Skimmer Help

I recently bought a skimmer. How do I tell when it is making dry foam as opposed to wet foam??? Does it look different??? The skimmer has been running for two days and all I can get so far is wet foam. I understand that it has to break in, but how will I know it is producing dry foam?

 

What skimmer do you have? The only difference between dry and wet foam is the amount of water, not the organics it pulls out.

 

I have a Jebo ps 75 hang on or in sump. I have heard that they are bad about making wet foam. I can get it to make wet foam but the cup fills up within a few hours and the water in the cup isnt funky at all. Its just normal saltwater. Is it possible my tank just isnt that dirty??? Currentyly I am running it on a standard 10 gallon tank. I have no fish, just 20lbs of crushed shell sand, 10lbs of live rock, 6 crabs, and one snail. It has been that way for two months. Maybe my tank just isnt that dirty right now?

 

I don't know much about Jebo skimmers, but I'm sure its a venturi model. You either have to adjust the airflow or raise the height of the collection cup if allowable. It may also have a return flow control valve which you may have to adjust.

 

I have a Jebo Odyssea HOB skimmer PS 75 just like yours. Mine took a few days to start producing the nasty green sludge. You have to play with the return flow valve a little, but it wont do any good until the skimmer is broken in. Give it a few days and you will see.

 

You probably aren't going to be pulling a lot of gunk out yet. You've got a very low bioload and what you do have are regarded as clean up crew. They tend to dispose of the waste products you would normally be pulling out with a skimmer. I'm not saying there is nothing in the water to be pulled out, just not a whole lot.

Eric

 

I agree with Telman. Your bioload is very low -- with a 10 gallon tank, it will probably never be very high. But, the cup shouldn't be filling up as often as it is. As Brandon said, give it time.

 

Thanks everyone. Yes, it is a Venturi. I went ahead and took the skimmer down until I get my sump set up (since the skimmer is almost as big as my tank it looks pretty ugly.) I will make sure and let it break in when I set it up again. Thanks for everyones help.