Skim Question

[scaramanga]

I've had this Aquamaxx HOB Cones for about a year now. Things has been absolutely amazing. Only question I had was am I skimming to thick/dark? Notice the bubbles coming out the top air vent. Is that normal? I just assumed it was, so I been running it like this forever.

 

[drexel]

Yeah, it really depends on how much it's pulling out of the tank. Mine will do this when my N & P are out of balance with each other and there's more algae growing in the system. You just have to clean it more frequently. You can also use a skimmate locker with a float valve to shut the skimmer off if it ever overflows.

 

[scaramanga]

Good call! Yeah, algae is a bit higher than usual so this makes sense. I haven't been the best about replacing clean up crew on a normal basis so its running a bit low atm. I ordered some cleanup crew last week(hoping to get later this week) to clean up the bit of algae. That should make this a bit clearer.

I'm definitely going to grab one of those skimmate lockers. I looked at one a while ago and just forgot to grab it.

 

[Jimbo327]

My skimmate locker is just a 5gal Red Sea blue bucket, with a plastic box that I attached to the top to hold some carbon. Just something to drain into.

 

[bakbay]

My skimmate locker is just a 5gal Red Sea blue bucket, with a plastic box that I attached to the top to hold some carbon. Just something to drain into.

Man - 5gal of wholesome nastiness would be a little too much for me! lol I try to empty things out on a weekly basis.

Anyway, I might go skimmer-less this year in all my tanks except one due to its heavy bioload. It’s one less thing to clean every weekend!

 

[OldReefGuy]

The skim looks great. The skim coming out of the top IMO is normal for this as mine did it too, until I hooked up the drain. Its somewhat a design issue in the actual cup. You might want to look at putting some tape across that hole in the lid so the skim is forced into the cup

 

[Sold4JC]

You could try putting a little olive oil around the outer part of the cup, it should help the skimmate settle instead of climbing out of the cup. The skimmer is putting in work, making some nice aquatic chocolate.

 

[scaramanga]

You could try putting a little olive oil around the outer part of the cup, it should help the skimmate settle instead of climbing out of the cup. The skimmer is putting in work, making some nice aquatic chocolate.

I'll try this before applying tape.

 

[Jimbo327]

I'll try this before applying tape.

You might not want to tape over the hole because the air needs somewhere to escape since so much air is being pulled into the chamber.

 

[drexel]

My skimmate locker is just a 5gal Red Sea blue bucket, with a plastic box that I attached to the top to hold some carbon. Just something to drain into.

This ^^^^ I just make my own and add a float valve to shut off when full or if the skimmer decides to overflow. I also use thick carbon pads that I get off of Amazon and cut out pieces that fit over the holes/slots to keep the smell at bay.

 

[scaramanga]

Took the advice of a skim locker and attached a hose to an old 5g reef crystals bucket. Used a bit of hockey tape on the sides to secure the lid so the foam wouldn't pop it off. Tried the olive oil trick on the top inside and its not longer shooting out foam out the air vent. Thanks all! Will eventually make it look cleaner.

 

[Jimbo327]

I use the Red Sea bucket too. I like how the lid is screwed on, easy to not spill any gunk during emptying to my toilet.