skimming question

[reefermike]

Should a skimmer be working and producing skim at all times or does it work in waves? Mine seems to be working fine then stops and builds back up again.

 

[KidNano]

Mine is consistent.

 

[reefermike]

That upsets me ... a lot

 

[reefman23]

What skimmer are you using? Do you notice anything that may be causing the fluctuations such as feeding, putting you hands in the tank, dosing, water changes?

Jesse

 

[drty811]

i had a seaclone skimmer that used to stop working when i fed or stuck my hand in the tank. now i got a ASM mini g and it works all the time. HTH

 

[reefermike]

Yea its my deltec turbo 1250. Iv cleaned the whole thing inside and out.

 

[KidNano]

i had a seaclone skimmer that used to stop working when i fed or stuck my hand in the tank. now i got a ASM mini g and it works all the time. HTH

I have an ASM mini G as well. I love it.... why is it that your Seaclone would stop working when you fed or put your hands in the tank? I don't understand why that would affect it. It's amazing that would affect the performance of air bubbles. :???:

 

[The Kapenta Kid]

i had a seaclone skimmer that used to stop working when i fed or stuck my hand in the tank. now i got a ASM mini g and it works all the time. HTH

I have an ASM mini G as well. I love it.... why is it that your Seaclone would stop working when you fed or put your hands in the tank? I don't understand why that would affect it. It's amazing that would affect the performance of air bubbles. :???:

Natural oil and grease on your hands or in food can affect bubble formation--it promotes it--amd in the case of a finely tuned venturi skimmer like a seaclone it could upset the balance.

 

[KidNano]

That's amazing. You'd think that they would design it with that in mind. Specially since those are things that the skimmer should be removing. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[The Kapenta Kid]

My observations are not from long and deep experience with aquarium skimmers. They relate to what principles lie behind froth-flotation machines which are the workhorses of mineral beneficiation technology and the ancestors of skimmers.
I think it is likely that these principles may still apply to skimmers. I had never heard of skimmers losing froth because of hands or food in the water, but the principles of flotation would explain why