Advise - Water test done. Skimmer?

[Feron]

Ok, I finished my pass thru wall (yay! will have pics soon).
So tonight I filled my tank with regular ole water to make sure there were no leaks in the system.
Check.
Added the ups.
Check (for 7 minutes anyways....froogle.com here I come).
System is circulating as I would "expect".

Question time!!
The skimmer.. I assumed the skimmer would uh...vortex?.. enough to pull things up into the cup.. Yet it's only about halfway up the skimmer "vortex" wise...wth?
I've played with the air intake on it, and gotten it to it's max height... is this a water level issue?

 

[Feron]

For references sake..
My previous "getting started thread" was:
http://aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=66508
Since then I have gained an elephant*ox*theirpoo-ton of knowledge (thank you all)..
There are numerous packages on their way here with all sorts of goodies to help me out, as well as about a quarter ton of LR I end up taking care of/using..
(My, how we can grow if we read and share!)

My personnel endeavors (display tank?) are most certainly not being rushed, so I still need tonnes of help there..
thank you all for your insight or thoughts...

 

[steve-s]

The skimmer.. I assumed the skimmer would uh...vortex?.. enough to pull things up into the cup.. Yet it's only about halfway up the skimmer "vortex" wise...wth?
I've played with the air intake on it, and gotten it to it's max height... is this a water level issue?

Sounds like the pump may not be powerful enough. What make/model is the skimmer and what pump are you using?

How close does the water rise to the collection cup without the air turned on?

Cheers
Steve

 

[Feron]

the skimmer is a pro clear aquatic systems?

The pump is attached to the side of it, so I'd think it'd be good enough to drive the unit..
the water only makes it up to about halfway up the main body of the unit, 5/6 inches or so away from the base of the cup.

 

[theatrus]

That should be ok, although I've never tried dealing with that skimmer. You won't get any major foam production until there is some waste in the water. Id start tweaking it once you get the LR in and it starts curing.

 

[steve-s]

More than possible it's lack of nutrient but my guess is it's lack of "infused" air being brought into the skimmer itself. If you already have a strong air pump, try attaching that to the air intake at full throtle and see if that makes a difference.

Cheers
Steve

 

[greenmaji]

is there salt in the water yet?

 

[Feron]

No, was just a regular ole water test, making sure the tank held water and all the seals were holding everywheres..
Going to be filling it up with water over the next couple of days and then adding salt.
RO unit is slow :/

 

[steve-s]

LOL... that definately explains it then. The skimmer won't do squat without a good salinity content.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Brenden]

Proteins can not bound to make the foam without salt in the water.

 

[greenmaji]

did the skimmer work once you got salt in the water?
salt water holds much smaller bubbles and more durible foam then FW will ever be able to.. thats why it didnt work.. I thought I would throw that out there as a posibilty..before you thought something was wrong..

 

[Feron]

yup, added the salt and bang, foam..
Nothing in the cup, but I just added part of the LR so I expect stuff in a couple weeks I guess

 

[greenmaji]

dont worry.. they have a break in period of up to two weeks when there is a bio-load.. so your in the clear