Save money with Skimmer on a cycle??

[Nottick]

I'm like everyone else looking to save a few bucks here or there so I decided to put my skimmer on a time cycle. I checked my Neptune controller and decided to run it when my temp was at it's lowest during the day ( rather the skimmer heat the water and skim at the same time) I'll have it running for 8hrs per day.

Now my skimmer (swc160) is a bit overkill for my 55 gal reef so I feel it can pull everything it needs to in 8 hrs.

Basically I'm asking if anyone has tried this and if anyone wants to try this with me to help gather more info. I'm checking parameters every other day to see if there are any adverse effects on my system.

Any and all input would be great!!

 

[mbg75]

How many watts is your skimmer pump?

 

[Nottick]

How many watts is your skimmer pump?

Ok going by my apex unit ( some people say it's off ) it's roughly .4 amps

 

[mbg75]

.4 is about 48w.

So that skimmer is costing you roughly $7-$8 a month to run 24/7.

8 hrs a day would be about $3 a month.

 

[tosiek]

The only adverse effect it might have is that anaerobic bacteria will probably start to settle in the water in the skimmer the other 16 hours its not on. You usually run a skimmer or you don't without any in between.

Realistically its only a dollar or two a month to run the skimmer for the time you won't have it on, im sure you waste/spend more than that a month on other things you don't need or can do more efficiently. This is pretty creative though, probably the best theory i've seen to try and minimize tank costs.

 

[Nottick]

Ok... For me it may only be pennies but others with larger skimmers may see a difference maybe? Idk just brainstorming to hopefully get the gears turning in other people's minds also.

 

[tosiek]

You also run into the problem of skimming efficiency. Im sure your skimmer isn't oversized enough to only be on 1/3 of the time and still skim as well as a skimmer that was sized for your tank. People with larger skimmers are running theirs 24/7 and still pull crap out all the time. I've yet to see someone with a skimmer that stopped skimming because it was too efficient and a good amount of people tend to oversize their skimmers for their tanks.

For the little skim I would be producing in the tank being on 8 hours vs my actual savings, even doubled or tripled from what you would be saving, I would just opt for not running a skimmer. Just control waste through better feeding and maintenance habits. Save yourself money on food because your not overfeeding and you make back the 150-200$ on the skimmer. You can have a successful reef tank without a skimmer, its been done and not one of those items thats crucial to the tank.

 

[Nottick]

According to the manufacture specs it's rated for a tank 3 times the size so I made it 1/3 the time. Also this skimmer raises the temp of the water by about 2deg so in the summer it helps not to have it on.

 

[arnaldolex]

i am doing the same thing with mine did it cuz i have a euro reef and motor is very loud so i make it turn of with my lights for 12 hours it also helped reduced evaporation