Skimmer question

[Hondatek]

How long does it usually take for a new skimmer to start making foam?

 

[hackteck]

some take a couple days to break in some a week or two it depends on the model which one do you have?

 

[Hondatek]

Sea clone 100

 

[hackteck]

i had one of those it took about 3-4 days to break in but i'll tell you i wasnt very happy with it and ended up getting another one

 

[Gti_Leo]

if you have a friend that has a skiller on his/her SW setup, then take some skimmate from theirs and rub it on the neck of the cup and skimmer. it will keep the break in time short

 

[Hondatek]

O really how can u tell if it's not working to good? And if my tank finishes cycling this weekend before the skimmer is doing it's thing can I still add fish? I think I can but this is my first saltwater tank

 

[Gti_Leo]

you shouldn't add fish untill the cycle is done

 

[hackteck]

yea you can a protein skimmer isnt really NEEDED item to have but it does do a great job of breaking down disolved organics and removing them from the tank

 

[hackteck]

you shouldn't add fish untill the cycle is done

he said IF it finishes and also with my seaclone i was constantly having to adjust it to create skim and when it did skim it wasnt very good at it

 

[Gti_Leo]

ohhhhhh lol oops i read wrong.

its been a long week so far

 

[Hondatek]

Ok so basically it turns harmful stuff into foam and then u remove it manually by cleaning the top cup?

 

[Gti_Leo]

yep

 

[Hondatek]

Huh interesting. Is this a sw thing only or would one help my discus tank

 

[Gti_Leo]

you can use it wherever you want, all it does is creats microbubbles that attract disolved organics and pulls it out of the water

 

[thincat]

Huh interesting. Is this a sw thing only or would one help my discus tank

If this Discus tank is planted it would not be a good Idea to use a Skimmer because the skimmer would remove nutriants needed by the plants. Better to spend your money on a good filter.IMO

 

[Hondatek]

Still no foam nothing but water droplets so far

 

[melosu58]

Moved to General hardware and equipment discussion

 

[Affordable Aquatic]

SeaClone skimmers are notoriously bad. They dont skim well when properly adjusted and difficult to 'dial in' When I first started out I assumed skimmers are all the same. So I bought a SeaClone because that's what the lfs sold. I couldn't get it to skim, and I bought a second one, figuring the first was broken. I ended up returning them after a few weeks and bought a better unit- for around the same price.

If you purchased the skimmer new, you might consider returning it, since you might never get it to make foam.

 

[Hondatek]

I ordered it offline I don't even know if I can return it. What are good skimmer brands

 

[Affordable Aquatic]

Huh interesting. Is this a sw thing only or would one help my discus tank

Skimmers really only work on salt systems, as the density of fresh water is too low to make bubbles that will not instantly collapse.