So what is Skimmer Break- in Anyway?

[Anchor]

I keep reading about skimmer break-in and it taking some weeks to occur. My question is, what is exactly happening during this break in that does not happen immediately? I am fully aware of bubble surface tension and its interaction with proteins, oils, aminos and other surfactants. But what needs to happen to the skimmer to break it in? Are we talking that it needs to get the body dirty or something? This would seem counter intuitive to ever cleaning it, other than that brown slime breaking down into Ammoniated or Nitrogen compounds with out that cleaning..

Someone shed some light on this for me as it sounds like break in is more in tune with tweaking to get the correct bubble/air flow and water levels.. than some haphazard thing that miraculously happens to the skimmer. I have an idea of what needs to occur but then there are some things that make me feel that though tis wrong.. hoping someone lse brings it up so I don't feel stupid thinking this..

 

[bjc451]

Removing manufacturing oils too

 

[Anchor]

Removing manufacturing oils too

Wouldn't just washing the inside with soap and water achieve that much faster?

 

[theMeat]

Soap very bad for aquariums
Better of running it in mild white vinegar solution overnight. Or just wait the week or so.

 

[bjc451]

Soap very bad for aquariums
Better of running it in mild white vinegar solution overnight. Or just wait the week or so.

+1
I run it in vinegar and hot water ever water change . It really is amazing how much better they run when clean

 

[Anchor]

Yes, I wouldn't run soap in my tank.. but a good rinse should be effective enough. I would personally avoid vinegar on it myself.. I just don't like using vinegar as a cleaning agent anymore. Citric acid might be something I might use. As to the oils from manufacturing, I would also think those are not good for a reef tank.. but I don't know what mold type relase the manufacturer might use.

 

[theMeat]

Yup vinegar can degrade plastics and rubber for sure.
Although I use that or a mild solution of muriatic acid a few times a year

 

[trmiv]

When I break in skimmers I run them in the sink with water and some Dawn dish soap then rinse well. Works great at breaking them in faster.

And it’s perfectly safe to use a dish soap like Dawn and then rinse well. You wash your hands with soap and then rinse and then put them in the tank all the time I’m sure.

 

[AZMSGT]

Break in = Getting a light skim coat of "yucky poo ka ka" on the walls of the skimmer to get it to perform normally... LOL

 

[Quietman]

Good question. Not sure there is a definitive answer. Most suspect manufacturing oils and residue. Perhaps something inherent in new plastic that needs exposure to saltwater or air to oxidize and "seal"...like the corrosion layer on water pipes actually protects the water from lead. Just theorizing here.

It is a thing though...2 weeks in and my skimmer magically settled down and stopped vomiting foam all over my sump.

Mine has pump outside body so that's only place I use acid to clean. Otherwise I just keep it wiped off with towels and water and it stays like new.

 

[CasaReefer]

Break in = Getting a light skim coat of "yucky poo ka ka" on the walls of the skimmer to get it to perform normally... LOL

Pretty easy for you to throw out all those technical terms this early in the morning.... on your 3rd cup of coffee...lol

 

[AZMSGT]

Pretty easy for you to throw out all those technical terms this early in the morning.... on your 3rd cup of coffee...lol

Well, the swear filter wouldn't let me say what I really wanted to say LOL...

I also think it depends on what each of us consider "Broken in". For me, it's when my skimmer doesn't need constant adjusting to get the foam head where I want it.

So to be fair, I have "broke in" 2 skimmers this last few months. 1. a Red Sea RSK600, using just the tank to break it in took about 3 weeks (new tank). 2. Is a Reef Octopus 200sss, it was broke in in about a week. (not so new of a tank).

When I first fired up the Red Sea that sucker would overflow the cup even with the valve closed all the way. After a while of just letting it run and overflow back into the sump, finally it started to settle down. I think if I hooked up a drain it would have emptied the entire tank.

 

[CasaReefer]

Well, the swear filter wouldn't let me say what I really wanted to say LOL...

