Protein Skimmer question?

C

clownfish77

Reefing newb
:question: How fast should they fill up and what should it look like? I’m new to saltwater and I don’t think I have it setup right or something. It fills up fast with in hours and it looks like water. Is this how they should work?
 
Nope, it should take a week or so and be smelly green nasty fish poop. Usually if its going crazy like that then you have added some additive that is making it run like crazy. Try to leave it off for a few days and do not add any additives to the tank then try it again.
 
Chris is right, you do not need to run the protein skimmer during the cycling of the system. once you have nitrates reading and a fish or two then you can turn on the protien skimmer. also if you add aditives to the system your skimmer will go crazy for a while, otherwise you will need to lower the water level in the riser tube by adjusting the gate or other adjustment per the installation manuel that came with the skimmer. there should be a way to adjust the height of the water level in the skimmer. you need to also check the gph you are running through the skimmer and make sure it is within the manufacturer's spec's. finally see the helpful articles forum and there you will find an article or two on protein skimmers. hope something here helps.
 
Thank you for your help! My tank has been running for 4 months now. I have one clown fish, live rock, live sand, one feather duster, 3 anenomie, a yellow clown gobbie, and my cleaning crew. I still need more live rock and I'm many more things as I go. My skimmer has always filled up with water like that and my tank was given to me with out any instructions. All the info I get the better. I have read books on saltwater, do you know any good ones?
 
Simply put your skimmer is not set properly. you will need to get someone familiar with your skimmer to help you set it up correctly. There are good books out there by the plenty. tell us what you want in a book and Ill give you a couple references.
 
Check out the helpful artilce forum on page one the following two articles:
1-beginning saltwater aquaria
2- beginners guide

there are many books to fill the descrition you gave. Following are a couple books i can recommend: THE NEW MARINE AQUARIUM by Michael S. Paletta ISBN: 1-890087-52-1, MARINE REEF AQUARIUM HANDBOOK by Dr. Robert
Goldstein ISBN: 0-8120-9598-7. both are good starter books and should be affordable. I would purchase in order listed. The 1st being my preference if only one is to be purchased. hope this helps. good luck with your project.
 
look at at skimmer and see if you can id it(brand and model) or maybe provide a picture.then we can see about getting working properly.As hn sidmake sure that the pump is at the right level.Most HOB skimmers use a m that dopein the water
then the pump conects to the skimmer.Any way most of the time the pump sould only be less than 2 inches submerged and the water in the skimmer body
should be above the tank waters level.Also if it has or had some kind of air intake and the hose is missing or closed off or to short the skimmer will fill quicker.My skimmer had simular issues till I raised the pump.These are all general fixes for skimming if none of help try providing the info on the skimmer
 
maybe it is working

I think my skimmer is now working like it should. It has been a few day and the cup has a thicker darker color liquid in it and just about 1/4 full. Does that sound more like?
 
Thank You!

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that responded to my question. You all were a big help so a big THANK YOU to you! :D [/COLOR
 

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