[nitratehater]

Hi guys,

I just bought these Poly Filters that you place in your filter or sump. They supposibly absorb all kinds of toxins, medications when you're done with them, ammonia, heavy metals, phosphates, and all that good stuff. I guess they are kind of a replacement for carbon, but that's not the point. My "fish guy", a pretty reliable and successful marine aquarist, swears by them, so I decided to try it. it's simply a piece of white filter pad. It changes certain colors when absorbing certain things from the water.

However, since I put it in, my skimmer isn't producing anything! There's good fractionation going on, but no sludge is rising in the collection cup.
I'm certain it isn't the skimmer.

Any ideas?

[James]

Originally Posted by nitratehater

Hi guys,

I just bought these Poly Filters that you place in your filter or sump. They supposibly absorb all kinds of toxins, medications when you're done with them, ammonia, heavy metals, phosphates, and all that good stuff. I guess they are kind of a replacement for carbon, but that's not the point. My "fish guy", a pretty reliable and successful marine aquarist, swears by them, so I decided to try it. it's simply a piece of white filter pad. It changes certain colors when absorbing certain things from the water.

However, since I put it in, my skimmer isn't producing anything! There's good fractionation going on, but no sludge is rising in the collection cup.
I'm certain it isn't the skimmer.

Any ideas?

Your right, there is nothing wrong with your skimmer. The filter pad is collecting the protiens and waist from your tank. Problem is, it's not removing the waist from the water, only collecting it in one place. Your skimmer works better because it completly removes the protiens and waist from the water.
I currently have 2 50gal. tanks at home. Both have protien skimmers, but one has a sump and a filter sock. The tank without the filter sock has only soft corals frags in it, no fish, but the protien skimmer on it fills up twice as fast and filters a darker sludge than my reef tank with fish.

Maybe test your phosphate and nitrate levels, I think you'll find that they are a little higher now. This will give you and indication of if this filter pad is worth the money. In my opinion let your skimmer do its job.

let us know what you find, good luck