Shouldn't a skimmer always make smkimmate?

[Meanmike]

Sometimes it's thick and overflowing other times it just makes very wet white not very green bubbles/foam but barely comes up the tube.

[eco37]

Give us some more info.
Type of skimmer, size, age of tank, heavy bio load?

How long have you had skimmer?
The more you can tell us, the easier it is to help :)

[Meanmike]

Tank is a 180 with two 40 breeders for sump? This is the skimmer http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4392+23715&pcatid=23715 mine is a 705 I think which is not listed rated for 200 heavily stocked 300 lightly. I have 6 cardinal fish pair of tomato clowns lawnmower blenny a couple of shrimp snails and crabs. It's been running about a month and a half and the skimmer has been running all of that time.

[Meanmike]

Tank is a 180 with two 40 breeders for sump? This is the skimmer http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4392+23715&pcatid=23715 mine is a 705 I think which is not listed rated for 200 heavily stocked 300 lightly. I have 6 cardinal fish pair of tomato clowns lawnmower blenny a couple of shrimp snails and crabs. It's been running about a month and a half and the skimmer has been running all of that time.

[TimeConsumer]

Hm, I know just about nothing about Hydor skimmers. What's the diameter of the neck on it? Anything bigger than 4-6" will not be able to keep a consistent foam head with a bioload as low as yours. I have a 4" neck on my skimmer, and I've got a bioload larger than yours on my 75g.

[jimmyj7090]

Most skimmers will be somewhat on/off with foam production. A lot of things will make the foam collapse for a while, examples being some foods and frequently putting your hands in the tank. Other things will make skimmers go nuts, examples being some medications, or using underwater epoxy.

Sounds like you have yours adjusted just a bit too aggressively so that it's starting to overflow when it should be foaming normally, and when it should be doing just about nothing it's still almost producing foam. I'd back off just a little on the water level in the skimmer and then leave it alone for a bit and see how it behaves.

[Alex T.]

IMHO, a skimmer that is always making a foam head and producing skimmate is undersized. Think about it. If the skimmer can never catch up and idle, then there are more organics in the water than it can handle. I don't know anything about this skimmer so hopefully someone Hydor skimmer experience can chime in.

HTH

[mtcoins123]

my skimmer does the same thing on a schedule like a clock every day at about 1230 it stops making skim and starts again when lights start to go into dusk cycle i am playing with the lights and feeding schedule to see wich affects it i have a feeling it may be the light cycle since it coincides with my peak lighting time

[Meanmike]

So it sounds like this may be a normal thing then. I have been doing ten to fifteen percent water changes twice a week that I imagine contributes to this.

Thanks guys

[scolley]

IMHO, a skimmer that is always making a foam head and producing skimmate is undersized. Think about it. If the skimmer can never catch up and idle, then there are more organics in the water than it can handle.Wow! I guess that should be a BFO - Blinding Flash of the Obvious. But it never occured to me. Thanks for that insight!

Now I've just got to go see how consistently my skimmer skims...

[salty55]

So it sounds like this may be a normal thing then. I have been doing ten to fifteen percent water changes twice a week that I imagine contributes to this.

Thanks guys

Wow, thats seems like a lot of water changes on a tank with virtually no bioload! It doesnt look like a problem with the skimmer, you water is just too clean.

[Meanmike]

Wow, thats seems like a lot of water changes on a tank with virtually no bioload! It doesnt look like a problem with the skimmer, you water is just too clean.

Just trying to keep the HA under control.

[salty55]

Just trying to keep the HA under control.

If you have hair algae then you have a phosphate problem. water changes are the least effecient way to lower phos. you want to run GFO to lower phos and that will get rid of HA.
are you using ro/di water? If not you may be adding to the problem by actually adding phosphates back to the system after each water change.
hair algae can be one of the easiest nuisance algae's to get rid of, they need phosphates to survive. keep phos at 0 for a couple weeks and it will disappear. ;)

[Meanmike]

If you have hair algae then you have a phosphate problem. water changes are the least effecient way to lower phos. you want to run GFO to lower phos and that will get rid of HA.
are you using ro/di water? If not you may be adding to the problem by actually adding phosphates back to the system after each water change.
hair algae can be one of the easiest nuisance algae's to get rid of, they need phosphates to survive. keep phos at 0 for a couple weeks and it will disappear. ;)

RO/DI all the way. I think I have phos coming from the brs Eco saver dry rock. The water changes have helped out so far. I have considered gfo but want to wait it out a bit longer.

[biecacka]

My skimmer is super active at night. Not sure why tho? I'd be interested in finding out why tho
Corey

[salty55]

My skimmer is super active at night. Not sure why tho? I'd be interested in finding out why tho
Corey

Yep, thats normal too. Randy holmes-farley can elaborate on that in the chemistry section. It has something to do with the lack of photosynthesis at night, respiration, and oxygen levels while all that stuff is/isnt going on.

[salty55]

RO/DI all the way. I think I have phos coming from the brs Eco saver dry rock. The water changes have helped out so far. I have considered gfo but want to wait it out a bit longer.

Yep, that rock is notorious for it. You Might as well suck it up and buy some GFO, lol. That stuff will leach po4 forever!

[Meanmike]

Yep, that rock is notorious for it. You Might as well suck it up and buy some GFO, lol. That stuff will leach po4 forever!

When I bought it I was under the impression that the Eco saver was fine and that it was the pukani with the phos problem.

I can just run gfo in a bag like carbon right?

[salty55]

Yes. But of course it is more efficient if ran in a reactor. If you dont have one the filter sock is better than nothing. Just hang it near the drain in your sump. Dont let it get blasted by the direct flow of the drain. If that stuff tumbles it will grind itself into dust.

[bongarone]

Yep, that rock is notorious for it. You Might as well suck it up and buy some GFO, lol. That stuff will leach po4 forever!

You're thinking of the wrong rock. Reef Saver Eco rock is dug up from dry land. Pukani is what leaches PO4.

[bongarone]

When I bought it I was under the impression that the Eco saver was fine and that it was the pukani with the phos problem

You are correct on this one.

That's not to say that Reef Saver is 100% phosphate free, but we're talking very small amounts. You're introducing a lot more phosphate into the tank every time you feed.

Before taking any action, test your water for both phosphate and nitrate.

[wildman926]

Sometimes it's thick and overflowing other times it just makes very wet white not very green bubbles/foam but barely comes up the tube.

Tank is a 180 with two 40 breeders for sump? This is the skimmer http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4392+23715&pcatid=23715 mine is a 705 I think which is not listed rated for 200 heavily stocked 300 lightly. I have 6 cardinal fish pair of tomato clowns lawnmower blenny a couple of shrimp snails and crabs. It's been running about a month and a half and the skimmer has been running all of that time.

Your tank is VERY young, going through the maturation process. Just give it time. Make sure you put a good sized clump of cheato in the sump, and that will starve the dt ha. Jut continue to remove the ha in the dt. You really shouldn't be running a skimmer for the first couple of months anyways. If you must, it will take longer to mature.

[mtcoins123]

Yep, thats normal too. Randy holmes-farley can elaborate on that in the chemistry section. It has something to do with the lack of photosynthesis at night, respiration, and oxygen levels while all that stuff is/isnt going on.

i tried this post in reef chem and thats why im doing the modifications and tracking to see what makes a larger impact on skimmate production i am convinced it is tied photosynthesis and bioload production "after sunset"