No more skimmate? Problem or Good?

So, I was getting nice skimmate from my Hydor Nano-Skim for a couple weeks. Now the bubbles are very small and nothing makes it into the collection cup. Does this mean there isn't skimmate to be had? Or that I need to pull it out and clean it? I lowered the collection cup to try to encourage some skimmate, but the bubbles are essentially instantly popping and tiny. I have added a phosphate reactor as well and the water seems crystal clear (loving it)... just no skimmate to be had. This is my first protein skimmer so I'm just at a loss.

I should mention the skimmer is a bit over sized for this tank and the phosphate reactor is way oversized (250+ gallons for a 29 Gallon Biocube).

 

It could be that there is no skimmate left. How long has it not been producing? If you just leave it be for a few days, does some skimmate collect?

 

I haven't had any skimmate for a week... the cup is dry in fact. I got good skimmate for ~2-3 weeks and it was VERY dark for the first 10 days... then got sort of wet and light and is now non-existant. I tend to feed a mysis cube a day or two, so I'm not sure how much skimmate I should be getting.

 

You may have answered your own question. Oversized skimmers tend to be inconsistent at best. There seems to be somewhat of a limit to what skimmers can remove. if you get to that point, they seem to stop working until the organic load builds up again to maintain the foam head.

Also though, other things to consider are adjustment, cleaning and other filtration such as carbon. If I change out my GAC for example, my skimmer will skim much less for a while. Actually, I know when to replace my GAC because I start getting a lot more skimate. Just some thoughts...

 

I would think that over the course of a week you would get some skimmate, the fish after all have to poop lol. Are you getting small, fine bubbles in the skimmer or are they larger?

EDIT: I guess this all depends on your bio-load as well...

 

very small bubbles and lots of them. I did just replace the RowaPhos and I have carbon in the reactor as well. I can do a quick pic/video of the tank if it'll help.

 

If the bubbles are nice and fine then there is nothing wrong with the pump, I'd just say nothing to skim. I was thinking there could have been something affecting the pump (something stuck in impeller or something), but doesn't seem to be the case.

 

If there's no skimmate to be had, I can always pull it out and clean it to be sure... not like I'll be missing anything.

 

Very true....

 

Straight from the camera




The water is silly clear... and looks like decent bubbles in the skimmer.