Skimmer problem. What am I doing wrong?

[Joe Pulliam]

Hey there,

I got a new skimmer today for my 30 gallon bow front. The issue im having is that the collection cup is full of clean water really fast (1 hour) If I raise it the smallest amount I get nothing. What am I missing here. It's a cheap skimmer (Aqua excel).

 

[SPSREEFS]

Hi Joe,
Your just trying too hard is all. It needs time to break in and get a slime coat on everything. Adjust it low and let it break in. When you see foam forming then start slowly adjusting it upward. give it a full day or two. You will understand then what I am referring to.
Hope this helps!

 

[SPSREEFS]

also, once it breaks in it will become much more predictable and stable. Just takes time. How old is the tank its on?

 

[Joe Pulliam]

About 3 months

 

[SPSREEFS]

it will take a bit longer on break in too, as your tanks relatively new. One thing you will learn in this hobby Joe is patience......lol.
And the golden rule: ONLY BAD THINGS HAPPEN FAST IN THIS HOBBY!!!

 

[Joe Pulliam]

I'm totally good with the patience part. Just didn't understand why the cup is filling up in an hour. I literally have to dump the thing every hour but it's all clean water

 

[Dtackett]

does your cup have a drain port? like a little hose coming out of the bottom of the cup?

 

[Joe Pulliam]

Just looked at it and it's doesn't have one

 

[Dtackett]

ok, it doesn't matter if its overflowing right now so long as all the water ends up back in your tank. try to adjust it so the water doesn't hit the cup. it doesn't matter if its too low or not, right now youre just trying to build up a slime coat.

 

[Joe Pulliam]

Okay! I will just let it keep doing its thing. Thank you!!

 

[ATB USA]

it will take a bit longer on break in too, as your tanks relatively new. One thing you will learn in this hobby Joe is patience......lol.
And the golden rule: ONLY BAD THINGS HAPPEN FAST IN THIS HOBBY!!!

So very true!

Also, later on you want to make sure the water level where the skimmer is stays the same. If you add chemicals such as Red slime remover you need to turn your skimmer off. Certain chemicals make a skimmer go nuts for a day or so. Most of them tell you in the instructions

 

[Kungpaoshizi]

Breakin periods vary according to how much foam-able waste you have in your tank. One thing that helps is raise it a tiny bit, and then turn down the air input to next to nothing.

 

[jgraz]

Also how deep is the water where your running the skimmer. If the water depth is to high you can adjust all day and never keep it from overflowing. The skimmer should recommend a certain depth best bet is to start somewhere in the middle and go through your breaking period. Then adjust accordingly from there.