Protien skimmer maddness!!!

[wagners]

The protien skimmer that came with my tank/ sump combo is, I assume, in need of tuning. From brand new its been running for a bout 3 weeks. Initially i read that there is a 4 day or so time frame when it needs to be coated in slime before it begins working. Its certainly been a lot longer than that.

These are the instructions that I found relating to my question from the manufacturer "It's commonly known that protein skimmer needs to be adjusted to prime. Above the yellow sponge, there is a valve for the purpose. We recommend to empty the waste cup once every 10 to 20 days. You can adjust the valve either the waste accumulates too soon or too late."

Now the "valve" they are talking about is a pinch knob which can be turned to increase waterflow into the actual skimmer. When I turn this it raises the water level. In addition to this is the air valve which lets air in to create bubbles. When I turn this , bubbles begin in a tornado colum...the more air i let in the higher the water level goes as well.....- until it begins emptiing clear water into the collection cup.

I have seen evidence of green matter/liquid in the collection cup but never evidence of foaming. Does anyone have some useful advice on how to adjust the 2 valves in order to get this thing cranking??


If you read my other thread below.., you can see the tanks now covered in algea,...it must be able to pull something out.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showt...46&goto=newpost


Any help would be appreciated

[cdbias2]

Adjust the air so that you get lots of tiny bubbles and then adjust the water level.

[EnglishRebel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15185520#post15185520 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cdbias2
Adjust the air so that you get lots of tiny bubbles and then adjust the water level.

++ on that. Get the air adjusted so you have a ton of micro bubbles and then adjust the water valve so the bubble column is about an inch below the neck leading to the cup. The lower the water level the thicker the skimmate, the higher the level the thinner it is. Don't forget to check your salinity on a regular basis because if you're producing wet skimmate you're removing salt water from the system and your RO top off will cause the salinity to get lower. I keep mine about 1.026. When it drops to 1.024 I stop adding RO water and use new SW to top off until my SG comes back to 1.026.
The other thing to bear in mind is that the discharge from the skimmer back to your sump should be just above the water level of the sump. If you make your adjustments with this level and then the water level in the sump rises for some reason and starts to cover the discharge pipe, it will put a back pressure on the skimmer and cause your water level to rise and you'll get very wet skimmate and may even overflow your cup.
So it's important to maintain a steady level in the sump.
Hope this helps.

[terrinstevereef]

what kind of skimmer is it that allows you to empty the cup every 10-20 days, I can barely go 2.5 days without emptying the cup on our G1x.