Adjusting skimmer properly

[Michael]

Question from a newbie who has read a lot.
--Is it okay to have your skimmer output directly into your tank? I find that on my Venturi skimmer with a mag 12 pump, I get a lot of tiny bubbles in my Fish only 75g tank. If I turn the Mag12 down with a gate valve, the protein skimmer doesn't perform as well as it should.
--I have also tried to regulate the air input into the skimmer.

--any suggestions?

Thanks.

Michael

[Canadian Man]

Hey Michael,
what type of skimmer is it?
If it's diy or such can you get a picture for us.
It's easier to figure out when you can see what type of design it is.

[BCOrchidGuy]

I have the same trouble with my bak pak... Im still tweaking it, but growing frustrated.

[Delphinus]

Bubbles from a skimmer might unfortunately be a fact of life, this is why they are typically run on sumps instead of the main display. Doesn't solve the problem but makes the symptoms go away..

I personally would adjust the skimmer so that it's running optimally for you. Throttling back water flow or air flow will just mean less skimming .. right? So what I'd think about is maybe some kind of bubble trap. A small acrylic box with an overflow might do the trick. The skimmer empties into this box, the water has to overflow the box to get back into the tank, and in so doing, most if not all of the bubbles escape without getting into the main tank.

If you're not into an acrylic project, a piece of larger diameter PVC capped off at the bottom might work. The acrylic will be prettier, though.

What some skimmers do, is combine this box into both intake and outlet (separated into two separate compartments) so that you get the benefit of surface skimming as well.

HTH

[Michael]

Originally Posted by Canadian Man

Hey Michael,
what type of skimmer is it?
If it's diy or such can you get a picture for us.
It's easier to figure out when you can see what type of design it is.

It's a Klaes Junior skimmer. It works well, but produces too many bubbles. My main concern is if the small bubbles are harmful to my 1 damsel in my 3 month old tank. If the bubbles don't harm the fish, I don't mind. But I have a feeling it is harmful to the fish. I haven't gotten around to making a sump yet.
Thanks.

[Canadian Man]

No the bubbles are not harmful to the fish.
They only bother some corals and some people just dont like the looks of bubbles in the tank.