protein skimmer help!

erm, can i ask how does the protein skimmer works? i recently just bought a protein skimmer and the bubble isnt even reaching to the top of the cup. is this how its suppose to work? and btw, does salt expire? coz i just mixed my 2 months old salt with water, and foam was all on top of the water

 

you probly dont have the skimmer completely submerged. It has to go into the display tank to start working. Id leave it in there for a while to break it in.

 

a new or restarted skimmer takes awhile to get foam up to the cup. You don't want watery stuff going in the cup.

salt doesn't expire but if it becomes rock hard throw that part away because the minerals won't dissolve right in the water.

 

With the foaming, are you putting the salt in the container and then adding the water? If you put the water in first, and then the salt you won't get as much foaming.

As for the skimmer, they have a break in period of a few days before they start to skim.

 

it would be helpful to know what skimmer it is ,

 

It removes proteins from the water. The bubbles collect proteins and carry them up to the cup. This works because part of protein likes water and part doesn't. So ideally the protein wants to be part in the water and part out of it. That is why a film builds up on the surface of the water, also that is how the skimmer works. The more surface area the bubbles have the more protein is removed from the water.

Eventually when enough protein is carried up the tube it will become very viscous extending the amount of foam produced. When the foam get high enough it goes in the cup.

 

I think he asked what kind of skimmer it is not what a skimmer does lol

 

your right but the opener asked how it worked anyway

 

ah yes. its a resun sk-05. http://www.google.com.my/imglanding...s=isch:1&start=0#tbnid=MRo_cHXxg8P5WM&start=1

ok i think i got the picture. as long as the water level is right below the cup right? and then when bubbles form at the top, it becomes liquid after that thus the dirty water is collected in the cup. am i right?

 

do you see any bubbles in the skimmer? if not, im guessing you don't have the airline hooked into the pump.