Seaclone Skimmer - Not collecting Waste?

I have what I think is a seaclone skimmer.. the tank has only been running bout 3 weeks n I can't seem to get it to work right...I have a whisrper hob filter with carbon in it.. the skimmer worked really good for about n hour when I first put it in.. now the bubbles are just at the bottem of the cup n not going up the tube.. its a 30 gal tank with 40lbs sand n at moment 6 lbs live rock with 25 more going in this week.. also have 3 damasels in to help. am I over cleaning the water n that why no bubbles???? n all my readings are at 0.... ph bout 8.0 so I know that's a hair low but am not wanting to add anything till I get the rest of my rock in for awhile... any help would be great!! thanks

 

how long has the skimmer been in the tank? typically skimmers go through a break in period of 1-2 weeks, maybe 3.

 

I wannasay bout 3... scince I started the tank. it worked really good for about the first hour then the bigger bubbles just went away.. now no matter how I adjust is it just doesn't seem to produce enough to go up to the cup.. that was why I was wondering if my water is "to clean" with nothing much in it and the carbon in the filter

 

Hi, welcome to Fishlore
How much are you feeding? Skimmers remove dissolved organics, and if you feed lightly, it is very possible there's not much to skim.
What are your current parameters? If you have 0's across the board, then it would suggest there is very little to skI'm out.

And lastly, what sort of flow do you have in the tank? [e.g. powerheads] The more turbulent the water, the more chance of keeping the DOC's suspended in the water column allowing the skimmer a chance to pick it up.

 

What level is the salinity or specific gravity? I find that my skimmer does not perform as good at lower salinity levels.

 

What level is the salinity or specific gravity? I find that my skimmer does not perform as good at lower salinity levels.

Good point

The lower the salinity, the less retention of bubbles in the column. This is what makes it difficult to put a skimmer on fresh water

 

I feed the three I have 2 a day. my salinity is at 1.022. I have in the tank the skimmer at 300 gph one power head at 250 gph n the filter is at 200 gph. i'l check the levels tonight n let ya know. thanks!!

 

+1 for salinity
I find my skimmers works well at 1.025 but struggles at 1.023
I also tried activated carbon I'm my tank for a week, when the carbon was in the skimmer did skI'm anything.
I believe the carbon was removing all the DOC and leaving nothing for the skimmer to collect