Hi all,
I recently acquired a "seasoned" 55gal aquarium from a friend who was moving...he's had it for about 15 years. It has two fish....a clown and a yellow tang, as well as lots of live rock with what I'm told are watermelon mushrooms on it. When we moved the aquarium, we used approximately 50% of his "old" water, and 50% "new" salt water from my local supply. It's now been about three weeks, and I've just got to ask a couple of things.
I am having concerns about my protein skimmer and whether or not it's operating properly, and just don't want to harm my inhabitants simply because I didn't ask some questions.
The skimmer is a Sealife Systems SeaStorm 75, and is the same unit the previous owner has used for years. The pump (Rio 800) made some noise for a few seconds after it was plugged in, so as a precaution I replaced it....but I could see no change in performance.
Situation is this: The height of the "foam" column is only about 1/2" above the water level line (see pics), and hasn't come close to the top where it falls over into the collection cup. Initially I was told this was because the water was so "clean", but it's now time for a water change and I still have nothing in the skimmer. So....should the foam be constantly flowing over into the collection cup, regardless of the water condition?....or does this only occur when the water gets sufficiently "dirty"?
Thanks for any help, and if more info is needed just ask!
Thanks again,
Jeff
I recently acquired a "seasoned" 55gal aquarium from a friend who was moving...he's had it for about 15 years. It has two fish....a clown and a yellow tang, as well as lots of live rock with what I'm told are watermelon mushrooms on it. When we moved the aquarium, we used approximately 50% of his "old" water, and 50% "new" salt water from my local supply. It's now been about three weeks, and I've just got to ask a couple of things.
I am having concerns about my protein skimmer and whether or not it's operating properly, and just don't want to harm my inhabitants simply because I didn't ask some questions.
The skimmer is a Sealife Systems SeaStorm 75, and is the same unit the previous owner has used for years. The pump (Rio 800) made some noise for a few seconds after it was plugged in, so as a precaution I replaced it....but I could see no change in performance.
Situation is this: The height of the "foam" column is only about 1/2" above the water level line (see pics), and hasn't come close to the top where it falls over into the collection cup. Initially I was told this was because the water was so "clean", but it's now time for a water change and I still have nothing in the skimmer. So....should the foam be constantly flowing over into the collection cup, regardless of the water condition?....or does this only occur when the water gets sufficiently "dirty"?
Thanks for any help, and if more info is needed just ask!
Thanks again,
Jeff