Protein skimmer bubbles?

If you're like me you want answers 30 minutes after you post, so here's my attempt. (You'll hear from the experts later, I'm sure)

Skimmers only work if theres stuff to take out. I'v got a 55 G with a skimmer and I love it, but it dosen't froth all the time. (I know I'm gonna get in trouble here, but here it goes) After my heavy feedings it skims great, but the froth dies down as the particulates are removed. If I cleaned it right then, it would remove more particulates, but I only get around to cleaning it once or twice a week.

If you are not sure you need a skimmer then take it off-line for a while, test your water quality and see how your inhabitants fare. More tiny bubbles should increase gunk production, but there has been quite a lot of argument if this much skimming is necessairy or healthy for reef tanks. There are some basics to this hobby, but a a lot of it is personal experimentation and what works for you (and in some cases your budget)

Good luck and let us know what you decide to try.

   I turn ours off when there's is no algae issues! I like to add live
food, and I think the skimmer removes good stuff,too. Maybe the
green color is phytoplanton?

I really would prefer to run it 24/7 'cause I think it's adding a ton of
O2 when it's on........ ( I think you can never have too much O2, even
better to have zero co2! )

Zero CO2- I don't think so...There must be a balance or life would not be possible!

IMO, you want the gases dissolved in the water to be in equalibrium with the gases in the atmophere.  The more you can do to increase the water/air surface area the better (closer to equalibrium).  So I agree, a skimmer  (and Rob) is great at passing gas.

I don't think you can die from too much O2. I work in lots of critical
care units where the patient comes up from the ER on 100% 02 and
has sky high blood levels of 02. But high levels of Co2 kill people
every day.......That's why we put them on ventilators! We can actually
help the person to "blow off" the poisonous co2 level. Whenever I put
an extra power head in the bottom of a tank and "blow" the water
from the bottom of the tank to the top, I think I'm putting the tank
on a ventilator! Then I gotta figure out why the patient is not able to
do this for himself......Maybe he needs more lungs (water motion) or
better kidney function (bicarb/buffer/alkalinity) or maybe he has too
much body mass (biodiversity, inc the unseen bacteria) and needs a
gastric bypass!

Rob works in ICU, too. He gets paid to pass gas!!!