Skimmate is Black?

I have the ocotopus bh 800s. For the longest time, i have been getting tea colored skimmate, now for the first time ever i have a small amount of pitch black skimmate, is this the color that skimmate is supposed to be?

 

It depends on how dry you have your skimmer running. Black skimmate would be pretty dry. I like to try for hot chocolate skimmate.

I've found that when I adjust my skimmer it will run a little different for a couple days while it pulls the extra out. Once it's caught up it will start to show what the settings are truly doing for you.

 

ha, i cant seem to leave the o-ring on my remora in the same spot between any 2 cleanings. so much for "set it and forget it"

 

not sure if i'm running the skimmer dry or wet. There hasn't been much water collecting in the collection cup, would that be skimming dry?

 

lol maybe you should mark the skimmer somehow but i'm thinking my collection cup is in the same spot as always

 

Any chance you added carbon to your tank? I've if it is not rinsed well the skimmer will pull on the black dust.

 

nope no carbon. Only thing that's changed is i did an experimental overfeeding last night to get my firefish to come out and eat. Could that of caused the skimmate to change?

 

Yes, there won't be much water in the cup because you are pushing up dry bubbles. If you run wet you have to empty the cup much more often. I prefer dry skimming, because I don't do water changes and enjoy not having to check salinity too often.

 

of course it would... the extra amino acids from the food are being pulled out by the skimmer. that is why it is darker and more dense than before! if you ever get fish that eat nori/seaweed be ready to get some crazy skimate!!!

 

+1 on the dry skimming! makes cleaning a tiny bit harder but much less frequent