micro bubbles from skimmer

[easyian]

I just bought a prism pro skimmer and am having problems adjusting it to get rid of the micro bubbles. Has anyone run into this problem before? Will it go away as the skimmer breaks in?

Thanks Ian

 

[MattP725]

I am not sure but I hear they are garbage.... I seriously would consider returning it...

 

[diverdown69]

There isn't much break-in to a skimmer. I mean, how many moving parts does it actually have? You can make your own skimmer, you know. I have one I am in the process of fabbing up right now. I may even finish it today and try it out.

 

[Sparky]

I don't think the "break-in" is on the moving parts (if any), break-in is used in this case as a term for building the bacteria up on the unit itself. Once the break-in is done (usually 1-2 weeks), the micro bubbles will go away. Additives in your water will also cause micro bubbles to appear. Give it some time, they should go away.
I know they are annoying, I had them too. They will go away.

Mike

 

[diverdown69]

One of my friends put a DIY skimmer in his 46-gal and it worked almost immediately from what he said. It is a very simple counter-current skimmer that uses an airstone to control flow out of the reaction chamber.

 

[Patwa]

you can get micron filter bags in the time being and just place the bag over the output of the skimmer.....the micron filter bag will trap any bubbles leaving the skimmer

RE: DIY skimmer....yeah i just made a skimmer based on the Euro-reef skimmer....it's powered by a Mag 5 and it KILLS! holy cow...couldn't believe the amount of gunk this thing pulled out over night....apart from the cost of the pump (which i got used from a buddy) the whoel thing ocsted me about $50CDN....pm me if you want the schematics

 

[diverdown69]

The skimmer I built for my 10-gal tank looks like it is working nicely. It is very simple to construct. I didn't even end up using PVC cement as the parts all fit together tightly. The larger one I made is in testing phase right now and if it works any better than the smaller one, I may modify the design to slim it down somewhat and use it in my small tank.

 

[malkore]

but again, the Prizm skimmer isn't that great. I have one...at least until 5pm..then it gets replaced by the cpr bak-pak 2 that UPS should deliver in the next hour.

as far as break-in periods...the skimmer should be able to skim something almost immediately, if there's anything to skim. But the slime coat that builds up in 2 weeks within the skimmer is what should help reduce the micro bubbles.

Also, per the Prizm instructions, micro-bubbles tend to indicate you have too much flow...try dialing it down a smidge, for a couple hours.