Skimmer Foram vs Bubbles

[Variant]

My deltec 600i skimmer has been in operation for nearly a year and it's been working okay. But after seeing pictures of other people's skimmer performance, I noticed that my skimmer doesn't really have a dense foam in the neck that spills into the collection up.

Instead, my skimmer has a loose layer of foam that's pushed up by large bubbles that push this thin foam up into the collection up. Is this normal? Should I be trying to get a thicker column of foam instead? If so, what am I missing? Is my bioload small? Too much air? Too much flow?

*My water level is constant. I have a kole tang, an anthias, and two clownfish. Fed pellets 8 times a day in small meals.

 

[Quietman]

Didn't say size of tank...is there anything wrong beside the bubbles? Nutrient removal, overflowing, etc.?

 

[Variant]

50 gallon more or less. no other issues with skimmer. It's not like the skimmer hasn't been skimming. I get gunk in the collection cup and grime on my skimmer neck cleaner. I just don't get that thick dense foam head that I see pictures of. Mine seems more fragile.

 

[bjc451]

I saw a thread on here yesterday about skimmer pics. I can’t find it today but haven’t searched. I just took a video of mine. I have been trying to dial it in. Is this what you want?

 

[Quietman]

Wouldn't mess with it then. Suspect you're right on bio-load being low, but you are feeding a bit - still...food isn't poop.

There are so few..."yeah, everything's fine just one thing is a bit off" that I hate to see folks chase perfection when it's not needed.

 

[Silver14SS]

I saw a thread on here yesterday about skimmer pics. I can’t find it today but haven’t searched. I just took a video of mine. I have been trying to dial it in. Is this what you want?

Skimmer Foam Photo Thread

What does that crusty froth look like bubbling up on top of your skimmer? Let's see that beautiful head of disgusting refuse! Post up your photos of rootbeer float in here with extra points if it's bubbling over the top of your cup! The bigger the head, the better!!

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Variant]

Skimmer Foam Photo Thread

What does that crusty froth look like bubbling up on top of your skimmer? Let's see that beautiful head of disgusting refuse! Post up your photos of rootbeer float in here with extra points if it's bubbling over the top of your cup! The bigger the head, the better!!

www.reef2reef.com

I was looking for foam like this...

Notice how these foam heads look like they belong on a latte? lol

Mine is more of a super light not so dense foam with larger sticky bubbles forming at the neck. Perhaps I should just let it be since no need to fix something that isn't 'really' broken... Just a little jelly of the latte foam people seem to have.

 

[Bpb]

I was looking for foam like this...

Notice how these foam heads look like they belong on a latte? lol

Mine is more of a super light not so dense foam with larger sticky bubbles forming at the neck. Perhaps I should just let it be since no need to fix something that isn't 'really' broken... Just a little jelly of the latte foam people seem to have.

That’s too wet of skimming in my taste. If I tuned my skimmer like that it would be filling daily with clear skimmate

As it just so happens I have a video of mine how I have it tuned. Not a deltec though.

 

[Jon Warner]

My deltec 600i skimmer has been in operation for nearly a year and it's been working okay. But after seeing pictures of other people's skimmer performance, I noticed that my skimmer doesn't really have a dense foam in the neck that spills into the collection up.

Instead, my skimmer has a loose layer of foam that's pushed up by large bubbles that push this thin foam up into the collection up. Is this normal? Should I be trying to get a thicker column of foam instead? If so, what am I missing? Is my bioload small? Too much air? Too much flow?

*My water level is constant. I have a kole tang, an anthias, and two clownfish. Fed pellets 8 times a day in small meals.

The foam in a skimmer is a product of two things.

1) design of the skimmer and pump

2) water chemistry

Assuming there is nothing unusual about your water chemistry, it's all about the skimmer itself.

Different needle wheel pumps produce bubbles of different sizes, quantity and stability.

This is due to needle wheel and venturi design.

And as far as what you see in the neck of your skimmer, that's a product of the volume of the neck, internal water level and the amount of airflow.

It's common to see large commercial skimmers with a 12" head of foam, but a proper hobby skimmer should be designed so that the foam head starts at the transition piece/neck area.

Look for the part of the skimmer where the swirling mix of air and water begins to separate and it should be in the transition piece right before the neck.

If you're forced to run the water level higher than that, either the skimmer has too large a neck or doesn't make enough airflow.

In addition, large body skimmers tend to make the "Latte" foam because of the stability inside the body. The reduction of body turbulence is a constant desire of skimmer mfg. Your skimmer is a 5" body... Relatively small. Your bioload is low, I think you're probably just fine.

To summarize, not all skimmers will make "Latte" foam, even ones that skim well.