Skimmer bubbles constantly collapsing

[jordsyke]

Hey,
My Vertex Omega Skimmer is dialed in perfect and skims great, but as soon as I feed or put my hand in the water the bubbles collapse and won't come back for hours after. Should I introduce more air with the venturi? Or maybe it is skimmer location, I have the inlet of my tank return close to inlet of skimmer pump, should it be this close?

[Proteus]

It's normal for "good " skimmers to do this. It's tge oils on your hand and in the food you feed

[jordsyke]

But to take up to 4 hours to get back and running? I run biopellets and GFo so my nutrient levels are super low, because of this I feed heavily and will be feeding up to 7 times a day once my apex is up and running... My skimmer will never be happy

[gqlmao]

It is normal for your foam head to collapse, that's why a lot of us don't like sticking in our hands too much. I find with certain fatty foods, it leaves the skimmer head collapsed for hours. I stay away from those foods, pellets and frozen Mysis should only drop your foam head for 10-20mins, if at all.

[Proteus]

Your Fish may love 7 times a day but your system won't lol.

[shrimp]

If you're planning to feed your fish 7 times a day get ready for problems where the collapsing of bubbles in your protein skimmer would be your last problem to worry about.

[jordsyke]

I find that I have to feed lots to keep nutrients in the tank, I use lots of biopellets and HC GFO

[mike31154]

Hmm, I dunno, I feed 3 times a day & always thought that was a bit much based on other folks' feeding routine. I feed to keep my fish fat & healthy, not to keep nutrient levels up. Anyhow, I don't run any biopellets or HC GFO & haven't checked nutrient levels for a while, but tank's running fine. I don't sweat the bubble collapse on my skimmer. They always come back eventually & it pulls enough gunk. Clearly if bubble collapse is a concern & you feed that often, you'll need to modify your routine one way or another..... or live with it.

I'd say run fewer biopellets etc., feed less often & save money!

[jordsyke]

Makes sense. I guess 3 times a day would be more than enough. I plan to run apex autofeeder and have apex ramp down my dc return pump to a minimum just to keep a flow. I have some questions about powerhead flow during feeding and also if the LED lights should dim a bit during feeding aswell. But thats for another thread