Skimmers Producing lesser Skimmate

[Melvyn Tan]

I noticed that after sometime, my skimmers seems to be pulling out lesser skimmate. Anyone experience the same?

[weileong]

leave your skimmer off for 24hrs and it'll produce a lot of nice skimmate after that

[prec]

my skimmate depends quite abit on my feedings.

[Melvyn Tan]

leave your skimmer off for 24hrs and it'll produce a lot of nice skimmate after that

Thats a good one...

[angelfish]

bro, skimmate will depends on the desolved organic in the tank water i guess. both of my skimmers also having same situiation

[Melvyn Tan]

Ok...feedings still consistant and waste as usual...so what could be the possible explanation?

[sunny03]

feed some more

[Tigger]

That's strange. U might want to dose some trace element into your tank to see if it skims abit better. By doing this, u can ensure yr skimmer is in tip top conditions.

[blueheaven]

My skimmer only skims less when I inject ozone (wierd huh?)

[weisoon]

Maintenance is the key word. Make sure the skimmer body are cleaned of slime and also the needlewheel or beckett nozzle are cleaned also.

[Melvyn Tan]

Hmmm...I just maintained my skimmer approximately 2-3months ie. clean the entire body inside out including the needlewheel and pump...it performed better than it was before cleaning then thereafter, it slowed down again. Like my daughter said "AGAIN" hehhehe

Perhaps its time to clean AGAIN hehheeh

[letdoit]

That's strange. U might want to dose some trace element into your tank to see if it skims abit better. By doing this, u can ensure yr skimmer is in tip top conditions.

does all of u close the air or don't allow yr skimmer to skim when u drop yr liquid ( anything) into the water?

Normally i added those powder food, liquid element etc etc, i will close the air tube for 1 to 2 hrs.

That what i learn from LFS..... not sure is true. But my 2 cents think should off it too....

[cyclop]

From my own experience these are what I noticed about having less skimmate:

1. Any substance/liquid that breaks down the "surface tension" of the water, e.g. oily fishfood, etc. In Blueheaven's case, ozone could have done just that.

2. Clogged/chocked air-inlet - over time the air inlet is often blocked by calcium deposits. That cuts the air supply and hence no bubbles/foam in the skimmer. In this case just get a needle or pin to clear the tiny air hole.

Hope this would help.

[cyclop]

Also try checking for leakages in the skimmer. If everything is ok and your fishes are fine and not affected in any way, your skimmer should be fine too.

In order to make sure (double check) do some bubbling with an air stone directly in your tank. If the bubbles do not break at the surface of the water it confirms that your skimmer is not doing its work right.