skimmer cleaning??

[jtkld75]

How often should this be done? thanks
josh

 

[pacopetty]

it varies. I clean mine as it needs it.

 

[jtkld75]

well its been going for about 1.5 weeks (since we got the tank), and it looks very clean, maybe a little too clean.. I cant find a name, but on the power cord it says "Red Sea". Maybe the brand, anyone ever heard of it? thanks
Red Sea Prizm Pro Deluxe Protein Skimmer is what it is, at least from the pics that i can find online. it looks exacly like this... Seems to be a decent product. is it possible that my water is just really clean, we only have 3 fish in there, i small yellow tang, i yellow damsel, and 1 clown. Not much LR yet, Undrgravel filersys, fluval 304... and some assorted hermits and crabs, one cleaner shrimp............Is it possible that its just clean?/

 

[jtkld75]

one more question..There are 2 chambers on this unit, the top and the bottom, the top has no water in it, it seems like it should...am i wrong... I remember when the guy was showin me how to get it runnign you had to hold your finger over the plastic tube (on that top section) until water came to the top, then you hooked the hose back upp?/
does anyone know what i just said?/ thanks
http://www.redseafish.com/SubCategor...ID=93&subID=34
maybe that will help, i believe the collection cup is at the top? well its dry as a bone.. whats up?

 

[jtkld75]

bump........Can anyone give me some insight on this, it did not come with a manual or anything or i would just use that... thanks

 

[donmgicwon]

Make sure you have the plastic tube inserted on the proper

[hr]
. Do you have bubbles in either the bottom or top chambers? Should be violent bubbling in bottom and big very slow to non moving bubles in top. A little confusing I know. Do you have the instructions? If you do read them over and over until you understand them. I say this because I know a lot of people who glance at the instructions, get a little confused and decide to figure it out on their own. One more thing I think the nipples are mixed up on the instructions (they were on mine).HTH

 

[jtkld75]

wow, definately, NOT bubbling excessively anywhere,.. if you look at the skimmerstanding infront of the tank, the plastic tube is hooked to the left

[hr]
, or the one with one (I) over top of the

[hr]
. The other has (II)..
NO i didnt get instructions or i would have checked those first, lol.. So im between a rock and a hard place, have this good skimmer, but i dont think its working properly... On another note, there is water flowing back into the tank from the skimmer.
any ideas? Thanks for you imput

 

[jtkld75]

HELP, I just changed sides on the skimmer, i mean the hose switched it to the II, ad now its loud and vigorous, and i am getting foam coming up the circular thing in the middle,,, is this what i am supposed to get ??? please help because if its backwards or something i dont want to screw it up

 

[jtkld75]

the water level keeps rising in the collection cup? what do i do?

 

[donmgicwon]

Once you have water flowing move the tube to the

[hr]
marked ll on the right then adjust the black knob down about 45 degrees and over the next hour or so adjust it back up but stop before you see any bubbles going in to the cup. Back off a little if you see bubbles/water coming up. After the skimmer has ran for a few hours or longer you will see thick bubbles coming up, this is GOOD.

 

[jtkld75]

man this is really confusing, lol.. ihave a bit of foam in the cup on top and in the cylindrical tube in the center there is foam that is slowly going to the top ,,, like in spurts.., is this what your refering too?
Ok turned it down and now it is bubble free, in the center anyway, and yes it seems to be getting thicker there too,
So is this where i should leave the black valve at or slowly open it up once the stuff collects? thanks again that helped 100%

 

[donmgicwon]

Watch it close. If nothing is coming up turn the knob a tiny tiny amount at a time until you start to see it perculate, then back off a tiny tiny bit. Leave it there but watch close for a few hours every 5 minutes at first then every 15 or so until you are comfortable that it is stable. Over the next few days you will notice thick foam going into the cup and will fill up within a week or less with really nasty looking/smelling stuff. When you dump it out just replace the cup with no cleaning or rinsing (I clean my cup about every third time). Don't turn the knob once you get it set, unless you do a water change, then turn it down a little and slowly move it back up. To empty the cup unplug the unit (from the electrical outlet) to stop the water flow without having to turn the knob. Be sure to put water on the O-ring every time you replace the cup. If you have a lot of bubbles in the hard plastic water feed tube (the one that takes the water from the tank) just give the plastic tube a little squeeze with your fingers for about 2-5 seconds then let up. This should clear out any bubbles and help quiet the unit a little.

 

[donmgicwon]

Originally posted by jtkld75
ihave a bit of foam in the cup on top and in the cylindrical tube in the center there is foam that is slowly going to the top ,,, like in spurts.., is this what your refering too?
Ok100%
BTW, you don't want spurts. If you have spurts then the knob needs to be closed a little, but your close.

 

[jtkld75]

its more like pieces of the foam are pulled to the top and then theyres a little bit more in the cup that gets suckedout by the hose on II.,,, do i still need to turn it down, to like9 oclock?
So that it builds up in the circular thing i mean, and then turn it up

 

[donmgicwon]

I saw how full your cup was in that other thread. You need to dump that out and start with an empty cup.