Skimmer help

[SicZ06]

Hey All - back in the hobby after about 5 years off. Having a hard time with the skimmer and after 2 weeks I am starting to lose it.

My skimmer was working great - twice a week I was emptying the nasty waste...I then wanted to secure some aquascape and ordered this from amazon = Two Little Fishies ATLAS3B Aquastik. As the reviews said, skimmer went crazy. After 3 days of bubbles spraying everywhere I started to try other ways to fix it with WC and added a carbon reactor. The good news is, it fixed the problem but now I am at the other extreme....Now instead of bubbles going from zero to 100 and shooting everywhere, they dont shoot up enough to collect any waste. I have done my best to make sure it is correctly set up and played with the air intake - no luck....Shocker my ammonia is climbing...

Any thoughts / tips would be appreciated. With being out of the hobby for awhile and getting back in, I am trying to remember and learn everything all over again! Thank you, Sean

Tank info - running since March of this year, however bought used off CL and did my best to save the cheato / good bacteria from the tank that was running since March of 2018.

78 degrees 1.026. Have had two clowns / nothing else.
Before using aquastik - nitrates 0 ph 7.8 nitrites 0. Ammonia between 0 and .25.
Before adding carbon nitrates 0 ph 7.8 to 8 nitrites 0. Ammonia alittle over .5
Pictures from todays test - I think ph 8.2, ammonia .25 and 0, 0

 

[T_BONE]

Do you run an ATO? Water level plays a huge role in skimmer working properly. Also, if there are not enough bubbles it may not get the skimmate to the collection cup. You can try cleaning the air line to the skimmer. There may be some blockage there or at the intake of the pump in the skimmer. Hope this helps.

 

[LiveWire]

I would check the water level and air intake of the skimmer. If they are both fine I would take the skimmer out and clean it with some vinegar. My guess would be that the aquastick may have left a skim on the inside of your skimmer and will not allow the bubble to surface without busting.

With only having two clowns in the system I would watch my feeding also and make sure not to overfeed. Not sure how long you cycled the tank but It seems like you may have started another cycle so adding a bunch of Nitrifying Bacteria will help with that ammonia and get things back into check. I would do that first as ammonia is poisonous to fish.

 

[SicZ06]

thank you! I ordered new pods from A. Barn and have been also adding bacteria.

 

[SicZ06]

Do you run an ATO? Water level plays a huge role in skimmer working properly. Also, if there are not enough bubbles it may not get the skimmate to the collection cup. You can try cleaning the air line to the skimmer. There may be some blockage there or at the intake of the pump in the skimmer. Hope this helps.

yep and funny I am having problems with the water level - thanks for the tip ill check it out.