SeaClone Protein Skimmer

[ajsailling944]

i just purchased a SeaClone Protein Skimmer 100 for my 75 gallon tank...it worked great for the first 3 days i emptyed the canaster and now its is very cloudy and has alot of air bubbles in the tank...what did i do wrong..i also added a bit of red slime powder treatment to the water its been a day what should i do

[goreefer]

SeaClones do not have that good of a reputation, but they are ok for small tanks. Eventually you will want to get a better skimmer.
The reason for your bubbles is the red slime treatment that you added. They will go away in a few days, or just run some carbon, but that will remove the treatment.

[Andrew]

[welcome]

ditto. SeaClones are very generic skimmers. I would invest in a new one. Make sure you have it hooked up right. It will take awhile to break in and skimmers will "go crazy" if you stir up the tank too much or add chemicals to them.

[Tswifty]

There is also a relatively easy modification you can do supposably to enhance their performance.

It involves using a dremel or drill with a small bit, and drilling holes through the pumps impellor, then feeding fishing line through it. (Similiar to a mesh mod in principle).

I'll have to see if I can find a link with pictures for you.

[Eklikewhoa]

The instructions for the red slime remover states to turn off your skimmer.

[seapug]

I used a SeaClone 150 on my 90 gallon for about a year begore I upgraded. They aren't the best skimmer but can do a pretty impressive job if you use them HOB and tune them just right.

Open the air valve all the way so you see an air pocket in the top elbow of the input pipe then slowly close it just to the point where the air pocket disappears and there are no "standing" bubbles at the top. If the water moves too fast through that upper elbow, you get microbubbles.

You will also get a lot of microbubbles after feeding oily foods like mysis or cyclopeez. I never figured out how to avoid that. It will go away after a few hours but you may need to re-adjust the air valve again. It takes some practice but once you get the hang of it it's pretty easy.

["L"]

You will likely upgrade skimmers soon.