Protein skimmer bubbles not reaching the top

[GothFishKeeper]

I’m pretty new to protein skimmers because I have a nano tank and haven’t had the need for one in the past, so I’m confused on some things.
I got the eshopps nano skimmer and was told to not let the bubbles overflow, so I set the water level low. But aren’t the bubbles at least supposed to reach the neck? They stay in the body and there really isn’t actual foam, just bubbles that dissipate when reaching the surface of the water. I know it needs to break in, but a couple days ago I had it actually foaming at the very surface of the neck. Should I turn up the pump again and have it do that? Or do I leave it where it is? If I leave it, should I expect for the level to rise over time?

Also the foam insert that is at the bottom of the skimmer has a lot of bubbles building up in it, do I need to do something about that?

 

[FUNGI]

There is more fizz in my coke that I'm drinking then whats in your skimmer......this will never produce foam....

and yes it does need a break-in, but I would turn up the pump

 

[WaterWerks]

How long ago did you add it to the water?

I use and have used a sump with skimmer forever and only get about 3-5 hours a day of really dry skimming.

I did encounter a break in on my new octa and it foamed really bad for the first couple hours is was on. Now only get about 3/4 a couple every 2 weeks

 

[FUNGI]

don't know if this helps.....

 

[WaterWerks]

don't know if this helps.....

This how I set up my skimmer. I would have it dry vs wet. But I also have a rather large bio system to help with spikes that may happen in other tanks

 

[GothFishKeeper]

How long ago did you add it to the water?

I use and have used a sump with skimmer forever and only get about 3-5 hours a day of really dry skimming.

I did encounter a break in on my new octa and it foamed really bad for the first couple hours is was on. Now only get about 3/4 a couple every 2 weeks

I added it a few days ago, but isn’t it supposed to foam to actually work properly?

 

[WaterWerks]

Maybe post a video of it working and maybe we can help out more. Sometimes it takes a while for is to “foam up.”
I like to think of a pot of boiling water. You have to gather right amount of flow and air into the skimmer to produce the bubbles. Once you start to get film into the cup you deal it back until it barely starts to go up the neck. Most of time mine looks like a simmering pit of water

 

[GothFishKeeper]

don't know if this helps.....

I took the foam out like he did in the video and it seems to have a bit more bubbles in there, it’s a start. Thanks!

 

[GothFishKeeper]

Maybe post a video of it working and maybe we can help out more. Sometimes it takes a while for is to “foam up.”
I like to think of a pot of boiling water. You have to gather right amount of flow and air into the skimmer to produce the bubbles. Once you start to get film into the cup you deal it back until it barely starts to go up the neck. Most of time mine looks like a simmering pit of water

I turned up the pump last night and woke up to it overflowing i to the cup, so I turned it back down and this is how it looks now.

 

[GothFishKeeper]

New issue and possible cause I’ve noticed:
The water level in the skimmer isn’t as high as the water level of the tank, how do I fix this?