ajmckay Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 How is the inner foam riser tube in a protein skimmer supposed to look? The inside of mine is coated with a thick, nasty film (See the picture where you cannot see through the inner tube). It seems that every other skimmer I see that has been working for years doesn't have much of this build up in the foam riser tube. My concern is that my skimmer is not powerful enough to shove the foam all the way up the tube into the collection cup. If I stare at the skimmer for 10 minutes I might see the foam get to the top of the collection tube, then it just sort of deflates back into the skimmer... I have a thick, nasty brown film on the surface of my water, and I'm thinking that the protein-laden bubbles are not able to deposit their scum into the cup so it gets put back into the water and then winds up on the water surface along with all the micro-bubbles my skimmer produces. I confess that my woes are most likely attributed to having a Seaclone 100... Does anyone know more about this subject? Should the inner tube in the collection cup have so much build-up on it? I will be getting a new skimmer sometime, but I need to wait a month or so. Maybe I should go skimmerless? Link to comment
ssirishpride Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Clean it with hot water. Link to comment
Jim_i Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Yes, you will get buildup. Yes, you need to clean it. Yes, it does get near the top and then deflate where you could either leave it so only the drier foam gets over the edge or you could adjust the water level in your skimmer to force more wet foam into your cup. As for surface film, your skimmer will reduce but not eliminate that issue. You need a surface skimmer. Link to comment
ajmckay Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 Thanks for the helpful advice. I think I might try adjusting the flow a little more. It seems that right now there's some good micro bubbles in the skimmer chamber, but not enough pressure to bump the foam into the collection cup. If I close the air valve too much though the bubbles aren't nearly as fine and there aren't nearly as many... I do agree that I need a surface skimmer, but at the same time I never had any brown goo on the surface until I got the skimmer... I've been thinking about getting the Octopus HOB BH1000 or the BH100F. I don't have a sump on my 29 gallon, so it needs to be HOB, and I really like not having another pump in the water. Link to comment
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