How do you tell when a skimmer is running well?

[Kinesthesia]

How do you tell when a skimmer is running well?

I hear people talk about pulling alot of stuff gunk out and others say it stops running when they feed, insert arm, etc.

I'd like to know what typical or good protein skimmer behavior is. For example, my noname skimmer seems hard to "dialin" and get it to produce consistently. Also, my sister recently set up a tank and her skimmer doesn't seem to produce at all.

I realize that every tank is different in chemistry, bioload and a thousand other variables. However, I'd like to hear any general statements about what is "normal" operation of a skimmer in general, and if there is any visual clues that a skimmer is really doing it's job well.

For example: If a skimmer runs off and on, does that mean it's staying on top of the bioload? And conversely, if it runs nonstop does that mean that it never seems to catch up and appears to be undersized?

I've heard that kalk helps the skimmer, is this true and is there anything else that increases gunk removal ?

Thanks

[dark horge]

Hi K,

Most of my DIY 'skimmers' tend to 'produce' at night or around feeding time. And I have several that haven't produced in years, but I keep them in there, well maintained.

Why?
Because I fear disasters when I'm not around, like contamination or a breakout of hostilities between mucus-flinging inverts, etc.

Whatever the frequency or duration of 'production' by a foam fractionator, you want as dry a foam as possible.

I guess if your frac spits out any gunk under any schedule, and your water doesn't turn yellow over time, you can suspect that the little widget IS working

horge


PS: Kalk can lock down phosphates and other loose, calcum-friendly compounds as a whitish/grayish precipitate --which is drawn out on the foam. The idea is to drip kalk into the foaming chamber, so that as much of the precipitate gets exported. If you're dripping kalk to begin with, then it's a neat idea to drip it into the skimmer. I forget if it was Eric B. who first publicized the technique. (Anyone here with a less-addled memory?)



[ 06-21-2001: Message edited by: dark horge ]

[Kinesthesia]

Thanks Horge! Insightful as always. I guess what I'm asking myself is... I have this no name skimmer, and it's putting out foam. Dark, nasty foam... off and on. It was made by a company called Aquatic Life Support or something like that and it appears to be a basic venturi skimmer. But I read differing opinions about this skimmer or that skimmer being "enough". And since I have a 120 gallon and frankly want more fish and love to feed them, I was going to invest in a "real" skimmer. Probably a EuroReef CS6-1.

So the real question is... am I going to gain anything. If my skimmer is producing, how can I tell if it is producing enough or if a skimmer upgrade is worthwhile.

I am particularly nervous because I just removed my wet/dry completely last night. And I'm quaking in my boots because I've never run a tank without one.

[Alice]

Kin!

You took the plunge! Don't worry, we'll hold your hand

It sounds to me like your skimmer's doing what it's supposed to do. Monitor your water paramaters for now before you add anything, I'll bet you'll see those nitrate levels dropping. When you start adding more fish, do it slowly and keep monitoring. If they start climbing back up, it may be time for a new skimmer or more water changes, depending on how you want to handle export. For right now, if I were you, I'd watch and wait and keep my money in my pocket a while longer

~Alice

[Doug1]

If your skimmer is constantly pulling out gunk but the nitrate levels are creeping up it might not be up to the task.
Options before investing in a bigger skimmer are increasing the amount and diversity of the detrivores and sandbed infauna, keep in mind as he food levels go up the existing can reproduce at a higher level than a tank thats near starved.
Add harvestable macro algae to lock down nutrients so than can be exported through manual removal.
The advantage to these methods are a more Holistic approach to the overall reef biotope
Increased larval and algae spores,etc produce zoo and phyto planktors that will feed your corals