Need Help....Bought first Protein Skimmer and have ???

[tk6411]

Well, with all that's going on with my 29g tank I bought a Seaclone 100 Protein Skimmer. When I installed it it produces lots of little fine bubbles in the aquarium no matter what setting I use on the little air venturi check valve...I either get lots of fine bubbles or a tremendous stream of fine air bubbles. Now I remember reading something in the product manual that said that many decholrinators for tap water have a fish slime additive that causes these fine bubbles to enter the aquarium. Is this a problem? Does it ever go away and if so do I have to worry about it returning once I do a water change with more of that dechlorinator being re-introduced in the system? Is there a dechlorinator for tap water that doesn't have the fish slime additive? Or am I on the wrong track and there is something wrong with the Protein Skimmer?

[alexwolf]

i have the same problem with my CPR Bak Pak. Let it run for a week or so, to break in. Dont mess with the air flow, because if you turn it off the cycle starts all over again.

[tk6411]

Thanks guys...being new to this its kinda spooky at times....fun but spooky.

[Instar]

If you do the correct water change, there is no dechlorinator involved. For long term and maybe even short term success, you have to use RO water. Our water has other stuff in it that kills marine life besides chlorine. Its worse than getting water from the jetty. There is too high a concentration of contaminates in other kinds of water, they build up and they will kill. RO is your only option if you intend for success with marine life. I know, all your friends use tap water, the store said you can do it, etc. etc. All your friends will one day cry the blues over death of their favorite animals. These things are supposed to live many, many years. Even the little clowns live over 20 years. Tap water won't give you that. There may be one guy who has a well, yadda, yadda. Best to start out with good habits that will not yield you problems from the start. The first thing that will be an issue everytime you have a problem will be the water source and that will stop you from discovering the real source of any troubles you encounter. The cost of marine animals is not cheap. You will have many $$$ in a 29 gallon tank in a year so the cost of an RO unit percentage wise is minimal considering the worth of what you will have.

The bubbles should go away. They can be a problem if there are lots of them. Try using an aquarium sponge to trap or catch them and let them pop before they go into the tank. Don't use a kitchen sponge. Some of those are presoaked in soap! One from the aquariium store.

[StephenA]

My RO/DI filter is one of the best things I purchased for my tank. It also provided excellent drinking water for the house. I've saved tons of money on Bottled water, not to mention the water for the tank.

[reefguy]

I have a Sea Clone 150 on my 20 and it does the same thing when ever I turn it off to clean it out, or whatever. Just set the adjustment valve on the skimmer until the chamber just starts to get saturated, and leave it there for two or three days, or until you start finally pulling some crap out, and then you can fine tune it. Every body told me not to use the prefilter sponge because you could push more water through without it, but when I eventually put it on to see what would happen, the amount of crap that got pulled out quadrupled! I guess it slowed the water flow down causing the air bubbles to have a longer reaction time and I think it also gave it a larger surface area from which to draw water in from. I'm not an expert on this, but that is what worked for me.

[reefguy]

Also, invest in an RO unit or at least buy RO water from your lfs! I did my aquariums (58g and 20g) with tap water also when I first started, and everything was fine for about 4-5 months or so, and then both tanks crashed with in a week of each other! Since I switched to RO water, I've had considerably less green algae, my fish are happier, and my corals are doing much better than my last. Learn from my mistake so you don't have to go through the trouble of losing so much money on things dieing.

[Moonrs]

I've had a seaclone 100 on my tank for a year, and only had bubbles at the very beginning. I've not had ANY bubbles for the last 10 months. Like everyone said, there's a definate "break-in" period for skimmers, BUT you have to adjust it properly; if you don't, you'll just end up being frustrated, and you'll never get rid of all the bubbles, no matter how long you wait. Just in case you don't know, when you're adjusting the airflow, start by closing the air valve all the way, just so you know where the beginning is. Then SLOWLY started opening the valve, a 1/8th turn at a time. Make sure you wait several minutes between turns, to allow the skimmer time to adjust to the new setting. At this stage(with a new tank), you probably won't be able to adjust all of the bubbles out, since you're just breaking it in, but you should get to a point where you notice a definate decrease from the steady stream you described. After several days, the amount of bubbles should go to nothing. If it doesn't, you may need to turn you air valve a LITTLE bit more. It is possible to have no bubbles AT ALL with a properly adjusted seaclone 100. Good luck. HTH.

[tk6411]

Thanks guys...I'll see what happens and report back.

[ryanrichter]

Just wanted to add that if you put any chemicals in your tank, it will also make this skimmer put bubbles in your tank. The chemicals effect the surface tension of the water and cause the skimmer to produce bubbles that will go away. If you use chemcials, unplug the skimmer for a short time.

[tk6411]

Thanks for the great info and warnings about RO water from LFS. I have found it best to ask around and thanks to all of you. My damsel and I have benefitted greatly thus far.