Protein skimmer always full?

[emsilkina]

I have a mini protein skimmer but it fills up every 5 mins. When I turn it down, barely anything comes up - only foam. Is there a problem with the skimmer or is this normal?

 

[kutcha]

the only thing that is supposed to be coming up is the foam as the foam carries all the extra gunk it is pulling out

 

[kutcha]

generally you want you water/microbubble line to stop a little above the thinnest part of the neck so that way it give the foam a chance to grow and gradually go into the collection cup

 

[Zakery Murray]

What skimmer do you have, you most likely just have to get the right water level and air intake exactly precise for it to run properly. Just take your time and test the levels out.

 

[Suohhen]

Adjustments take time to settle in usually days. It is much safer to run a skimmer on the dry side.

 

[Jedi1199]

I have a mini protein skimmer but it fills up every 5 mins. When I turn it down, barely anything comes up - only foam. Is there a problem with the skimmer or is this normal?

Can you give more details please?

When running properly, a protein skimmer will have nothing more but a bit of foam that actually comes into the collection cup. If it is filling full of water in 5 minutes I believe you have it running too strong. Dial it back till you see the foam barely even starting to reach the base of the tube that goes into the collection cup. Then adjust it from there..

 

[jtp7004ft]

Few questions, What brand of skimmer and is it new? How old is your tank, what size and what's in it? There is a break in period that could be up to two weeks for some skimmers. If your tank doesn't have a bio load it might not have anything to to skim.... Yet.

 

[Garf]

It will fill up fast if you’ve used something like “prime” in the water.