i have a skilter 250

[marine7198]

hey i have a skilter 250 i got for free and set it up in my tank. does this thing suck or what? once i have more money ill be getting an aqua c but for now is there anything i can do to reduce the bubbles in my tank?? any info would be great. also the collection tray fills up with white bubbles and turns into a yellow/ brown liquid is this normal? i thought the color of bubbles were suppose to be a brownish color?

 

[natclanwy]

Yes, they are a horrible skimmer. You can try a piece of foam in the outlet of the skimmer to catch the bubbles. When I used mine a few years ago I used a limewood airstone and airpump instead of the venturi on the pump to produce the bubbles, which worked much better and reduced the amount of bubbles making it to the DT.
Skimmate is usually darker than that but with the skilter that probably the best your going to do.

 

[marine7198]

thanks for the reply until i get more cash i might try a seperate air pump and stone...what kind of foam are u talking about do i put it in behind the filter?

 

[stanlalee]

they make for a quite decent hang on back mechanical filter. the skimmer section is useless. might as well keep the air (and associated noise) OFF. you'll get about a spoon full of watery skimate weekly if your lucky. my first skimmer if it can be called that.

 

[rmeaux]

regular black or white or blue floss looking filter material. just put it where the exiting water comes out to act as a post filter.

 

[natclanwy]

With the airstone I could fill the cup daily with light green skimate but normally I adjusted the output so that it would skim a little dryer and I would get a medium brown skimate and would have to empty it every 4-5 days. The airstone greatly reduces the noise also.