Protein Skimmer Goo

[sailor]

I have had my 65 gal super skimmer going on my 29 gal sw tank now for about 2 weeks . During this time frame I have had a pretty badly stuffed up nose. Today I was not so bad and emptied the cup. I had a sniff and man oh man does that stuff stink lol. Is that normal? I am having to empty the collection cup about every 3 days or so. It has made a difference in the clarity of my tank.

[cocoa_pleco]

yep, its normal, mine smells like absolute crap too

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Completely normal. It is disgusting. It almost makes my wife sick every time she smells it. LOL. If you are dumping the cup every 3 days then you have it set just right.

[cocoa_pleco]

worst was one time i splashed the goo in the sink and somehow a drip flew up into my mouth, tastes 1000 times worse than it smells

[sailor]

Thanks guys.......... I think thats where they get the base for vegamite lol.

[TowBoater]

Basically it smells like crap because it's removing the crap from the tank thats bad so it is going to smell bad.

[cabrego]

What is the stuff look like? I have been trying to dial mine in and waste is black and kind of water. I am not sure if it should be foam or if watery stuff is ok. My skimmer has foam towards the top, but only black water gunk is collecting.

[cocoa_pleco]

usually the goo is a dark coffee black

[coachfraley]

My skimate is green????!!!!

[Halelorf]

Mine has been a dark tea color to a greenish algae water color. Just depends on what is there in the water to take out I guess.

[cocoa_pleco]

Mine has been a dark tea color to a greenish algae water color. Just depends on what is there in the water to take out I guess.

yeah, its probably whats in the water. Ive always gotten coffee, unless i set the flow too high, which means it gets more diluted and looks like tea

[Dave66]

Folks,
The skimmate should be nearly dry, medium brown, and stink to high Heaven. It should be in no way wet. If so, your air-water mix is too rich and you need to retune your skimmer to get proper skimmate. If your skimmate is wet or worse wet and runny, you're not getting all the organic waste out of your tank.
By the way, coach, your skimmate is green due to a proliferation of floating algae cells. You may not see any green water in your tank, but the skimmate sure indicates they are there. If you've a microscope, put a clothespin on your nose, take a drop of the green goop, and take a look. You'll see the cells.

Dave

[coachfraley]

Dave is back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have missed you around here!

So if the skimmate is very watery, the skimmer needs to be turned down (less air)?

I am new to skimmers, so I am pretty confused about how to tune mine. I followed the factory directions, and the skimmer was producing very little skimmate, but it was thick, dark stuff. I assumed that I wasn't producing enough, so I opened up the valve to increase the volume. Now it is green tea.

BTW, I am using a Tunze 9002

[cocoa_pleco]

Im using the needle-wheel 65g coralife skimmer, and you cant turn down the air (and the instructions say not to), so to get less watery skimming. i would imagine you would turn down the flow knob a bit, so you get more concentrated skimming

[Dave66]

Dave is back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have missed you around here!

So if the skimmate is very watery, the skimmer needs to be turned down (less air)?

I am new to skimmers, so I am pretty confused about how to tune mine. I followed the factory directions, and the skimmer was producing very little skimmate, but it was thick, dark stuff. I assumed that I wasn't producing enough, so I opened up the valve to increase the volume. Now it is green tea.

BTW, I am using a Tunze 9002

Thanks coach for the welcome back :)

Had to look up your skimmer to find out how it was constructed and how to tune it, as it's for smaller tanks. How long has it been running? Takes weeks for one to break in to produce the proper skimmate. I saw were the air-water mixture control is. You'll have to do gradual changes until the bubbles burst pushing the nearly dry brown stuff up the throat of the cup into the collection. Takes a while for a skimmer to break in, and it can take even longer to tune it properly. It should be thick and dark but almost dry for a while until it settles in and produces the proper medium brown skimmate. And if you think the stuff you're getting smells bad, a whiff of the proper skimmate will curl your nose hairs for sure.
When I say medium brown and nearly dry, if you've let a frosty from Wendy's defrost and dry out, that's what the skimmate should look like.

