protein skimmer problem

[jimmyhong7]

I have the Aqua C remora hang-on skimmer. In the beginning the skimmer will fill up once a week now it fills up once every 3 weeks. Is it broken I have cleaned it before and it is still the same.

[Biggen]

Typically a skimmer not skimming is usually an indicator that it is dirty. But since you said you cleaned it, there goes that theory. But I'll ask these questions anyway just in case.

Is the injection spray free of clogs and debris? You may need to unscrew the white screw and have look in there. My Aqua C came with a little brush so that I could clean out that area real well.

Also, is the collection cup too high? This may be the problem.

What about the powerhead? That clean as well?

Have you added or changed anything to your tank in the last few weeks? Meds? Supplements? Overfeeding? Etc...

[captivereefs]

How big is the tank? It may be skimmed clean if the bioload is small. The skimmer can only remove what is in the water and nothing more.

[jimmyhong7]

I have a 29gallon the injector spray is cleaned along with the powerhead. could it be that the collection cup is warped. The lid is the worst one warped really bad. I did add 4 lbs. of LR and a amonene, two clownfish.

[jimmyhong7]

I have a 29 gallon with power filter, powerhead and skimmer.

[TheMadNucleus]

Sort of a follow-up on Darin's comments above.

Assuming you did not change anything (or anything was damaged) sinve it was collecting considerable wastes and since you feel it is clean then it is likely that you may have removed the majority of skimmable DOC. This is not uncommon when a skimmer is larger than required for the bio-load of the tank it is skimming.

Assuming that you see a lot of bubbles in the reaction chamber - it is a good guess that it is working fine but there just aren't enough disolved organic compounds to be skimmed.

Tom

[jimmyhong7]

I just did a water test and the results are PH 8.4, Nitrite .25, Nitrate 10, Ammonia .50 Should I test the water once a week with a 29 gallon tank?

[jimmyhong7]

One clown just died.

[yaksplat]

With numbers like those, you should definately do some water changing right away if you want the remainder of your inhabitants to survive.

[two11devan]

Yea, your ammonia rates are high and thats probably why your clown died. Did you make sure the LR that you added was cured? If it wasn't cured, this is probably what caused your levels to shoot up. You might wanna take out the lr and cure it in a sperate container and do some water changes like yaksplat said.