Protien skimmer yields

[Freddy Twotimes]

I just bought a new protien skimmer recommended by my fish store to replace an inferior model I used to use. I was reading an artical by Steven pro about protien skimmers and how placing your hand in the water can reduce the effectivness of the skimmer...or if I read it right any water broken at its surface.

I am confused abot this because my fish store tells me to keep the water surface rippling for oxygen. I have noticed that my skimmer [Coralife super skimmer 65] is a much better model that the one I used to have [Prizm] but I dont get a full cup of stuff daily...not even close!

I never saw as much skimming as I have seen at the fish store comming off thier live rock tank.

Im sure the amount of fish in your tank, the amount of corals, the amount you feed etc all makes a difference but I can't remember the skimmer ever filling up that fast on my aquarium. I do not have auto top off so my salinity does change gradually about every 5 days and I only have 4 little fish that require little food once a day to stay happy.

[Steven Pro]

Rippling of the surface caused by pumps is ok, actually beneficial to the aquarium as it aids in gas exchange and it should not affect protein skimmer performance. But, putting your hands in the tanks, certain foods, additives, and other things can all affect performance. But at this point, I would bet the skimmer's lack of performance is directly related to how long (or short as the case maybe) you have owned this model. It takes a while to play around and adjust any skimmer before you find the sweet spot to production.

Additionally, comparing the skimmate you are getting on your display to the stinky curing liverock tank at the local fish store is not a good comparison. When curing, liverock gives off all sorts of nasty things that skimmers are really good at removing.

[Freddy Twotimes]

Thanks Steven, I figure one of these days I will run out of questions! maybe!

[Steven Pro]

Hopefully before I run out of answers. ;)

[akaatomic]

I have a prizm pro on one tank and a coralife super skimmer on the other (loads are similar). The prizm actually yields more (and darker) skimmate than the Coralife. Tough to believe and I'm probably just lucky. I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't own two different skimmers. Hopefully the prizm doesn't die at a young age like some people have described. The Coralife still does a great job.

[Freddy Twotimes]

I had problems with the Prizms' pump. When ever I emptied the collection cup the pump would not always start back up again. It was hard to get to the pump because of where its located. The Coralife skimmer has a more powerful pump and I don't have to pinch the air hose to prime the intake like the Prizm. Unfortunately, I had problems with the Prizm and it was not as easy to maintain as some of the other models available.

[Freddy Twotimes]

I noticed that my collection cup is full of foam when I wake up in the morning with about 1/2 an inch of dark poo, indicating that it is pulling more stuff out of the water when the light is off than when its on. Am I nuts or is there a reason this is happening?

[BubbaWPB]

Skimmers are moody... lots of things can effect their foam production. I've stopped trying to figure it out.