What should the waste in the collection cup in a protein skimmer look like?

queenangel920

queenangel920

Member
We had one years back and I always remember it being green. We just got a new protein skimmer and getting a lot of light green liquid in the cup. I just read elsewhere that it should be brown or black. What should the waste really look like? If it should be darker in color, why is mine light green?
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Originally Posted by QueenAngel920
http:///forum/post/3164037
We had one years back and I always remember it being green. We just got a new protein skimmer and getting a lot of light green liquid in the cup. I just read elsewhere that it should be brown or black. What should the waste really look like? If it should be darker in color, why is mine light green?
Your protein skimmer may still be in it's break in period. I've seen some people have thick dark brown waste that looks like baby poop and others have lighter green. A lot depends on what the skimmer is pulling out of the water (what you feed, what type of fish, etc) and what type of skimmer it is. My skimmer pulls mainly dark brown out, when it was breaking in, it was a lighter color and when there were only two baby clowns, it was lighter as well. Now I have two tangs, a dwarf angel, 6 clown gobies, 2 yellow watchmen, a fairy wrasse, a combtooth blenny, a spotted mandarin and two clownfish so it pulls out A LOT.
 
queenangel920

queenangel920

Member
So maybe it's lighter now because in a 95 gallon tank , I have only 1 damsel! I know that sounds horrible but the tank crashed years ago and kinda gave up for a while. We now want to get back into the hobby so have to get the water back up to par. The nitrates were through the roof but over the course of a month or so, we've done weekly water changes and gotten them down significantly. Not comfortable yet to add more fish so with continued water changes and the protein skimmer, I hope to get and maintain them at 20 or below. Right nitrates are about 40. We are running a Kent Marine Nautilus TE skimmer.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Originally Posted by QueenAngel920
http:///forum/post/3164075
So maybe it's lighter now because in a 95 gallon tank , I have only 1 damsel! I know that sounds horrible but the tank crashed years ago and kinda gave up for a while. We now want to get back into the hobby so have to get the water back up to par. The nitrates were through the roof but over the course of a month or so, we've done weekly water changes and gotten them down significantly. Not comfortable yet to add more fish so with continued water changes and the protein skimmer, I hope to get and maintain them at 20 or below. Right nitrates are about 40. We are running a Kent Marine Nautilus TE skimmer.

You don't have a demanding bio load right now so that's probably why. Before you add fish, start with a CUC. Do you plan on keeping the damsel or returning him once you're done cycling? They can be really aggressive.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Originally Posted by QueenAngel920
http:///forum/post/3164081
I will probably keep the damsel just because we've had him for over 12 years. It was one of the first fish we got.
WOW! I would not get rid of him either. I thought you were just using a little one for cycling like many people do.
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
I believe the skimmate color is also dependent on how you have the skimmer set to run. The "dry" skimmate will be darker in color while others prefer to skim "wet" giving it a lighter color. There is also a difference in how often you empty the collection cup. Wet = more often, dry = less often.
Which is better,%% I think it is a personal choice. There is a small bit of talk about that.
Good Luck.
 
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