Skimmate?

[Heidi]

By raising/lowering the water level in my case you mean to raise/lower my skimmer right? However there is about an 1 1/2" piece of tube that at one end is cut at an angle that allows for flow. Do I turn that to raise/lower the water level?

I think I may have been hit with the skimmer stupid stick-:0

Yes, this is how you adjust the "tension" or how high up the bubbles come in the neck and cup. Turning this angled tube adjusts how fast water leaves the skimmer, that makes you skinmate or "nog" wetter or dryer. I agree that smell is a good indicator, better then color when you have a newer tank etc.
Hope this helps,
Heidi

[MizTanks]

Ok so if I want to run it dry the bubbles will be lower in the neck, wet the bubbles will be higher? Oh and what I do empty (yellow stuff you see) doesn't smell.

My tank is to clean to make nog UGH! lol

I'm sorry folks if I'm getting on your nerves but I want to fully understand what your saying compared to what I'm doing-does that make sense?

[Sir Patrick]

Ok so if I want to run it dry the bubbles will be lower in the neck, wet the bubbles will be higher?

Exactly.

what I do empty (yellow stuff you see) doesn't smell.

You can just dump it in the toilet, or down a drain, and clean the skimmer cup w/ a skimmer dedicated toothbrush after dumping. Oils from your hands will make the bubbles less effective for a while, so a toothbrush is a nice tool to have.

I'm sorry folks if I'm getting on your nerves but I want to fully understand what your saying compared to what I'm doing-does that make sense?

No worries miz- we are here to help, and we all know how hard, at times, it can be to explain somthing, in type, and not be able to physicaly show it.

[MizTanks]

(((hugs))) Thank you Sir

[jolson10450]

i gave you the best info in your thread for it, just go re-read that =) i will add here that for those that wet skim usually have a bigger tank and pull more out but having the bigger tank it will not cause the salinity to spike. having a small tank like miz has if she wet skims then she has the potential of pulling a lot of saltwater out with the wet skimming and then making it up with top off water will cause the salinity to drop over the next week or two and if it is not carefully monitored it could lead to a disaster that is why most people with smaller tanks dry skim.

[CalmSeasQuest]

Skimmate color can also be influenced by bacteria/carbon dosing. Here's a photo taken early in my experimentation with MB-7 showing lighter colored skimmate that was so dense/sticky (even skimming as wet as possible) that it literally blew the top of of the skimmer...