Protein Skimmer

Hey so I finally bought an ASM Mini-G protein skimmer. I heard that it was good from a bunch of different people and the price was pretty good... but now I'm confused:

There's an adjustment on the top and I'm having a really hard time not getting the cup on the top to fill up with water immediately, I read that it was hard to adjust, any suggestions???

 

adjust the output tube

 

If I am reading your post correctly...you don't want to fill the cup up with water on the top, just bubbles should be getting to the top cup. If you have just had your hands in the tank it will take a while for the skimmer to start skimming again. Do you have a water level sticker on it anywhere?

 

check the water level like otty said. If my water is to high, no matter how much I crank it down it fills up with water fast.....

 

Well, I have been adjusting the tube and as I pull it up the bubbles get up higher and I push it down it goes down lower.

Right now I have it so that the bubbles are coming up the middle area and bubbling right around the top and some of them spill over into the top cup but after a little while the bubbles get lower and then nothing spills over anymore.

I don't see a water level sticker anywhere...

 

Your bubbles will take time to grow, just like everything else in nature. Also, p.s.'s are coated with a fine film oil to keep them "fresh" and it takes time for that to go away, only sea water can make it go away, it eventually eats everything.

Try these ideas....

Turn the air valve to the lowest you can go(closed), then go a half a turn higher , leave it like that for 1 week, after that week, open another quarter turn, then after the third week it should be broken in, so you need to open it 1/2 turn and leave it there.

If after you tried the above and it didn't help try this.....

Take the collection cup off and see if there are bubbles rising in the chamber. If not, close the air all the way and open at 1/4 turns until you see bubbles making in the chamber(the long tube going up into the collection cup), waiting for about a minute between each turn. You don't want water in the collection tube, just foamy bubbles. It takes time!


Take the collection cup off and watch where the water starts making bubble. *Slightly higher(a hair) is where you want it. Adjust you air valve while looking at the level, right at that point *is where you should leave your air valve.

IMO~~~~>The more you play with it, the harder it will be to get it adjusted and then you'll get frustrated...I know I did.<~~~~~~~IMO Then I bought an AquaCRemora ;D



I hope this helps


See, Saw39, I'm on here to help, when I can. The rest of the time, I'm kinda like moral support and sometimes I may say something funny(entertainment?) So what now..........................


Everyone has a job in life, mine is to be me, I'm guessing you would be the post amount monitor> Is that anything like hall monitor?

 

Im running an asm skimmer, Heres how mine has been set since day one. Take the air valve off so the rubber tube is open on the end. Pull the black pipe on the side of the skimmer up until the water in the skimmer turns to bubbles right at the neck of the skimmer body, where it starts to cone. Mine has been producing great skim for 3 years now.

 

There was no valve on the end of the rubber tube.. so leaving as is...

I've got the pipe pulled up the side of the skimmer and there are bubbles up into the inner chamber of the collection cup. I can adjust the tube up further and then bubbles overflow into the collection cup or I can leave it as is and nothing seems to flow over into the collection cup...

Is it just supposed to splash over the edge of the interior chamber into the collection cup then? I can pull the tube up higher and get just a little bit to drain over the edge into the cup, when I do that after a while there's nasty looking water in there, but I think I'd have to empty it 2-3 times a day to avoid having the cup overflow...

 

I've got lots of bubbles... I'm just trying to figure out how to find a good balance between the bubbles overflowing into the collection cup and not overflowing into the collection cup at all..... or am I missing something completely?

 

the water/bubble mix should not flow into or over the tube before the collection cup, it should only be bubbles that go in the tube. It might need to break in longer before you start to see bubbles.. the bubbles start in the bottom of the tube, where the water is then the bubbles dry as they are going up releasing gases. When it gets to the top, it's gunk. Adjust it until the water is at the bottom side of the tube. Does this make sense?