Protein Skimmer for 30 gal.tank.

[Delphinus]

There is no disagreement here, just semantics. What I said, I meant "after it was broken in." (All new skimmers are initially useless and need to be "broken in." That's why I didn't bother mentioning. Sorry if that was not clear.) The basic observation I have (had?), was that this skimmer worked great for about 6 months. After that it started becoming noticeably less effective. Nowadays it produces very little foam (a few ml of skimmate per week, which may as well be absolutely nothing). But the truth is there is all kinds of life lving in the skimmer. At the moment mine is more of a hang-on refugium. So it could stand for a huge bath.

Based on the fact that my skimmer WAS useful for the first six months, it is my conclusion that the skimmer is still effective, it just needs proper maintenance. (I just haven't found out for myself what that exactly means.)

The one complaint I do have; is that even after a year and a half, or however long I've had it, I still can't open the throttle beyond say 1/4 open. Too far open and it just overflows. So right now my choices are, a highly oxygenated hang-on-refugium; or a skimmer collection cup full of tank water.

The one nice thing about this skimmer is that it is theoretically impossible to overflow the collection cup; if the level gets too high it just drains into the venturi and thus back into the tank and not the floor.