Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
dustyfeet

please explain my protein skimmer

dustyfeet
11 years ago

I have a 55 gallon saltwater tank with seven small fish and coral. My filter is marineland and can filter a 110 gallon tank. The other day I added coral and rearranged the live rock etc. My protein skimmer started acting strange in that the little tornado in it looked more like a really dirty sand storm and the output poured a fog of tiny bubbles.

I took it out, took it apart and cleaned it and put it back. Now I can get the tornado back but it is not bubbling into the upper chamber (discharge cup) at all. If I turn the air intake up, I get the sand storm effect again. At this point, I have a small tornado and my output is releasing clear water with intersperced larger bubbles. It is doing what it did initially on installation for about 2 months. then one day, somehow it started to bubble up to the upper cup and I was happy that it was working.

I read that unless I want to do lots of water changes, I need a protein filter. I am happy to keep it but do not understand it at all. Do you think it is working from my description?

Thanks in advance!

Karen

Comments (3)

Sponsored
Pierre Jean-Baptiste Interiors
Average rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars76 Reviews
Award-Winning Interior Designer in Loudoun County | 12x Best of Houzz