Increasing bubble production in skimmer

soriano · #1 07-26-2005, 01:07 PM

Hi all,
I was looking at my skimmer and I'm not too happy with the bubble production.

I took an air hose and attached it to the venturi hose, took a deep breath and blew into it, and that increased the bubble production significantly.

I've read about people installing an airstone in the center column of their skimmer to increase bubble production.... What do you guys think about attaching an air pump to the venturi hose of the skimmer?

Aquattro · #2 07-26-2005, 01:58 PM

sure, attaching a small pump is a great idea.

Delphinus · #3 07-26-2005, 03:31 PM

What kind of skimmer is it? Is it new? Or used? I gather it's a venturi of sorts if you don't already have an airstone. But food for thought, sometimes reduced bubble production can be indication of a partial blockage or a gunk buildup somewhere in the venturi or the airline. When I ran a venturi skimmer I found that I would get a calcium buildup at the air injection point in the venturi. Cleaning it wasn't good enough, I had to take something like a drill bit and bust up that calcium buildup (and/or soak in vinegar for a few hours to really get it out of there).

It could also be indication that the pump used to run the skimmer may not be strong enough.

Not that adding an airstone isn't a bad idea as a general mod of some kinds of skimmers, but, I just remember the days of looking at my venturi, thinking, "gee that bubble production doesn't seem to have a lot of oomph" but I found usually it was indication that it was time for some "skimmer detailing" so I thought I'd chime in my $0.02 from the peanut gallery.

mr_alberta · #4 07-26-2005, 03:33 PM

I thought his post was asking if it was a good idea to attatch an air pump to the venturi intake of this skimmer, not adding an airstone to the skimmer...

Delphinus · #5 07-26-2005, 03:58 PM

Oops, my bad. Well, OK, strike the part about where I said adding an airstone was still a good idea. But the other comments still apply (i.e., sometimes poor bubble production means a buildup needs to be busted up)

soriano · #6 07-26-2005, 04:40 PM

Delphinus, thanks for the info. I'm going to double check to make sure those no blockage. I don't think there is though. The skimmer is new and from the time I set it up, i wasn't too thrilled about the bubble production. The bubbles produced don't look anything like some skimmers i've seen (where you see a huge swirling white cloud).

As for the pump, i think it's adequate enough. I actually have to turn it down otherwise water overflows into the collection cup.

Actually that's another question.....
How far should i let the water rise?

a) base of inverted funel neck leading to collection cup
or
b) about an inch from center reaction chamber

(hope that was clear)

Delphinus · #7 07-26-2005, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soriano

Code:

|                     |
|       |     |       |
|       |     |       | 
|___    |     |____   |    &lt; -----a) Water level here? (at base of neck column)
       /        \                                           or
|    /           \    |
|   |             |   | &lt;------b) Water level here?(about an inch from chamber)
|   |     ___     |   |
|   |    |   |    |   |
|   |    |   |    |   |

Is this a Prism skimmer by chance?

In short, there's no easy answer. You may need to adjust the level between "a" and "b" and find out what seems to work best for you.

The higher the water level is set, the wetter the foam will be (and less green). But higher tends to mean it's easy to overwhelm the collection cup. I like a slightly drier foam myself (so closer to "b") but unfortunately it seems to me you need to experiment a little to find what works best for your tank.

soriano · #8 07-26-2005, 05:24 PM

perfect!
thanks!

titus · #9 07-27-2005, 04:15 AM

Hello,

I see you mentioned that it is new. Perhaps that is why it is not generating as much fine foam as you may want. Really depends on how new it is.

What Delphinus said about the water level is right. However, make sure you clean the skimmer body where the water line is once in a while. This would allos the foam to rise a little better.

Titus

Clayman · #10 07-27-2005, 06:38 PM

From what I have heard it will take some run it time for the skimmer to start producing the bubbles u want. At first they start out large then will get finer with time. I heard it was from the chemicals in the skimmer body. And normally will take a few days to start working real good. But after that it will be just playing with the settings to get everthing right.