CPR Refugium/Protein Skimmer

[baeya]

Just wanted to post a little about the CPR Refugium/Protein Skimmer I have on my 65 gal Seahorse tank.

I really didn't know what to expect using a protein skimmer but, while reading other posts I gathered that I should be emptyiing the cup or at least seeing it fill up. I've never used a protein skimmer before. From reading posts, I also seen that some tweeking is necessary for it to work correctly.

Well, after two months of use, I've never really seen it do much. I've only seen about a quarter inch of stuff in the cup. I've turned the little screw thing to adjust the amount of bubbles to slow or fast and still never got any amount of stuff in the cup.

Yesterday I did a thorough cleaning of the tank and pulled out a lot of the excess macro algae out of the refugium. There was a lot of thick green slimey stuff in there that was also getting into the tank. I noticed that there was a kink in the airline hose that goes from the intake pump to the screw adjustment for the skimmer. I straightend it out and re-routed it so it won't kink again.

This morning.....the cup is full! Oh boy!! Is that what is suppose to happen?! There is a greenish tinted oily kind of 'water' in it. My new concern is that it will overfill if not attended to daily. It is difficult to know what to expect when you've never seen one work correctly before. I hope I'm on the right path with this piece of equipment.​

 

[Ted]

Yes thats what it is suppose to do. That would be a "wet" skim. If I remember correctly the cup on that skimmer can be adjusted up or down. The more you adjust it away from the bubbles the "dryer" the skim will be. Light green is wet and the darker brown/ black is dry.

 

[Bifferwine]

If it's very watery, you want to adjust it so that the skimmate is thicker and darker. Or else you will have to replace too much water.

 

[baeya]

Ok Ted and Biff. Thanks for the quick replies. I'm on it. I'm glad I found that kink as I was thinking to ditch the expensive piece of $h1t...

 

[Ted]

Anytime....:D

 

[poksal]

Ok Ted and Biff. Thanks for the quick replies. I'm on it. I'm glad I found that kink as I was thinking to ditch the expensive piece of $h1t...

Which is what the green stuff in the cup smells like so don't poke your nose in it too close. ....LOL

 

[baeya]

LOL! No, I didn't stick my nose in it!

So, last night it didn't fill. I haven't changed the setting on it yet. Is it because I cleaned the tank and disturbed a bunch of stuff that it filled the night before. I don't think I'm going to like tweeking this thing. I believe there are two things to adjust. The cup part can be moved up or down so that the funnel on the bottom is more in the water or less in the water. The directions say to put about 1/8" below the water. The other adjustment is a screw that controls the briskness of the bubbles. Do most protein skimmers work like this?

 

[poksal]

Most (I think) have a bubble adjustment.. and I set mine at a level where I made a sharpie mark. it varies some as the water tension in tank changes but generally settles back to the right place... if you cut back on the bubbles my foam level climbs and if I open up on the bubbles it falls. It is standard procedure for me to glance at it and then make a small adjustment if I "need" to. I like to tinker so that works for me, and it gives me a chance to think I'm doing something useful to assist in the health of my in tank critters. Make small adjustments because it can be slow to fully react to your adjustment. Once you get used to it it is a NP situation.

 

[Ted]

I had a hob fuge that had the same type of skimmer and it is kinda a pain. What I did was set the bubbles to the point that it looked correct to me and then adjusted the cup for what type of skim I wanted. Pretty much for me I want the skimmer to be full of bubbles so I have the air open all the way. I dont know if this is the corect way to do it....but it works for me. My in sump skimmer now is much easier, no mystical cup adjustments. Bubbles on full and adjust the outflow knob...piece of cake.

 

[baeya]

I'm pretty sure I'm on the right track. It's just hard to know what to do with it when I've had no prior experience with protein skimmers before. I really can't get rid of it as it was pretty expensive. But, like I said, it's finally working and the tank looks much better.
The seahorses are doing great! Each one has its own personality and are a lot of fun to watch! I'm so glad I got them!