Skimmer Working Correct?

[andrew1986]

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it doesnt seem to be collecting any gunk i have a side shot if you wish for me to upload that as well there are plenty of bubbles just not getting any gunk

 

[andrew1986]

it might be that it it has only been set up for a week but what do i know im a newbie that is what you experts are for it is still cycling the ammonia is very low but readable how long will this take to fully cycle with 6kg of live rock roughly

 

[ben1987]

Looks like the bubbles are too high to me. They should probably come to 1/3 up the neck.
It wont collect anything while there is no bio-load in the tank though. So if there are no fish or waste in the tank it wont be doing anything.

 

[rabbut]

As Ben says, you need fish in there to get anything visible in the collection cup. You may as well switch it off ATM as there is nothing for it to skim. I tend to start with the bubbles level with the base of the neck and gradually raise/lower the level depending on the skimmate you collect. Try for a dark brown if possible, so you aren't quite wet, but not quite dry. This will show you when the skimmer needs cleaning, as the skimmate will dry out indicating the loss of flow/air into the skimmer, while you aren't emptying too regularly due to overfilling under wet skimming...

All the best
Rabbut

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Just to confirm, exactly what Ben has said. Have the bubbles coming up a little lower and dont worry about it for the moment. There is nothing in the tank to skim so it wont seem to be doing anything. Once you get some bio-load in there you may need to play around to get it working just right. I would have the bubbles anywhere from the middle of the tube (for a dry skim, pulls out less but dont have to empty as often) to about 2/3rds of the way up (pulls out more but have to empty the cup more often). I adjusted mine until it was just right to take about a day to fill the cup.

 

[andrew1986]

where on the skimmer should the water be half way up this tube half way up the conical tube on the collection cup please copy image and draw a line where water lvl should be between

 

[SkiFletch]

The line where the water/bubble mixture turns into ONLY frothy bubbles should be about halfway up the collection cup, make sense?