I'm curing some beautiful Caribbean LR from FFE in a 31 gal Rubbermaid
tank. I'm having aggressive water-flow (2 x Rio 1400 powerheads), one
small (Fluval 1+) carbon activated filter and a Seaclone/Marineland
100 protein skimmer (venturi, co-current) that is not new (used by
somebody else before, and hence not in the break-in period).
(see http://www.marineland.com/products/cons ... sclone.asp)
Unfortunately ever since the LR came (3 days ago) I was unable to
obtain the nice "gunk", the thick solid/semi-solid dark green stuff
that everybody talks about (I read the dry foam vs wet foam article on
reefs.org).
Instead I'm getting about 1 cup-full of watery brownish water in the cup
(the "tea"). The skimmer seems to work well -> lots of small bubbles
in the skimmer, lots of foam coming into the cup (actually so much
that it escapes through the hole on top of the cup), but once in the
cup it does not transform into the nice green gunk but into dirty
brown water.
I looked in the protein skimmer manual and they said to make sure that
the venturi valve is at 2-3 inches below water surface. Checks. Other
than that, I tried to adjust the valve at the air intake. The more I
open it, the more air gets in and the less water flows through the
skimmer (which I think is what I want), so for now it is full open. I
also tried to connect the pump to the skimmer through about 1' long
tube, but it didn't do much: it reduced the amount of foam I'm getting
but the one that I got was still "wet".
The skimmer itself does not have any adjustment for the height of the
collection cup (I believe that others do). I am not sure if the watery
output is due to a poor skimmer design (although it seems by the color of
the deposits in the cup that the previous owner was getting green stuff
out), or an incorrect adjustment (again, only the amount of air entering
the venturi is adjustable), or simply because it's not skimming an
established aquarium but rather a fresh batch of LR that is having a
terrible water quality (4-6ppm ammonia!).
Regarding the wet/dry foam discussion, I fail to see why the wet foam
has less protein in it: if any difference, the wet foam should have
less as some water falls back into the main column (and tank), and
conceivably is taking some of the proteins back with it... am I wrong?
(a simple "yes" will not do, I'm stubborn and need arguments
So, in short I guess that my questions are:
1. Is it OK to have the wet foam (aka the "tea") instead of the dry foam
(aka the "gunk")?
2. If the answer to previous question is "no" then
2.a Why?
2.b How can I correct it?
Again, there is no adjustment except for the opening of the venturi valve,
and adjusting it doesn't seem to do the trick.
From what I read it seems that I need a taller "raiser", right?
Should I re-build the cup? That would mean the SeaClone is a junk!
(for some reasons I thought that MarineLand was a good company).
Thank you for your time and patience,
Mihai
tank. I'm having aggressive water-flow (2 x Rio 1400 powerheads), one
small (Fluval 1+) carbon activated filter and a Seaclone/Marineland
100 protein skimmer (venturi, co-current) that is not new (used by
somebody else before, and hence not in the break-in period).
(see http://www.marineland.com/products/cons ... sclone.asp)
Unfortunately ever since the LR came (3 days ago) I was unable to
obtain the nice "gunk", the thick solid/semi-solid dark green stuff
that everybody talks about (I read the dry foam vs wet foam article on
reefs.org).
Instead I'm getting about 1 cup-full of watery brownish water in the cup
(the "tea"). The skimmer seems to work well -> lots of small bubbles
in the skimmer, lots of foam coming into the cup (actually so much
that it escapes through the hole on top of the cup), but once in the
cup it does not transform into the nice green gunk but into dirty
brown water.
I looked in the protein skimmer manual and they said to make sure that
the venturi valve is at 2-3 inches below water surface. Checks. Other
than that, I tried to adjust the valve at the air intake. The more I
open it, the more air gets in and the less water flows through the
skimmer (which I think is what I want), so for now it is full open. I
also tried to connect the pump to the skimmer through about 1' long
tube, but it didn't do much: it reduced the amount of foam I'm getting
but the one that I got was still "wet".
The skimmer itself does not have any adjustment for the height of the
collection cup (I believe that others do). I am not sure if the watery
output is due to a poor skimmer design (although it seems by the color of
the deposits in the cup that the previous owner was getting green stuff
out), or an incorrect adjustment (again, only the amount of air entering
the venturi is adjustable), or simply because it's not skimming an
established aquarium but rather a fresh batch of LR that is having a
terrible water quality (4-6ppm ammonia!).
Regarding the wet/dry foam discussion, I fail to see why the wet foam
has less protein in it: if any difference, the wet foam should have
less as some water falls back into the main column (and tank), and
conceivably is taking some of the proteins back with it... am I wrong?
(a simple "yes" will not do, I'm stubborn and need arguments
So, in short I guess that my questions are:
1. Is it OK to have the wet foam (aka the "tea") instead of the dry foam
(aka the "gunk")?
2. If the answer to previous question is "no" then
2.a Why?
2.b How can I correct it?
Again, there is no adjustment except for the opening of the venturi valve,
and adjusting it doesn't seem to do the trick.
From what I read it seems that I need a taller "raiser", right?
Should I re-build the cup? That would mean the SeaClone is a junk!
(for some reasons I thought that MarineLand was a good company).
Thank you for your time and patience,
Mihai
