question on protien skimming

[clownfish26]

my tank is only two weaks old and i put a red sea airlift skimmer on it. The skimmer is not producing any foam is it because my tank is not cycled and only has one small damsel in it or maybe i am doing something wrong?

 

[cinlnk]

Dont see a prob with it ... In saltwater tanks.. things move alot slower. The skimmer may require a "break-in" period before significant buildup and collection of proteins and organics occurs. If the aquarium is new, it may take even longer.( up to 3 months)
What is the size of your tank and its bioload?
Hope this helps,
Cindy

 

[clownfish26]

The tank is a 55 gallon
25 lbs of lr
two mini sea stars
one blue damsel

my readings are
ph 8.3
amonia .5
nitrite to low to read
nitrate very low
temp 78
sg 1.021-1.022

 

[wayne]

I see a number of things here. FOr a start I don't see the point of putting the damsel in there. Let the decaying material provide the ammonia for your cycle - having the damsel in there is unneccessary, and arguably cruel.
The state of a cycle has got zero to do with what your skimmer will skim out. Skimmers DO NOT remove ammonia, nitrite or ammonia - they remove organics BEFORE they mineralise to ammonia.

But the unfortunate fact is tht your skimmer is not working very well is because Redsea Berlin airlift's are in fact rubbish. I assume you are blasting air into it, and producing many small, fine bubbles. Is any foam forming? Is it simply not climbing high enough? Or is it overflowing water. You might consider a better airstone, and if you have a better airpump you could use , you might try that. But in all honesty this is not a good skimmer, and a bad choice for a beginner. I hope you got it free from an uncle or aunt.....

 

[S.Reef]

Agree with wayne on the skimmer, not very efficient and very hard to adjust.