im not sure if my protein skimmer is working

parkercandleco

parkercandleco

Member
well i have had my skimmer for aabout a month or two now and i think there is suppose to be a foam that is in the collection cup.. well i have not seen a foam at all.. not even the least bit.. and the water is just swirling in there.. as far as i know everything is working pretty good..
it is a Red Sea Prizm Deluxe the kind that is flat and hangs on the side of the tank..
has anyone else had any experience with these..
also when i first set it up i had the water flow open all the way and the water would always flow into the collection cup and it would leak everywhere.. ugh..
so i guess what im asking is.. does it take awhile to get the foam>? or is my tank just really clean???
 
coraljunky

coraljunky

Active Member
slide/adjust the skimmer in small increments until desire skimming is achieved. Sounds like water is escaping the skimmer too quickly.
 
parkercandleco

parkercandleco

Member
i have tried that when i first got it.. but when i did that after a few days the water would have so much pressure that it would overflow into the collection cup and soon after leak everywhere on the outside of my tank..
ugh and the worst thing is i bought this skimmer from ---- so i cant really return it.. welll you live and you learn i guess.
 
coraljunky

coraljunky

Active Member
When skimmers are new, they require a "break-in period". After a week slowly make SMALL adjustments to achieve desired skimming. PATIENCE GRASSHOPPER
 
breiwa1

breiwa1

Member
This may sound stupid, but I am a rookie. I also have a red sea unit and when I asked my friend why it was not working, he opened the air inlet and we had skimmate. I felt pretty stupid but the skimmer worked so well I had to turn it down.
 
parkercandleco

parkercandleco

Member
well when i open the airway all the way it overflows a few days later.. so i cant open it all the way.. i have had the foam once.. and thats it.. it went down after that.. so im not sure whats going on
 
breiwa1

breiwa1

Member
Ok, you have done the exact same thing as I did. It will work if you open the air all the way and adjust the flow to about 3/4. That is where I am running mine. I found a nice spot to run where the skim is kinda dry, kinda wet. I empty it about twice a week, if the skim is to wet I turn the flow a little closer to 1/2 way. Good luck.
 
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