for now. Itll settle in in a few days once you start to see a brown slime coat in it. If it's still high after that raise it up an inch and see.

Will do thank you!

 

[Jay Z]

You may want to turn the skimmer off when adding phyto, skimmer will pull it out. Just ends up wasting money. I cannot see your video, but most skimmers have a break in period before they start running consistent.

 

[Dan_P]

So this is my situation:
Newer tank
Two clownfish only
Added copepods from algae barn
Currently dosing daily with phyto
My skimmer either looks like this or there is barely any bubbles at all
Advice?

Your skimmer is working just fine! A light color skimmate occurs when skimming wet, but that is OK because a high rate of skimmate collection removes organic material faster than dry skimming. If you don’t change any settings, the skimmate will begin to darken as the amount of organic material in the water increases. As this happens you will need to make adjustments to keep the skimmate collection at a pace you can easily keep up with emptying the collection cup. By the way, dry skimming or dark skimmate is not the ideal. It results in gunk collecting all over the skimmer and slows down the export of organic material from the water. Collect as much skimmate as you can conveniently remove from the collection cup every day.

 

[SlipperyWhipple]

You may want to turn the skimmer off when adding phyto, skimmer will pull it out. Just ends up wasting money. I cannot see your video, but most skimmers have a break in period before they start running consistent.

Ok. How long do you think it should stay off after I add?

 

[SlipperyWhipple]

Your skimmer is working just fine! A light color skimmate occurs when skimming wet, but that is OK because a high rate of skimmate collection removes organic material faster than dry skimming. If you don’t change any settings, the skimmate will begin to darken as the amount of organic material in the water increases. As this happens you will need to make adjustments to keep the skimmate collection at a pace you can easily keep up with emptying the collection cup. By the way, dry skimming or dark skimmate is not the ideal. It results in gunk collecting all over the skimmer and slows down the export of organic material from the water. Collect as much skimmate as you can conveniently remove from the collection cup every day.

Great. Thank you for the advice.

 

[Jay Z]

Ok. How long do you think it should stay off after I add?

I've been leaving mine off for 6-8 hours after adding. I add around dinner time so its in the water column during lights on and lights off. I'm not 100% sure what the correct answer is. Pods eat phyto and the skimmer eats phyto.


I'm sure someone who doesn't skim will chime in for that.

 

[SlipperyWhipple]

I've been leaving mine off for 6-8 hours after adding. I add around dinner time so its in the water column during lights on and lights off. I'm not 100% sure what the correct answer is. Pods eat phyto and the skimmer eats phyto.


I'm sure someone who doesn't skim will chime in for that.

Ok cool. How can you tell if the pods are even thriving?

 

[Jay Z]

Ok cool. How can you tell if the pods are even thriving?

Flash light at night. Want to see the ones that are big, continue to grow, and little white specs on the glass in corners/low flow areas. Just a mental note form day to day on what you noticed every night (count wise)

For my system I have to seed 3 times before they started taking on there own. But thats multiple tanks off one sump with fish that specifically target them.

 

[SlipperyWhipple]

Flash light at night. Want to see the ones that are big, continue to grow, and little white specs on the glass in corners/low flow areas. Just a mental note form day to day on what you noticed every night (count wise)

For my system I have to seed 3 times before they started taking on there own. But thats multiple tanks off one sump with fish that specifically target them.

Where do you buy yours from?

 

[Jay Z]

algen or algae barn.

 

[BayouReefer]

Yes I also believe your skimmer is fine. Set it so the large bubbles are popping a few inches from the top of the throat. Don’t worry that nothing is collecting in the skimmer cup. The break in could take a week or two. Eventually as the protein builds up in the skimmer the cup will start to collect material.