Skimmer Sometimes Watery Skim

[darkiss]

So I have been adjusting my skimmer every day for the last month now trying to get it set just right to get a nice dark skimmate. ( Super Reef Octopus 3000 )

Do skimmers produce a weaker skim causing you to adjust it more if the temps in the tank go down or up? Otherwise I can't figure out why I had a nice dark skimmmate for 1week then after that it started producing a light skimmate and now back to trying to find a balancing point.


Thanks,

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

Darkiss, my advice to you would be to Adjust it to a light froth and leave it alone. stop tweaking it it should start priming itself, hope this helps!

[leveldrummer]

Keep your hands out of your tank. set it so its just under where its pulling that light skimate, then leave it for a while. come back a day or two later and check it again.

[thegrun]

There are a lot of factors that affect skimmate production. Foods (oil), chemical additives, medicines, tank mintenance, filters and a host of other things will cause variences in your production of skimmate along with any variences in the water level where the skimmer is located.

[darkiss]

@thegrun
thanks, so temp is not one of the variances, also is there a full list some where?

[thegrun]

I doubt the normal swings in temperature we see in our aquariums would be significant enough to make a noticeable change in skimate production. Feeding and additives are certainly the two biggest contributors that I have noticed. I have never seen a comprehensive list of the things that affect your skimmer. Has anyone out there?