Dave

[cocoa_pleco]

if you've let a frosty from Wendy's defrost and dry out, that's what the skimmate should look like.

HAHA, that actually came to mind for me too, its gross how bubbly and thick frosties get after a while

[coachfraley]

The skimmer has been running for about 3 and 1/2 weeks now.

Based on your description, I have it "turned up" too high. I will try adjusting it down gradually.

Thanks Dave!

[jimpierce]

smell like crap? I think thats an understatement. Here is a shot of mine. Tomorrow is cleaning day. Not sure I can ever have a Frosty from Wendy's again now. Bad enough working a sewer treatment plant when I was 15 ruined chocolate pudding for me.
What do you think? Look about right?

[Dave66]

Nah, Jim, too liquid. Looks like you're mixture is far too rich. Try dialing back the air a click, let it run like that a few days, then another click, another few days, until its nearly dry foam. Only descriptive analogy I could think of to describe proper skimmate was a dry frosty, sorry. You'll get considerably more organics out of your tank with proper skimmate. Downside is not only will the smell peel paint, you'll be emptying the cup more often, usually daily.
At my house my Emily goes outside and the cats vamoose to the great outdoors when I empty skimmer cups. As I stopped gagging every time years ago, the smell just makes my eyes water now days.
Got to convince your head that chocolate pudding and frostys are just fine, Jim, your stomach doesn't care.

Dave

[sailor]

Cocoa mentioned on an earlier post he was cleaning his protein skimmer.
Is there a symptom or indication that this needs to be done, and how often?
Thanks in advance.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Dave, how often are you emptying the collection cups on the skimmers?

[cabrego]

So to be clear,

If the skimmate is too wet, turn up the air? (seems to make sense)

If it is to dry turn down the air, or turn up the flow from the powerhead.

I am running a seaclone 100, which is powered by a maxigen 1200, I do not think I can I adjust the water flow. I can only adjust the air flow.

[cocoa_pleco]

Cocoa mentioned on an earlier post he was cleaning his protein skimmer.
Is there a symptom or indication that this needs to be done, and how often?
Thanks in advance.

lol, its a major pain in the @$$ for me. long story short is i have my skimmer in a bad place in the tank, and i cant move it because im out of room. My powerhead that drives the skimmer is right by pulsing xenia, and live rock. Bits of crap from the rock and the odd pulsing xenia piece get sucked in, and my skimmer makes a constant loud grinding noise and the flow goes down so much, that theres barely any output. Usually every week-2 weeks i have to take the whole thing out, take off the powerhead, clean it in water, re-attach it, etc. it sucks

otherwise, its good once a month to disassemble it and give it a clean, alot of junk builds up in the tubing over time.

back to the frosty idea, my skimmer usually turns that up in the collection cup, its a thick thick foam, and it sits there for a few hours until it clumps into a liquid, and the new foam sits on top of the liquid

[jimpierce]

I dialed back the air and it seems that there is very few air bubbles compared to before. I will continue to play with the flow adjust to keep the level in the dry zone.

[Dave66]

Dave, how often are you emptying the collection cups on the skimmers?

Every day, Brad, because my tanks are fully stocked, if you know what I mean. All three of my reefs use two skimmers; as single ones would be obtrusively tall. Twice, some times three times, a day when the Anthias make whoopee. So six cups a day, usually in the evening.

Wasn't kidding, either. House is totally vacant when I empty the cups.

Dave

[jimpierce]

I'm going to ask again just to make sure I'm clear on this. Which I'm not. lol Even reading the directions left me feeling a little confused. I ope I do't over simplify this too much. Do I want lots of bubbles or a small amount?

[cocoa_pleco]

i believe you want lots of bubbles, but not too much flow. On my coralife skimmer you cant adjust the bubble level, and it says not to, but i get my "left out frosty" goop from having lots of bubbles and not too much flow

[jimpierce]

thats how I understood the instructions too. But when I read them I didn't know what the final product would look like. I'll readjust to meet that. I can adjust both air flow and water flow. So I'll try for "drier" looking yuck climbing the tower.