How to evaluate a protein skimmer

[goodisor]

Hi there.Can anyone tell me what to look at when deciding whether my protein skimmer is working properly or not.Do I check how often I must emty it or are there symptoms in the tank indicating it's efficiency,etc.
Thanks
Goodisor

[iglowce]

i wanna know too... hopefully someone wt experience will respond

[TankBuster]

You should set it up so that you get dark foam and water in the collection cup, I like it set up when I have to empty my cup every toher day, but that depends on your bio load. The thicker the foam the darker it is going to be and the lower the level of the micro bubbles that are climbing into the collection cup, the darker it will be. The longer those bubbles stay in the chamber, the more matter it will colllect. Hope this helps somewhat.

[H20Boy]

Hi there.Can anyone tell me what to look at when deciding whether my protein skimmer is working properly or not.Do I check how often I must emty it or are there symptoms in the tank indicating it's efficiency,etc.
Thanks
Goodisor

This is a nice cup of sludge--If your skimmer is brand new you will need to run it a few days to a week to brake it in.
Brand new skimmers have a light film on the plastic--I think it is some form of lubricant used in the process of making the round chamber thru extrusion. I have heard that washing it with a vinegar aids in removing this mystery film/Lube.

[goodisor]

Excellent!!!Everyone has been a great help,but the picture says it all.Now I have a good idea what to expect.It seems my "no name brand chinese special"skimmer is not so bad after all.By the way how long did it take to collect that much sludge?

[H20Boy]

Excellent!!!Everyone has been a great help,but the picture says it all.Now I have a good idea what to expect.It seems my "no name brand chinese special"skimmer is not so bad after all.By the way how long did it take to collect that much sludge?

I would say that's about 3-4 days and I only paid $35.00 for the skimmer- I plan on building a bigger badder Monster Skimmer down the road.

If you do not keep your water level consistent (preferably auto top off) if your water level fluctuates so does the effectives of your skimmer.

[Dominuslive]

Keep in mind as well that if you use tap water as top off it will affect your skimmer as well. Could cause it to overflow....

[hrdneglcry]

Look at the name. Get only a Euro Reef, or an ASM.

[goodisor]

I am going to checkout the names you have mentioned next weekend when I go through to Durban.No decent shops here.I bet they cost a whack?

[hrdneglcry]

They are pretty expensive, but they are the best by far. You might do well to check on eBay, or other fish forums like this, namely reefcentral.com for a used one if you want to save a little money. Make sure you find out what size you will need for your tank. You can probably do an online search to get more information on them.