red sea skimmer question

[kweidner1]

Alright, here goes. I've been doing tons of reading recently and have a couple questions. I have been reef keeping for about 5 years and have some skimmer questions. My LFS swears by a RED SEA Berlin. I have a 29 bow with a 7 gal. sump. I have been using the RED SEA powered by a RIO 2500. I had a bad hair algae problem for about two years until I finally started over. My tank has been running for about 8 weeks. Skimmer is wide open and not collecting anything. Plenty of bubbles but can't even flood the skimmer. I always assumed that the resaon I had very little in collection cup was due to the fact that I was seriously over skimming. I am starting to believe that it is rather a lack if skimming. I also am thinking that my horrible algae problem was due to this as well. My tank looks fine now but I want to keep it that way. No hair or red slime this time! Any suggestions?

[kweidner1]

lonely little post!

[da colts]

i have used the berlin for years and the secret is to over pump it. a rio 2500 is not powerful enough to drive it. go with a mag 9.5 and you will see a marked difference

[Reefland]

I think there are better options than the Berlin skimmer, but if you want to continue using it I would also try a different pump.

[The R/C Man]

Hey!

I am running an AquaC remora on my 25 gallon.... A pro version for your tank would be great.

Yes there are many different reasons for a skimmer not to produce waste. Your pump or skimmer may just need a good cleaning. Chances of your water quiality being to clean to skim is unlikely. It could just be a bad design. The design will only allow a skimmer to produce so much waste.

Is your tank fairly well stocked?

[nibny2]

do you have a ro/di unit? if your using tap water, the levels will cause serious problems that would never go away...also a refugium would work wonders.

[Frogfish]

I think the red sea skimmer is a piece of crap! I have one and it does the same thing!!! Not to be to sarcastic, but the reason your shop swears by them is that they sell them!!!

However, I also don't think you can blame your skimmer for your algae problems. Algae is from too much phosphate and nitrates. Both of which can come from overfeeding a tank. Most foods, especially frozen have some content of phosphate in them. Rinse the food with RO/DI water before you use it. Nitrates come from too much fish poop or decaying food in the tank.

A skimmer will help with the nitrates in that it will help to remove the organics that dissolve into nitrates. However, the better choice is to not overfeed and allow the organics to enter the system in the first place.