the foam that slides on the up-tube on a skimmer, everybody knows that, right?
is it necessary? if so, what’s the purpose?
does it breed nitrates, like bioballs?
It to help quiet the skimmer. It keeps the splashing noise down and yes if you dont clean it regularly and allow bacteria to grow in it it can increase nitrates.
not a dumb question, the foam is the point of the skimmer.
the surface tension of salt water is greater than fresh water and when air bubbles travel through it proteins in the water stick to the surface of the bubbles (or other way around, the glass is half full)
when the bubbles pop the proteins are all that is left, hence, protein skimming. and yes it is a nitrate factory but luck for us its all left in the cup and not the tank!
same thing happens in rough weather naturally, ever see sea foam on the beach after a storm?
ohh im sorry, i thought you were reffering to the actual foam IN the skimmer LOL, i dont have any foam on my AquaC Remora
Tim, the answer started to confuse me, just like my q confused me. and as always, i get the answer i need. tnx c_b. merry xmas
i figure a foam sleave on the outer overflow box does the things they said, like quiet, and some bio filtering, and some crud filtering and also keep snails from climbing down the hose and backing up the system. that could be a biggie. if you don’t like using and cleaning the foam sleave, you could use a slotted pipe, or basket strainer.
lol yea, i mis read it at first as saying the foam that slides up in the tube >LOCO<
lol yea, i mis read it at first as saying the foam that slides up in the tube>LOL< me too. i had no idea what he was talking about....i thought he meant the foam inside the skimmer as well >LOL<
in my ASM i just tossed it. never used. same with the foam for the MAG pumps. the pros didnt outweigh the cons IMO.
i guess i was optimistic in my description of “everybody know that.” since i am using an asm, maybe i’ll follow shawn’s method. not worried about noise, since it’s in the basement.
Paul - when you go with the gate valve mod the foam gets tossed anyway
You are going to gate valve mod it right?
craig, don’t understand that mod. chris modded my asm g3 on the impeller to increase the bubble flow dramatically. what’s the purpose of this gate valve mod? do you have a link for it? i did some reading and it seems to be to reduce micro bubbles. correct? i don’t have any of those. LMK, thanks.
Here is a pic. Its supposed to help with microbubbles but the main reason is for adjustment purposes. Lets you dial in your skimmer much better than with the stock “stove-pipe” and makes it much harder to accidentally knock out of whack.
check out this thread for everything you wanted to know and do to your ASM and then some
what he said.
You can fine tune the skimmer level to ridiculous accuracies and don’t have to worry about it “slipping” and getting knocked out of position and not skimming at all or over-skimming.