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Poor Skimmer Design Woes/Fromia Sea Star
- 05/24/06 Hello, <<Hi Josh!>> I am pretty new to the
marine environment. <<Much reading/researching ahead of you
then>> Right now I have a nice 20 gallon tank set up and
everything is doing fine. My ammonia level is at zero and
everything else checks out too. Today I just installed my
Sea Clone 100 protein skimmer, and I tried adjusting the venturi valve
and I get massive amounts of tiny bubbles. I read their tech
documents and they mention that some de-chlorinators are gel like and
also serve as a protective slime coating for fish and that to run the
skimmer for 1 day or up to 3 weeks with the venturi valve off.
<<Mmm, defeats the purpose of having the skimmer doesn't
it?>> The de-chlorinator I use is TetraAqua AquaSafe Water
Conditioner. I am wondering if anyone has had experience with this
product and how long it should be until the AquaSafe is broke down
enough that when I adjust the air intake I don't have any micro
bubbles flowing into the tank. <<Though it is true that some
water conditioners will cause a skimmer to "foam"
excessively, "micro-bubbles" entering your tank does not
sound like this is the problem. It seems to me this is more
an issue with trying to tune a poorly designed skimmer. You
will likely need to contrive some sort of bubble trap...or better
yet...get a better skimmer>> Normally I would not mind but I am
afraid of too much oxygen in the take may harm or kill my starfish.
<<Too much oxygen is not an issue...but excessive micro-bubbles
can be problematic to some organisms>> I am not sure of the type
of star it is. It's red with black tips; I think
it's a Red & Black Sea Star (Fromia milleporella).
<<Hmm...these are "all red" in my
experience. Perhaps a geographic variant...or a different
species altogether>> The guy at the fish store told me this star
does not so well with salinity changes, too much air and other stuff.
<<Mmm, can be said of many things>> Also any advice on
feeding this star and caring for it would be great. <<Please
start reading here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fromiastarfaqs.htm
>> The fish store told me to feed it some zucchini. It
will go to it and lay on it but after removing the zucchini after 30
minutes there is no evidence that the star is feeding on
it. I also purchased some frozen food the recommended
Formula One. Any suggestions on these topics would be much
appreciated. <<The Fromia sp. sea stars are generally considered
detritivores but will benefit greatly from supplemental feedings of
marine based "meaty" foods (shrimp, krill, mussel, clam,
etc.). Thank You |
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