Protein skimmer

[kniquy]

I have had my protein skimmer for ~2years since I changed my fresh water to saltwater. I keep it clean, probably taking everything apart every 2-3months and despite the thorough cleanings it doesn't seem to be taking out the impurities as effectively. Could it be that the tank has little to take out or that the skimmer is not working properly?
I have a 29gal with only 4 fish, clean-up crew and a couple brittle stars (plus a thousand of tiny stars which I found after purchasing a piece of rock!!!)

 

[ryeomans]

What type of skimmer do you have? There can be a huge difference between manufacturers. It can also depend on your bioload, but with 4 fish I would imagine you'd see a fairly regular supply of gunk!

 

[krishj39]

you don't specifically mention you have LR, but then you said you got hitch hiking stars from a piece of rock, so i'm guessing you have LR. the biological filtration in the LR could be helping your skimmer out, giving it less work to do. if you want to know if you are having a problem or not, just do your tests. as long as your levels are still ok, you can rest knowing you have adequate filtration. also, you can look to see if you have a film on the surface of your water, if you do then you do need more filtration.