I also think it depends on what each of us consider "Broken in". For me, it's when my skimmer doesn't need constant adjusting to get the foam head where I want it.

So to be fair, I have "broke in" 2 skimmers this last few months. 1. a Red Sea RSK600, using just the tank to break it in took about 3 weeks (new tank). 2. Is a Reef Octopus 200sss, it was broke in in about a week. (not so new of a tank).

When I first fired up the Red Sea that sucker would overflow the cup even with the valve closed all the way. After a while of just letting it run and overflow back into the sump, finally it started to settle down. I think if I hooked up a drain it would have emptied the entire tank.

I Have the REDSEA 600 and I still have trouble getting it adjusted right after 5 months.. Looking into making a change.

 

[X-37B]

I Have the REDSEA 600 and I still have trouble getting it adjusted right after 5 months.. Looking into making a change.

Look into a Tunze dc skimmer. You plug it in turn it on and it skims. Been running one for 7 months now with no adjustment needed. Easiest cup to take off and clean in Less than 5 minutes.
I never turn it off even when feeding. I feed reef roids once a week and the skimmer head reduces then returns to normal with zero adjustment needed.
I have a 9410 dc on my 120 and a 9410 non dc on my 45 frag tank.

 

[CasaReefer]

Look into a Tunze dc skimmer. You plug it in turn it on and it skims. Been running one for 7 months now with no adjustment needed. Easiest cup to take off and clean in Less than 5 minutes.
I never turn it off even when feeding. I feed reef roids once a week and the skimmer head reduces then returns to normal with zero adjustment needed.
I have a 9410 dc on my 120 and a 9410 non dc on my 45 frag tank.

Thanks for the Heads Up ... I know I diffidently wanna go DC..

 

[Anchor]

So getting back to running better after cleaning.. I have just been running a bottle brush on mine without chemicals. starts right back up where it left off. I have a semi DIY old SWC with an SK200 Sicce.., took about 2 days to get going but that was all water level adjusting. Now has a layer of "KA KA POO POO" and hums along nicely.. but.. I cant say I had to break either of my 2 in. I did get both used though.. and they sat dry. Maybe this "OIL" thing is actually a thing.. but again.., wouldn't just cleaning a new skimmer do the trick? Does seem to give some credence to having to …. let a slime coat build up.

 

[Dan_P]

I keep reading about skimmer break-in and it taking some weeks to occur. My question is, what is exactly happening during this break in that does not happen immediately? I am fully aware of bubble surface tension and its interaction with proteins, oils, aminos and other surfactants. But what needs to happen to the skimmer to break it in? Are we talking that it needs to get the body dirty or something? This would seem counter intuitive to ever cleaning it, other than that brown slime breaking down into Ammoniated or Nitrogen compounds with out that cleaning..

Someone shed some light on this for me as it sounds like break in is more in tune with tweaking to get the correct bubble/air flow and water levels.. than some haphazard thing that miraculously happens to the skimmer. I have an idea of what needs to occur but then there are some things that make me feel that though tis wrong.. hoping someone lse brings it up so I don't feel stupid thinking this..

The break in period notion is probably more accurately called skimmer riser tube surface cleaning period. I wonder if there is something in the plastic or on the surface like a mold release residue that interferes with bubble stability In new skimmers.

Yes, detergent seems like a good way to remove it as long as you thoroughly rinse the surface clean of detergent which should be relatively easy.

If it wasn’t for this foreign material on the surface, a skimmer performance should stabilize quickly, an hour or two. It seems even starting with a clean riser, the skimmer riser surface still becomes “conditioned” in that hour or two probably with organic material being skimmed. I frequently clean the riser of my skimmer and the foaming and skimmate production are never identical to the just-before-cleaning foaming and skimmate production.

 

[Anchor]

One thing I would say for sure, dont use Alcohol to clean Acrylic or plastics, it WILL degrade them.. Acrylic particularly.