My DIY Protein Skimmer - A Question

[joelontheroad]

I have a 10 gal reef tank /w/ a 10 gal sump, stuffed with Tukani love rock. With soft and LPS corals, two clown fish, one coral banded shrimp, and some snails. Yet, I have high nitrates. I need a protein skimmer.

None of the commercial skimmers seemed to fit my sump, or my budget. So, I took an idea or two from them and created my own skimmer out of a Trader Joe's liter bottle of water and a Rio Plus 600 venturi pump. The bulkhead and PVC exhaust pipe were glued in place with aquarium silicone.

Here's a picture:

The bubble/water mixture enters the bottom of the chamber and flows chaotically up to the top. It flows out through the PVC pipe through the bottom of the plastic bottle. Bubbles go up through neck and into a collection cup made out of a Glad plastic container.

Here's what the skimmer looks like in operation:

Here's my problem: I have been running the skimmer continuously for two weeks. It has consistently given me the white, frothy bubbles you see in the photo. They quickly pop and all I have is water in the collection cup. Because I can't seem to get a dry skim and because the water is always clear, I'm assuming something is wrong. I was hoping to get a drier skim and/or greener/browner water as the skimmer pulled gunk out of the water column.

So my question is this: what can I do to get the skimmer working like other skimmers I see on the internet that pull gunk out of the water column. I assume two weeks would be enough for the break-in period.

I can adjust the bubble column by either adjusting the height of the skimmer in the water, or by adjusting the water level in the sump. According to the specs, the pump is pushing 200 gallons an hour through the chamber.

My hypothesis is that the water bottle contains some kind chemical that affects the ability protein molecules to attach to the air bubbles. But I'm not sure.

Thank you for any ideas you may have.

[Planeden]

Maybe your water is cleaner than you thought.

Welcome to the site. I don't actually know how to work skimmers, so hopefully someone else can give you a real answer.

[victoly]

Id guess your bubbles are too large.

[jake112005]

Did you ever get your skimmer working right? If not let me know, I made a DIY skimmer that works great. I get the deal green and really dry skimm. I have a video of it working.

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